The Ultimate Roast Challenge: Cochinillo Asado (Roast Suckling Pig)

The uninitiated would probably describe cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig) as a bizarre food deserving of being featured in Andrew Zimmern’s television show. However, those who get past their initial squeamishness soon realize that cochinillo asado is a treat like no other.  

A Well-Loved Dish

Cochinillo Asado enjoys a solid reputation as a truly special offering. Four centuries ago, Cervantes’ included this dish in his famous novel, Don Quixote. Ernest Hemingway likewise mentioned it in his novel, The Sun Also Rises.

In a way, this special roast is like turkey on a Thanksgiving table, except that you don’t have to wait for a holiday to serve it. On the contrary, having this roast served to you will make an ordinary day a holiday.  Spanish chefs often like serve to cochinillo asado with flourish, and as About.com – Spanish Food’s Lisa & Tony Sierra say in “Roast Suckling Pig Recipe – Cochinillo Asado”, “Cochinillo Asado or Roast Suckling Pig is one of the most typical dishes in the cuisine of Castilla, especially the city of Segovia. Chefs take pride in the tenderness of their roast pigs and cut them with plates…”

The act of cutting through the meat of the roast with a plate instead of a knife is meant to illustrate just how soft the meat is. The tenderness of the cochinillo asado is one of its selling points, and you only get this quality when you stick to the prescribed central ingredient, the suckling pig.

The Main Ingredient

Cochinillo asado is only as good as the suckling pig used by the chef. To begin with, this has to weigh somewhere no more than five kilograms. In “Cochinillo Asado or Segovia’s Roast Suckling Pig—Please Bring the Second Portion!”, Victor Tribunsky of Victor Travel Blog says, “I can’t speak for everyone, but it seems the whole world knows about the gastronomic miracle in Segovia, Spain: Cochinillo Asado or Roast Suckling Pig cooked in a special oven. The criteria for both pigs and restaurants are very strict. For the pigs: not heavier than 4-5 kilograms, milk-fed only, not older than three weeks, a special breed and a special menu for the feeding mother. Then it’s time for the chef’s talent and the special oven…

“There are good reasons why Segovia’s roast suckling pig has become a legend. Chefs use their skills, competing annually to be the best at cooking meat that melts in one’s mouth. Even presidents, writers, and actors come here to try this gastronomic miracle…”

The Tradition that Goes with this Roast

One of the best places to get cochinillo asado in Spain is Restaurante Botín in Madrid, a famous eatery that was established in 1725. Botín was a favorite haunt of the American author, Ernest Hemingway, who had his own table. This restaurant continues to use the traditional methods to prepare roast suckling pig. The cochinillo is faithfully roasted in a domed oven made of brick. Only local oak is used as fuel because of its heat and its low humidity.

In The Salt’s “Farm-To-Table Delicacy From Spain: Roasted Baby Pig”,  Lauren Frayer says, “Before it goes in, the piglet is butterflied and rubbed with olive oil, garlic, salt and thyme. It cooks it two stages: once for about an hour in a clay dish alongside the fire or on a grate directly on top of it, and later after it has cooled to brown the skin…”

Finding the Perfect Match

A dish as special as cochinillo asado is given the respect that is its due when it is served with the appropriate wine. Foods and Wines from Spain says “A well-rounded DO Toro red, assertive yet elegant, is a good complement for this traditional roast. To counter the pork’s fattiness, a tannic, well-structured wine is called for.”

Fiona Beckett of Matching Food and Wine shares her experience on pairing roast suckling pig with wine in “Roast Suckling Pig with Casa De Saima Bairrada Tinto”. She says, “Two wines were served with it – the basic Casa de Saima Tinto 2005 and the 2004 reserva, both based on the Portuguese grape Baga. Although the older wine was a fine match I particularly liked the juicy freshness of the younger one which paired perfectly with the delicate meat…”

Some diners like to take their cochinillo asado with beer, and that is fine too, because aside from the perfect drink, the best way to celebrate cochinillo is to simply enjoy each fork tender morsel.