Portuguese-style roast suckling pig with ultra-crisp skin, seasoned with a simple paste of lard, garlic, coarse salt, and white pepper. Served with orange slices, roasted potatoes, and a green salad, capturing the spirit of Bairrada tables.
Ingredients
- 2 kg skin-on suckling pig shoulder or rack
- 1 piece Bairrada seasoning paste
- 80 g lard
- 4 cloves garlic
- 18 g coarse salt
- 2 tsp ground white pepper
- 2 leaves bay leaf
- 10 cl dry Portuguese or French white wine
- 800 g waxy potatoes
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 pieces orange
- 1 piece salad greens
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Method
- The day before or the morning of cooking, pat the suckling pig skin thoroughly dry with paper towels, then refrigerate uncovered until the skin looks matte and feels dry to the touch.
- Prepare the Bairrada seasoning paste, then lightly score the meat side without piercing the skin; massage the paste into the flesh and crevices, keeping the skin as clean and dry as possible.
- Bring the meat to room temperature to take off the refrigerator chill; meanwhile, heat the oven very hot with a roasting rack set over a baking pan.
- Place the suckling pig skin side up on the rack, pour the dry white wine and bay leaf into the pan below, and roast until the skin begins to blister and turn golden.
- Lower the oven to moderate heat and continue roasting, basting only the exposed meat with pan juices, never the skin; the meat should become tender and the drippings should smell of roasted garlic and white pepper.
- Arrange the cut potatoes in the pan around the drippings with a drizzle of olive oil, then roast until tender in the center and golden on the edges.
- Toward the end of cooking, briefly raise the oven temperature to finish crisping; the skin should sound hollow when tapped with a knife tip and crack cleanly.
- Let rest out of the oven on a cutting board, without covering the skin, so the juices settle without softening the crisp exterior.
- Carve into skin-on pieces and serve with the roasted potatoes, orange wedges, and a green salad dressed with red wine vinegar.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 756 kcal
- Protein
- 50.03 g
- Carbohydrate
- 23.4 g
- Fat
- 50.84 g
- Fibre
- 3.46 g
- Calcium
- 54.67 mg
- Iron
- 1.91 mg
- Magnesium
- 23.45 mg
