Hog roasts for a party or event

A whole pig turning on a spit can feed a big crowd at a wedding, a fête or a birthday. Some hosts hire a hog roast caterer. Others roast the pig themselves, with friends to help.

Hiring a hog roast caterer

A hog roast caterer is a food business. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) says food businesses must register with their council, and that includes those trading from a van, a stall or other temporary premises.

Food vans and stalls can hold a food hygiene rating, like a restaurant. A host can look the caterer up on the FSA's ratings website. For a business registered at a home address, only the first part of the postcode is published, so searching by the business name works best.

Some councils publish guidance for caterers at outdoor events. Croydon Council's 2020 guidance note, for example, asks for a food hygiene rating of at least 3, and for food hygiene training at level 2.

Where the pig comes from

The FSA says that in most cases, meat for people to eat must come from an animal slaughtered in an approved slaughterhouse.

Its guide for England and Wales explains that a pig killed at home can be eaten only by its owner and the immediate family who live with them. Giving that meat to anyone else, friends included, is against the law.

To find meat supply, see meatsuppliers.uk.

Cooking the pig through

The FSA explains that pork, unlike a steak, can carry bacteria right through the meat. A whole pig needs cooking right through for that reason. The FSA's pack for caterers asks for pork to reach a safe temperature in the middle of the joint, with no pink or red.

A probe thermometer gives the answer, with its tip pushed into the thickest part of the meat, as the FSA advises.

Croydon Council's guidance says cooked food at an outdoor event should reach over 75°C. It warns that cooking temperatures can be less predictable when barbecuing, and asks caterers to disinfect the probe between uses.

Serving

The FSA's pack for caterers says hot food must be kept at 63°C or above, with certain exceptions. Hot holding equipment is for keeping food hot, not for cooking or reheating it.

Croydon's guidance asks for cooked food to be handled with tongs or serving spoons, so that hands do not touch it. Raw and cooked food are kept apart at all times.

Croydon's guidance also says that anyone who has had sickness or diarrhoea in the past 2 days must not handle any food or drink.

Leftovers

For cooked food left after a barbecue, the FSA's advice is to cover it and cool it quickly. Get it into a fridge, or a cool bag with ice packs, within one to two hours, especially on a hot day. Eat it within 48 hours, and reheat it only once.

Useful links