If you are squeamish in the kitchen, don't try this one. I wasn't going to let a challenge go untried!
Plan early. I had to order three weeks in advance. Had to pick it up nearly a week in advance. It comes in a solid frozen state, it takes days to thaw. This is not a rush, rush kind of meal.
The suckling pigs can come from about 12-20 pounds. Try to get no more than 15lb. It sounds like a large turkey size, but they aren't as compact as a turkey, all nice and round. I had to work to get it into my largest roasting pan. It went in diagonally, I could have used a larger, more shallow roasting pan.
You'll need:
One suckling pig, 12-18lb.
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
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My pig was 16.9lb. I had it thawing, wrapped in towels in the fridge for three days, out on the counter for one whole day, triple wrapped to keep it cold. It finally thawed.
If you have room in your fridge to put it in a pan, you can salt it the day before. Or, if you barely get it into the fridge in it's bagged state, salt early the day of cooking. That's what I did. I scrubbed out the sink in the laundry room and rinsed it there. It didn't fit in my kitchen sink. I rinsed it and salt and peppered inside and out. I let it rest for a couple hours.
For a pretty presentation, you want to roast the pig sitting up, sphinx style. Front legs pointing forward, back legs along the side. You want the ribs to stay open, so recipes I've consulted suggested stuffing loosely balled up foil in there. You may also need extra foil to help it stay upright. I put little potatoes all around. That helped.
Heat oven to 300 degrees.
Rub with olive oil and cover tightly with foil. Roast your pig for about 2.5 to 3.5 hours (turning pan once) until an internal temperature reading, in the meaty part of the thigh, reaches 130 degrees.
Remove foil, baste with olive oil, increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Put roast back in the oven.
Continue roasting, basting every 15 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 170-175 degrees. Rotate the pan once more during this process. The recipes I was using as guidance said 160 degrees, but we found that to be too pink. Maybe Europeans like more pinkish pork than we do. A roast, uncut, will gain another 10 degrees while standing, but we prefer a more well-done pork. This second roasting time will be an additional hour or more, depending on the size of your roast.
Once your pig reaches temperature, remove from oven and allow to rest 20-30 minutes before carving. This is a good time to shove your rolls into the hot oven. :)
P.S. After making this, I'd make adjustments to cooking time. I'd add at least an hour before crisping at higher temperatures. Then I'd also crisp for longer. We like a nice crispy skin. Next time...
P.S. After making this, I'd make adjustments to cooking time. I'd add at least an hour before crisping at higher temperatures. Then I'd also crisp for longer. We like a nice crispy skin. Next time...
Frozen solid, just picked up from the butcher.
Sitting, in cramped quarters in my largest roasting pan.
Covered tightly with foil and into the oven.
After 3 hours, inside temp at 130 degrees. Foil comes off and oven temp goes up to 400 degrees.
Baste every 15 minutes with olive oil.
Internal temperature up to 160 degrees.
Out of the oven to rest before carving.
Piggy is the first one to the table.
Waiting on the family to come in.
Everyone gathered for Christmas Dinner.
After dinner, I put him back into the oven to crisp a bit more. The deep pan didn't allow the bottom of the pig to get crispy. We also thought the lower half was too pink, although the temperature was what the recipe called for. I put it back into the 400 degree oven and crisped it up more. Once it was done, I brought it out, cooled it and cut it into pieces. 4 gallon sized bags of roast pork in the fridge!! YUM!
