You could say Pappa Bear’s Catering goes whole hog for the holidays, but that attention-grabbing menu item is available all year.
Birthday parties, wedding receptions, reunions, and corporate meals have featured the 150-plus-pound meal starring local pork from Dewig Meats. “There’s definitely a ‘wow factor to having a whole hog,” says Courtney Marx, Pappa Bear’s business development and sales manager.
Each hog is cooked for 18 hours over low heat using apple, cherry, and hickory wood for a sweet, smoky flavor. Pricing starts at $2,100 to feed 120 people. Orders can be accommodated up to two weeks in advance and come with two sides, bread, and place settings, plus two servers. “It gives us an opportunity to interact with guests even more,” Marx says.
Customers are encouraged to get creative. One company had the Haubtstadt, Indiana, ca- terer draw its logo on the hog, while others have decorated theirs with John Deere hats, firefighter uniforms, a Ken doll skiing down the hog, or a classic apple in its mouth. “That is something cool people do remember,” Marx says.
