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Cochinillo asado is the most celebrated dish of Segovia, a tradition going back centuries, where a whole 3-to-4-week-old piglet fed only on its mother's milk is roasted low and slow until the skin becomes lacquered mahogany, shattering and crackling with every bite while the meat inside remains impossibly tender and barely attached to the delicate bones. The theatrical test at Segovia's famous mesones is to cut the cochinillo with the edge of a dinner plate - if the skin breaks cleanly without resistance, the roasting was perfect. Lard rubbed over the skin, a splash of white wine in the roasting pan, and time are the only requirements. The bones are so soft they dissolve alongside the sweet, milky meat.
Prep
15 min
Cook
90 min
Total
105 min
Servings
6 srv
Difficulty
Medium
Calories
580 kcal
For 6 serving(s)
Per serving
Preheat oven to 160 degrees C (320 degrees F) and fill a roasting tray with a shallow layer of water.
Rub the suckling pig all over with lard or butter, season generously inside and out with coarse salt, and scatter the garlic and bay leaves inside the cavity.
Place the pig skin side down in the roasting tray; pour white wine and the fresh thyme around it.
Roast at 160 degrees C for 45 minutes, basting occasionally with the pan juices.
Turn the pig skin side up; increase oven to 200 degrees C (390 degrees F) and roast for another 45 minutes until the skin is blistered, mahogany, and completely crisp.
Rest for 10 minutes.
To serve in the traditional Segovian style, cut the cochinillo into portions using the edge of a ceramic plate - the tender meat and crisp skin should separate cleanly.
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