Suckling Piglet Recipe with Kitchen Story from Loulé

Author:
is a chef, food photographer, cookbook author and blogger.
Here he shares recipes, answers cooking questions and helps with cooking.

I have prepared the suckling piglet recipe for you in this article as a kitchen story. In the small town of Loulé in the Portuguese Algarve, I was able to look over the shoulder of the chef Agostinho in the Praca Central coffee shop.

The day before, after a short chat in front of the door, he invited me to a suckling pig grill. It wasn’t difficult for me to accept this invitation the next morning around 6 o’clock. The early bird catches the worm.

Discover an authentic food story here with all the tips and tricks for preparing a perfect meal of suckling pig.

1. Recipe Suckling Piglet

Unfortunately, the step-by-step instructions are not for vegans and vegetarians. If you like meat, here is a complete guide for bbq piglet.

Suckling Piglet

BBQ Piglet instructions photographed and summarized by chef Thomas Sixt.

Servings 12
Calories 909
Total Time 195 Min.
Preparation Time 180 Min.
Cook Time 0 Min.

Suckling pig recipe with step-by-step instructions for preparing bbq piglet whole in the oven or on the grill.

Rate Now!

4.97 from 748 ratings

Suckling piglet recipe image
Suckling piglet recipe Image © Thomas Sixt

Ingredients

1 pc suckling piglet
50 ml Olive oil
1 tbs coarse sea salt
10 pinches black ground pepper
200 g basil pesto
1 pc vegetable broth cube
200 ml dry white win
5 pc glove of garlic
15 pc Potatoes
4 l Sunflower oil
1 tbs primal salt

Instruction

sucklingpiglet
Fresh suckling piglet

Prepare suckling pig

Pre-order suckling pig from the butcher or butcher.

Rinse the piglet under cold running water and dry it.

Marinate suckling piglet with olive oil
Marinate suckling piglet with olive oil.

Marinate suckling pig

Place the piglet on a baking sheet and rub with oil.

Salt the piglet
Rub the piglet with salt.

Season the pig

Rub the piglet generously with coarse sea salt.

Season the piglet on all sides
Season the piglet on all sides.

Turn pigl over

Season and marinate the piglet on all sides.

Season piglet with pesto preparation in the belly.
Season the piglet belly with the pesto preparation.

Fill pig

Mix up the pesto, bouillon cubes, wine and garlic cloves and pour the herb marinade into the abdomen.

Distribute the seasoning sauce in the abdomen.

Prepare twine
Prepare twine

Prepare the roasting line

Thread the roasting string onto a needle to close the abdominal cavity.

Piglet ready to roast
Suckling pig ready to roast

Turn pig

Prepare the piglet for sewing.

Tie suckling pig
Tie the suckling pig, sew up the belly.

Sew up belly

Sew the belly of the piglet, which is filled with the herb marinade, to the roasting string.

Suckling pig on a skewer
Suckling pig on a skewer

Impale pig

Put the skewer through the piglet, starting under the tail, through the body and through the mouth.

Suckling pig on a spit close-up
Suckling pig on a spit close-up

tying pig

Prepare the piglet legs to tie to the skewer.

Suckling pig tied on a spit close-up
Suckling pig tied on a spit close-up

Complete the piglet skewer

Tie the piglet legs to the skewer with roasting twine so that the suckling pig is firmly fixed during roasting.

Suckling pig on a spit in the oven
Suckling pig on a spit in the oven

Piglet in the oven

Put the piglet in the oven.

–> Grill for 20 minutes at 240°C.

–> Roast for 160 minutes at 180°C.

The hot air stage has proven its worth.

Grilled roast suckling pig in the oven
Grilled roast suckling pig in the oven

Piglet ready

When the cooking time is up, remove the piglet from the oven.

Pour the gravy from the abdomen into a saucepan and boil it into a sauce as desired (see tips, heading 3.).

Grilled suckling pig head detail
Grilled suckling pig head detail

Piglet cool down

Allow the grilled suckling pig to cool on a wire rack.

Cut up the suckling pig
Cut up grilled suckling pig

Cut up the suckling piglet

Prepare the suckling pig for cutting.

Cut the roasted suckling piglet
Cut and portion the roasted suckling piglet

Portioning

Portion the grilled pig meat with poultry shears.

Portioned pieces of grilled suckling pig
Portioned pieces of grilled suckling pig

Portions ready

Place the portioned meat on a tray ready to serve.

Crispy suckling pig
Crispy suckling pig closeup.

Arrange and serve

Fry side dishes chips and serve the meat with sauce.

I wish you a good appetite.

Video

2. Calories and Nutritional Values

3. Tips for Grilling Suckling Pig

I have summarized a few ideas for you to prepare at home:

–> Grilling on the spit only works in a large oven or on a special grill.
–> You can prepare the piglet rolled up in a roaster in a standard oven.
–> Alternatively, you can disassemble the piglet and distribute the meat parts on two baking trays.
–> Separate the legs and shoulders with the front feet and place on a tray.
–> Separate the head from the torso, roll up the back piece or debone it.
–> Season the pieces of meat and then prepare them on trays.
–> First apply olive oil to the skin, then sprinkle the salt on the skin and rub.
–> The pesto was refined in the recipe with bouillon cubes, salt, pepper and some white wine.
–> After cooking, you can carefully open the belly and remove the meat juice.
–> Dousing with beer or wine is not absolutely necessary, the skin will definitely be crispy.
–> You can add vegetables and potatoes under the piglet one hour before the end of the cooking time.
–> It has proven useful to place a tray with vegetable broth under the skewer.
–> Roast juice and fat is collected during preparation in the oven.
–> You can boil and add the sauce after grilling.
–> The suckling pig sauce tastes refined with white wine or beer.
–> You can thicken the sauce with cold-mixed cornstarch.
–> Professional chefs mix the sauce with a little cold butter before serving.
–> Caraway, oregano, marjoram or thyme are good herbs and spices.
–> In Portugal, thick, freshly fried potato chips are served as a side dish.

Freshly grilled suckling pig
Freshly grilled suckling piglet

4. Restaurant Info for Your Suckling Piglet Meal

The Praca Central is a coffee restaurant and pastelaria. The restaurant is located opposite the market hall in Loulé and offers outdoor seating and enough tables in front of the kitchen.

The address is Praca da Republica n.° 46-48 8100-269 Loulé Telephone 289 412 337

Praca Central Pastelaria - Snack Bar - Restaurant Loulé
Praca Central Pastelaria – Snack Bar – Restaurant Loulé © Thomas Sixt

Chef Agostinho has worked in well-known luxury hotels in London for over 20 years and celebrates down-to-earth Portuguese cuisine in his home country.

The menu changes daily with a special main course. Please inform yourself in advance when the young roast pork will be prepared.

Cook Agostinho with the roast suckling pig
Cook Agostinho with the roast suckling pig

5. More Suitable Recipe Ideas

For the traditional roast pork , the popular Bavarian roast pork , the brisk roast pork in a pot , the quick roast pork with pork fillet and the knuckle of pork , you will already find detailed recipe instructions elsewhere on the food blog.

6. More Kitchen Stories

Comments, Cooking Questions and Answers

4.97 from 748 ratings

Below you can write to me directly.
Please don’t forget the star rating on the recipe, 5 stars means you liked it!