How to make a baked suckling pig crispy on the outside and very tender and juicy on the inside
Last Updated on
With baked suckling pig it’s a bit like with the chimes. Just as at the end of the year we have to be reminded year after year how it goes about the quarters, on Christmas Eve we have to dip into the recipe book to refresh our memory before getting down to work with our roast suckling pig in the oven.
This of having to review the recipe every time we get to prepare it does not mean at all that it is a complicated recipe, on the contrary, it is so simple that for the little we have to remember -the oven temperature and the time it will be inside- it seems that our brain does not even bother to remember it.
Now, once you reread the recipe, the result can only be a success. The position on the podium of memorable recipes will be determined by the quality of the suckling pig, which depends on its origin and size. Ideally, the suckling pig should be from Segovia and weigh no more than 4 kg. If it is larger, it may need a slightly longer cooking time and, although it will also be delicious, it will not be as refined.
Preparation of baked suckling pig
Baked suckling pig Illustration Pablo Velasco Bertolotto
Although it may seem thatbaked suckling pigis a dish of a more traditional nature It is a dish of a more traditional nature./strong> is a luxury restaurant dish, in reality its preparation does not involve any mystery or difficulty, because the only thing you have to do is to control times and oven temperatures, but work what is said work on our part is almost nonexistent.
Ingredients
Well, in this aspect it is also a grateful recipe, because we need the suckling pig and little else:
3 kg suckling pig, 1 pc Extra virgin olive oil, c/n Bay leaves Salt Water
Step 1
.To roast the suckling pig, preheat the oven to 160 ºC with heat up and down and without fan so that the meat does not dry out.
Step 2
Spread the suckling pig leg with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Step 3
In a deep pan -preferably metal- put a couple of glasses of water and a handful of bay leaves.
The first key to do it right is that the meat cannot touch the water in the pan, so we must place it on a rack that can be the oven rack if you don’t have one that can be attached to the pan.
Step 4
Place the meat on the rack skin side down and bake for 45 minutes at 160 ºC.
Step 5
After this time, take it out of the oven, turn it over, prick the skin in several places. -it will come out liquid and it is normal, because if we do not let it out this liquid will cook the skin preventing it from getting crispy- and now we put it back in the oven with the skin side up for another 45 minutes at 160 ºC.
Step 6
To get that crispy finish on the skin, raise the oven temperature to 200 ºC and bake for a further 20 minutes checking every few minutes until the skin is evenly browned, but do not leave more time than necessary so it does not burn.
Very important
I said before that the pan should be made of metal, this is because if when you turn it over you see that it has run out of water you should add more and, if the pan is made of Pyrex
If the pan is made of Pyrex, it is better to add more water.if the tray is Pyrex or stoneware, you must be careful to add boiling water, because if you add cold or not too hot water, the thermal shock will break the dish. If the pan is made of metal, there is no need to worry about this issue.
