Dinner · 180 min · portuguese

Leitão Assado

A Portuguese dinner built around suckling pig and garlic — on the table in 180 minutes.

Ingredients

• 8 lb Suckling pig
• 8 cloves Garlic
• 1 cup White wine
• 1/4 cup Lard
• 4 Bay leaf
• 1 tbsp Black peppercorns
• 1/4 cup Coarse salt
• 2 Lemon

Steps

1. Rub the pig inside and out with crushed garlic, salt, pepper, and bay; marinate overnight if possible.
2. Roast at 350 degrees on a rack, basting every 30 minutes with wine and melted lard.
3. After 2 hours, raise the heat to 425 for the final 20 minutes — the skin should blister into crackling.
4. The pig is done when the juices run clear and the skin shatters at a touch.
5. Rest 20 minutes before carving; the skin stays crisp only if you do not tent it.
6. Serve with lemon, the pan juices, and nothing else — leitão needs no accompaniment.

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