Lechona

Ingredients

Pig

• 1whole suckling pig, about 20 kg, boned out through the belly, skin intact

Marinade

• juice of 10 sour oranges
• 1 headgarlic, crushed
• 3 tbspground cumin
• 2 tbspdried oregano
• 3 tbspsalt
• 2 tbspblack pepper
• 2 tbspachiote

Stuffing

• 2 kgdried yellow peas, soaked overnight
• 1 kgpork shoulder, diced
• 1 kgrice, optional
• 6onions, chopped
• 1 headgarlic
• 3 tbspground cumin
• 2 tbspachiote
• salt

To serve

• arepas
• insulso
• lime

Directions

1. Rub the marinade thoroughly over the inside of the pig and into the meat, and leave it overnight. Soak the yellow peas overnight and cook them until tender but still holding their shape. Stop the peas short of soft.
2. Fry the onions, garlic, cumin and achiote, add the diced pork shoulder and brown it, then fold everything through the peas.
3. Cool the stuffing completely before it goes anywhere near the pig. Warm stuffing inside a raw pig for several hours is exactly the wrong thing to do, and it must be cold going in.
4. Fill the cavity, packing it firmly but not tight, and sew the belly closed with butcher’s twine and a trussing needle.
5. Leave a little room. Prick the skin all over with a needle, but only into the fat and never through to the meat. Rub the whole outside with salt and a little sour orange juice.
6. Roast at 120°C (250°F) for 8 to 10 hours, in a wood-fired or clay oven if you have one. The skin needs hours to render before it can crackle, and a hot oven blisters and burns it while the stuffing is still cold in the middle.
7. Rest it 30 minutes, then serve a portion of skin, a portion of stuffing and a piece of meat to each person, with an arepa and lime.

Technique

• It is a Tolima and Huila speciality, and Espinal in particular is where people go for it.
• It is sold by weight from lechonerías and eaten at fiestas and family gatherings.
• The insulso, a sweet corn pudding, is the traditional accompaniment.

Substitutions

• A boned pork shoulder or belly, stuffed and rolled, which is the practical domestic version.
• Lime and orange juice mixed, in place of sour orange.

Variations

• With rice in the stuffing, which is common outside Tolima.
• Made as a stuffed rolled shoulder for a domestic oven.
• The Huila version, generally spiced a little differently.

History

Tolima’s whole pig, stuffed with its own meat, rice and peas and baked overnight in a clay oven for San Juan festivities.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lechona?

Lechona is a main from Colombia: tolima whole pig roasted crisp, stuffed with rice, peas and pork. Tolima’s whole pig, stuffed with its own meat, rice and peas and baked overnight in a clay oven for San Juan festivities.

How long does Lechona take to make?

Lechona takes 3 hr plus overnight marinating of preparation and 10 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 25 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Lechona?

Yes, within limits. A boned pork shoulder or belly, stuffed and rolled, which is the practical domestic version. Lime and orange juice mixed, in place of sour orange.

What is the most important thing to get right in Lechona?

Cool the stuffing completely before it goes anywhere near the pig. Warm stuffing inside a raw pig for several hours is exactly the wrong thing to do, and it must be cold going in.