See Also
Grilling and spit roasting the Italian way
Oven roasting (and carving) a whole piglet, illustrated
Porceddu, Sardinian Roast Piglet
Ingredients
- A piglet, cleaned
- 3 8-inch (20 cm) sprigs rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 crushed cloves of garlic
- 3 cloves, crushed
- Crushed coriander seeds (about a tablespoon)
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup red wine
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- A spit and spit-turner
- An abundance of hardwood for the fire
Preparation
Light your fire. Hardwood is best, and have enough wood for several hours.Grind the herbs and spices (except for the rosemary and bay leaves) with the salt, and rub the mixture into the cavity of the piglet; if any of the mixture is left over leave it in the cavity, and in any case slip the sprigs of rosemary and bay leaves into the cavity too.
Tie the cavity shut, spit the piglet, baste it with some of the wine, and set it to cook in front of a bank of coals, using a spit turner to make sure all sides are equally exposed to the heat.
Put a pan under the piglet to catch the drippings, and once you have used up the wine, baste the animal with the pan drippings.
The piglet will be done when a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest section of the rump reads a temperature of 165-170 F (80-85 C). Serve it sliced, either hot or cold.
A couple of words on the cooking technique: With something as large as a suckling pig you don't want to start too close to the coals or the outside will burn before the inside is cooked. So begin setting the spit further away, 3 feet (a meter) or perhaps a little more, over a drippings pan, and gradually move the piglet somewhat closer (18-20 inches, about 50 cm) to the heat source to let the outside brown once the inside has had time to cook. Italian recipes say to roast the piglet until the outside is a pretty deep golden color. I'd rather go with a meat thermometer, and use the temperature given above.