Thinking of a Hog Roast? Here Is What to Serve Instead

The hog roast has earned its place. For a couple of decades it has been the go-to for outdoor weddings and summer parties, and there is a good reason for that: it is cooked on-site, it feeds a crowd, and a pig turning slowly on a spit is a genuine bit of theatre. If you love the idea of one, book one.

But a lot of couples come to us having half-booked a hog roast and stalled, feeling that it is a little expected, a little the-same-as-the-last-three-weddings. If that is you, here is what else the on-site, fresh-cooked world has to offer - because the hog roast is not the only fire in the field.

Keep the Theatre, Change the Star

The best thing about a hog roast is that the cooking happens in front of everyone. You do not have to lose that to move on from pork. An Argentine asado does exactly the same job with far more drama: a whole lamb or a side of venison splayed on an iron cross, leaning into the embers, rendering slowly for hours while your guests arrive. It is the same primal pull, turned up to eleven. We wrote about why we brought it to Sussex in our piece on the art of Argentine asado.

Carved to order onto sharing boards, it gives you the generous, help-yourself feeling of a hog roast with a flavour that a slow-roasted pig, for all its charms, simply cannot match.

A hog roast says summer party. A haunch of wild venison on the fire says this is a wedding you will still be talking about at Christmas.
- Cai

Wild Game Instead of Farmed Pork

This is the real difference. A hog roast is, by definition, pork. Live fire opens the whole larder: venison I have stalked myself, game birds, properly sourced lamb and beef, all cooked over wood and charcoal. It is leaner, it is more interesting, and it comes with a story - the journey from field to fork that your guests will actually ask you about.

It also solves the quiet problem every hog roast has: the people who do not eat pork. With a live-fire spread, nobody is stuck with a bread roll and an apologetic shrug.

Not Just One Big Lump of Meat

A hog roast is, essentially, one thing. A live-fire feast is a table. Alongside the centrepiece we cook seasonal vegetables on the plancha, flatbreads directly on the coals, sauces, salads and sides, all over the same fire. It reads as a feast rather than a serving. If you want the detail on how a spread like this comes together, our guide to planning an outdoor wedding menu lays it out.

Does It Cost More?

Honestly, it is in a similar bracket - a good hog roast and a good live-fire feast are not miles apart on price. What you get for the money is different: more variety, leaner and more distinctive meat, and a centrepiece that doubles as your entertainment and your best photographs of the night. For most couples that is money very well spent.

There is nothing wrong with a hog roast. But if some quiet part of you wants your wedding food to be a talking point rather than a safe default, the fire is right there, waiting to do something far more memorable.

- Cai