Roasting Pigs
Roasting / Weaner Pigs (Roasters)
California only
If you are interested in a pig to roast at your next gathering, we have a few details we need you to be aware of. First, a little bit about us: Pork Palace is a pig farm, and we raise our pigs here in the Santa Ynez Valley. Your roasting pig is raised, processed, and picked up on our farm. We are a small producer, so timing is crucial for both us and you when planning and ordering your roast.
**Timing:** We prefer four weeks (or more) notice on your order. This is to make sure we have the pig available at the size you need for your roast, and personnel available to help. We may accommodate shorter notice, but we cannot guarantee it.
**Sizing:** We are often asked how big the roaster needs to be for X amount of people. The simple answer is “It depends.” Remember, we are not caterers, chefs, or any other type of event planning professionals. Always defer to an expert if you can. That being said, we have learned a thing or two (Google is our friend). A good rule of thumb is that the roaster's dressed weight (ready-to-roast weight) should be 1.5 lbs per person being served. For example, a 75-pound roaster would feed 50 people.
**Process:** As stated, we raise the pig here on the farm, we will process on the farm, and you will need to pick up on the farm. There are two separate services that we provide. First, you purchase the live pig from us, and you have the option to pick up the live animal and take it to process yourself. Second, if you prefer, we can process your pig for you.
**Pricing:** The purchase of the live animal starts at $450 for a weight of 100 pounds, and $4.50 per pound for weights over 100. We are licensed under the CDFA and are required to sell live animals for personal use consumption. Here is where a little math comes into play. If you have 40 people you want to share your roaster with, the dressed weight should be 60 pounds (40 x 1.5 = 60). However, we are selling you a live pig, and the dressed weight typically is 60-62% of the live weight, so you would need a pig weighing 100 pounds (60 / 60% = 100). The good news is we are quite good at math and can get you the right size if you know your headcount. The additional service of processing your pig to be dressed and ready to roast starts at $200 for a weight of up to 125 pounds. We charge an additional $25 per 25 pounds. For example, a 140-pound pig would cost $225 to process.
We require full payment at least 4 weeks before your projected pickup date.
**Pickup:** The week before, when your roaster will be ready, we will contact you to schedule a pickup time. Please ensure you have a cooler that is at least 165 quarts for a roaster weighing up to 60 pounds; for larger roasters, we recommend a cooler of 200 quarts or more. Your roaster will be chilled and loosely wrapped. We also strongly recommend that you provide your ice or another method to keep your roaster cold during transport and storage until you are ready to cook. Please note that we do not have or sell ice on the farm.
**Payment:** You can use the link on this page to order your roaster. You will not be charged until we reach out to confirm your roaster size and the timing for your event. We will adjust the charge based on the size you need before processing the payment.