Leitão da Bairrada

Ingredients

The pig

• 1suckling pig
• about 8 kg, cleaned
• prepared by the butcher

The paste

• 150 glard
• or pork fat
• 2whole heads of garlic
• peeled
• 4 tablespoonscoarse salt
• 4 tablespoonsblack pepper
• coarsely ground
• 6bay leaves
• a bunch of parsley, optional
• 100 mlwhite wine

To baste

• 100 mlwater
• 100 mlwhite wine
• 2 tablespoonslard, melted

To serve

• sliced orange
• crisps or fried potatoes
• Bairrada sparkling wine
• bread

Directions

1. Salt on the outside draws moisture out. That is useful only if wiped off before roasting. Rinse out the cavity thoroughly. Check for any remaining bristles. Pat the whole pig completely dry. Use plenty of kitchen paper on it. Then leave it uncovered to air dry.
2. Set it on a rack over a deep tray. Put it in a cold and airy place. Leave it uncovered there overnight. It goes from soft to papery dry. Peel all of the garlic cloves. Pound them with the coarse salt. Salt gives the garlic something to break against.
3. Work in the lard until it is smooth. Add the coarsely ground black pepper. Tear the bay leaves and work them in. Add the white wine to loosen it. Grind it roughly rather than finely.
4. Rub the paste all over the inside cavity. Work it into every fold and corner. Use every last bit of the paste. The cavity is large and takes a great deal. Tie the legs close to the body. That keeps them from burning early. Let it sit for an hour before roasting. That takes the chill right off it.
5. Heat the oven as hot as it will go. Set the pig on a rack over a tray. The skin underneath stays dry. Roast it hot for the first thirty minutes. Cooking it takes about two hours.
6. Roast it for around fifteen minutes per kilogram. Add a little more for a whole animal. Mix the water, wine and melted lard. Brush it over the skin now and then. The fat helps the skin to crisp. Baste lightly rather than heavily. Too much liquid softens the skin. Cover them with foil early on.
7. Remove the foil for the last ten minutes. Judging when it is done takes a check. Take that reading at the shoulder. Pork must be cooked right through. Check the thickest part every time. Do not judge it by colour alone.
8. Turn the heat right up for ten minutes. Or use a grill on the soft areas. Let it rest for fifteen minutes. Steam rises through it and dampens it. Fifteen minutes is enough for the meat.
9. Cut it into squares through the skin. Use a heavy knife or a cleaver. Serving it is always done piping hot. Pile the pieces onto a wooden platter. Serve sliced orange alongside. Serve crisps or fried potatoes with it. Serve Bairrada sparkling wine alongside. It keeps two days refrigerated.

Technique

• The crackling is the whole point: skin contains water and collagen, the water must be driven off entirely before the collagen can crisp, and any remaining moisture gives leather instead. That means patting it completely dry and then leaving it uncovered overnight on a rack in a cold airy place until the skin goes papery — the step most often skipped.
• The paste goes inside the cavity rather than on the skin, since anything wet on the skin stops it crisping; it is rubbed into every fold, sewn or skewered shut, and the black pepper goes in very generously indeed, four tablespoons being no mistake, since that heat is characteristic of Bairrada leitão.
• Rest it only fifteen minutes and uncovered, since a long rest lets steam rise through the crackling and soften it; and cut it into rough squares through the skin so each piece carries skin and meat together, rather than carving neat slices.

Substitutions

• A smaller pig or a half fits a domestic oven, though a wood oven cannot be reproduced.
• Sliced orange is the traditional accompaniment and part of the plate rather than a garnish.

Variations

• Some cooks add parsley to the paste and others keep it to garlic, salt and pepper.
• Bairrada sparkling wine is the local pairing, its acidity cutting the fat.
• Ears and tail are covered with foil early on, since they burn long before the rest.

History

Suckling pig roasted in wood ovens around Mealhada in the Bairrada; the roadside restaurants there date from the early twentieth century.

Frequently asked questions

What is Leitão da Bairrada?

Leitão da Bairrada is a main from Portugal: crackly roast suckling pig with peppery garlic paste. Suckling pig roasted in wood ovens around Mealhada in the Bairrada; the roadside restaurants there date from the early twentieth century.

How long does Leitão da Bairrada take to make?

Leitão da Bairrada takes 1 hour plus overnight of preparation and 2 hours of cooking. The recipe makes serves 10. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Leitão da Bairrada?

Yes, within limits. A smaller pig or a half fits a domestic oven, though a wood oven cannot be reproduced. Sliced orange is the traditional accompaniment and part of the plate rather than a garnish.

What is the most important thing to get right in Leitão da Bairrada?

Salt on the outside draws moisture out. That is useful only if wiped off before roasting. Rinse out the cavity thoroughly. Check for any remaining bristles. Pat the whole pig completely dry. Use plenty of kitchen paper on it. Then leave it uncovered to air dry.