RG you will love your La Caja China-easiest and least messy way to cook a pig that I know. Cleanup is a breeze. The timing instructions that are printed on the box are pretty good but I always stick thermometers in the shoulder and hindquarter. I use a Cuban mojo marinade. The trick to getting crispy skin is a really hot fire once you have turned the pig over. The standard instructions call for riddling the coals and discarding the ashes. In addition to this I recommend adding extra charcoal and igniting it with a large blowtorch, which I am sure that you have in your arsenal. Good luck with it-not sure that I could wait until spring though!