Cochinillo!

Need I say more to evoke that mouth watering foretaste of crackling crispy skin and tender succulent meat held by a thin strip of fully rendered fat. It's Roasted Suckling Pig, Spanish-style--also known as Cochinillo Asado, described in a Spanish recipe blog as follows:

"You’ll find this dish served all over Spain, but it is typically Castilian. Segovia, famous for its Roman aqueduct, is also well known for its wonderful cochinillos, or “suckling pigs,” which many local establishments specialize in roasting to perfection. Throughout Castile, most cities and even small villages also have restaurants that serve cochinillos to the delight of residents and tourists alike. One of my favorite places to go for this delicacy in Madrid is Restaurante Botín, whose owner is a true master of this roasting art."

Just a day before the above picture of the finished product was taken . . .

Our little piggy in a sack just before slaughter. His live weight was about 5 kilos. He's a native pig, so he is no longer "suckling" at this weight and has already been weaned from his mother's milk. Caution! These native pigs bite.

Just after the slaughter.

Skin off, hair shaved and cleaned all over.

Split down the middle . . . because (a) it's my 1st attempt at cochinillo and I didn't want to cook the whole piglet all at once and (b) my electric oven could only accommodate half of the piglet.

Skin side down at first . . .

. . . then skin side up afterwards until temperature is set higher to crisp the skin!

Folks, this was NOT a walk in the park! My first attempt was a catastrophic failure. Hardly got any crisp on the skin. My second attempt was much better, achieving crispy skin on about 50% of the surface area. Still a long way to go to perfection but we are well on our way . . . I'm going to get it right on my next attempt.

In the meantime, I'm building an earth oven (using clay from the termite mounds all over the farm) to ensure consistent conchinillo crispy skin 100% of the time!

brick floor and cob (clay and sand mixture) layout

This concludes my second P to P (pasture to plate) rendition at Rancho Caridad. Cochinillo! Muy bien!