Roasted suckling pig cooked in the fireplace and seasoned with myrtle
Ingredients for 8 people:
- piglet
- salt
- myrtle
Preparation:
In practice, to prepare this traditional dish, the ingredients are limited to suckling pig and salt. Although finding myrtle can be difficult, don’t worry, as the lack of this ingredient does not affect the final result. What really matters is the goodness of the raw material and the quality of the cooking method, which depend on the experience and skill of the cook. In other words, the success of the dish depends on the ability to transform the few ingredients available into a memorable culinary experience.
When you go to buy the suckling pig, keep in mind that the optimal weight for a whole suckling pig is between 5 and 8 kg. Before cooking the suckling pig you must wash it well and remove the offal with the exception of the kidney. With this part of offal you can prepare a trattalia as a second course of meat or the frexura, excellent appetizer or side dish. To cook half a suckling pig on a spit, it is advisable to insert the meat lengthwise, trying to maintain a balance of weight. Generally, it’s best to start at the thigh area and then work your way up and down between the ribs to prevent the meat from slipping off the skewer when rotisserie. In this way, uniform cooking and homogeneous heat distribution can be guaranteed, which will contribute to making the roast suckling pig perfect and tasty.
Prepare a fire an hour in advance using logs of about 5cm to 10cm. in diameter of good firewood such as holm oak, strawberry tree or oak. These essences of wood give a more pleasant flavor to roasted meat.
Before placing it in front of the fire and the embers, leave the meat vertically on the spit half a meter from the fire for about half an hour in order to dry and warm up, but without cooking.
Then over a high heat, place the skewer in the rotisserie after cooking, without cooking too quickly and let it turn for about 2 hours.
Move the fire to the sides so as not to burn the thinner central part.
Take care of the cooking of the thigh which tends to remain less cooked than the rest.
I put aluminum foil on the bottom to collect the dripping fat so that I can spread it on the rind and make it crunchy.
Place a piece of parchment paper on the brain to prevent it from falling during cooking.
The salt should be placed on the inside and not on the rind to avoid softening it.
At the end of cooking, bring the embers close under the suckling pig and brown well.
Arrange a bed of myrtle on a large tray (it is not essential, but the next day, if any pieces are left over, they will be well flavoured).
Remove the suckling pig from the skewer and let it rest for at least an hour before cutting it into small portions, this prevents the pieces from falling apart during cutting.
A very important aspect is to put the beers in the fridge a few hours before cooking because thirsty guests will arrive while you are cooking. I also generally offer a sparkling conversation white. The conversation clearly focuses on cooking pork and since there is a different school of thought for everyone, wine helps to elaborate.
You can combine the suckling pig with a robust Cannonau from Sardinia, but a Tuscan Chianti is also excellent.
Enjoy your meal!
