Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 whole suckling pig (10-15 lbs), washed and cleaned per the instructions in the TFD BBQ God post
- 4 ounces salted butter
- 1/2 cup top-quality softened lard
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano + 1/8 cup fresh parsley, minced/crushed in a mortar and pestle with sea salt, to taste
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 cup white wine
- ***
- Melted lard for basting
- Grapevine chunks for smoking
Instructions
- Soften butter and ½ cup of the lard.
- Mix in oregano, parsley salt, crushed garlic and pepper. Rub butter/lard mixture over and inside the suckling pig, reserve any leftover paste for basting. Place bay leaves inside pig.
- Wrap marinated suckling pig in triple-bagged plastic bag and refrigerate. Let marinate for at least 5 hours.
- Bring marinated pig to room temperature. Heat oven to 250°F. Remove pig from plastic bag, place stomach-down in oven pan on a rack. Place the pig on a rack with a dripping pan under it. In the dripping pan, place a few small chunks of dried grapevine, well-soaked so they produce smoke. Drizzle with white wine. Roast until pig reaches 130°F (test with cooking thermometer – likely to be a couple of hours depending on the size of your pig).
- Do this in a kitchen with open windows – the smoke from the grapevine chunks will escape when you open the oven door to baste!
- Every 30 minutes, remove it quickly from the oven, close the door and gently clean its skin from any moisture it has, baste with melted lard and any remaining herb paste, then place it back in the oven turning it into different positions each time. Replace the soaked grapevine chunks periodically.
- When the pig reaches 130°F, turn up the heat to 400°F to get a crispy exterior, making sure you turn the pig once to distribute the crispiness.
- Tip: If the pig is browning too quickly, cover it with aluminum foil to protect against burning.
- Internal temp should reach 160°F. Remove from oven and let cool on cutting board. Serve it hot or cold with orange slices all around it and preserve the drippings if anyone wants to add over the meat
- Serve with a brut (dry) sparkling wine, preferably espumante.
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours