Recipe: Bazaar Whole Suckling Pig

Winter is a time when friends and families come together and enjoy great food, great company and maybe some cheeky warming drinks as well. In the spirit of Winter, we’d love to share with you our very special and very secret (shhh!) Bazaar Whole Suckling Pig recipe for your next get-together. It’s also great for Christmas and Birthdays – so save the recipe and impress your buddies when the timing is right!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (12- to 18-pound) whole suckling pig
• 15 quarts water
• 6 1/2 cups kosher salt
• 4 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil, for basting

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Rinse pig in cold water and set aside. Line a medium sized garbage bag with 2 more garbage bags. Place stirred ingredients, water, salt, and sugar in the garbage bags until dissolved. Place pig in the bags, and ensure all excess air is removed, and tie tightly. Place in a container in the refrigerator and brine 12 to 24 hours, turning once.
2. Heat the oven to 230°F, arrange a rack on the lowest level. Remove the pig from the brine and pat dry with paper towels; ensure to discard the brine. Lay the pig on its side and stuff the interior with 15 to 20 large pieces of lightly crumpled aluminium foil until it’s filled out. (This will prevent caving during roasting.)
3. Transfer the pig to a baking sheet fitted with a roasting rack. Arrange the pig stomach down with the back legs tucked underneath and pointing forward, and the front legs tucked underneath and toward its sides. Prop up the head with a large ramekin to keep the back aligned. Cover tightly with aluminium foil and place in the oven.
4. Roast the pig, rotating once, until it reaches 130°F, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove the foil, baste with oil, and increase the oven temp to 380°F.
5. Roast, basting every 15 minutes with oil and rotating once more, until the internal temperature reaches 160°F, about 45 minutes to 1 hour more. (If the ears or snout become too brown, cover with foil.) Remove from the oven and let rest 20 minutes before carving.