laocook

Sucking Pig, more commonly known as Suckling Pig is a milk fed piglet that has been slaughtered between the ages of 2 to 5 weeks. The Spanish city of  Segovia is famous for its “Cochinillo Asado” or “Roast Suckling Pig”. Segovian chefs take great pride in their roasts, which are usually cut with the edge of a plate, to show how tender the meat is.

The prized gelatinous texture of the piglet is due to the amount of collagen found in its meat. A good roasted piglet should have a crispy skin, giving way to a soft meltingly subtle and juicy meat.

Our piglets are cooked “sous vide” to ensure that no moisture is lost during the roasting, which results in a more juicy cut. Juicy meat! Lovely.

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These six cuts are a whole piglet, two front legs, two back legs and two sides of ribs. (The head was roasted for the staff dinner! )

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The pieces were cooked for 12 hours at 62ºC.

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Once they were allowed to cool down for a few minutes, the bones were removed.

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Once deboned the portions were once again packed in to vacuum bags ready for when they are needed.

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The table is laid for dinner. Service staff wear white gloves to place polished cutlery on the table. There is nothing more off-putting than fingerprint smudged cutlery!

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Our special meal starts off with a Watermelon Gazpacho with Caramelised Nuts, Chives and Hazelnut Oil.

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Before serving the portions are gently warmed in their pouches before being pan fried (skin down) to crisp up the skin. A sweet and sour Tamarind and Sherry Reduction accompanies the dish.

Each bagged piece is portioned and serves four, that’s 16 plates per piglet. The left over cuts and “other bits” were gladly eaten by the cooks, with loads of Jéow Bong! .

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