Portugal's PGI suckling-pig roast — a 6 kg piglet butterflied at the spine, seasoned with garlic-and-lard pesto, and roasted on a wood-fired clay-oven spit until the skin is glassy crackling. The signature dish of central Portugal.
Serves 10 to 12Prep 1 hrCook 3 hr
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Ingredients
- 1 suckling pig (6 to 8 kg), butterflied at the spine
- 200 g pork lard, softened
- 1 whole head of garlic (about 12 cloves), finely minced
- 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
- 1 tablespoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried piri-piri or red pepper flakes
- 2 bay leaves, finely crumbled
- 150 ml dry white wine
- Orange slices and crusty bread, to serve
Method
- 1Make the pesto: pound the garlic, salt, pepper, piri-piri, and bay leaves to a paste in a mortar. Work in the lard until smooth.
- 2Score the skin of the piglet in a 3 cm crosshatch on the back and shoulders, cutting just into the fat. Rub the pesto generously into all the cuts and over the inside of the cavity.
- 3Place the piglet skin-up on a rack set over a deep roasting pan. Pour the wine and 250 ml water into the pan beneath. Let stand 1 hour at room temperature.
- 4Preheat the oven to 160 °C (325 °F). Tent the ears and tail with foil to prevent burning.
- 5Roast for 2 hours, basting every 30 minutes with the pan juices.
- 6Increase the temperature to 220 °C (430 °F). Remove the foil from the ears. Roast a further 30 to 45 minutes until the skin blisters into golden crackling.
- 7Rest 15 minutes. Quarter and serve in pieces with orange slices, sparkling Bairrada wine, and bread to dip in the juices.
Chef's tip
True Leitão is roasted in a wood-fired clay oven — domestic ovens get most of the way there. The skin must be bone-dry going into the high-heat phase or it won't crackle.