Slow-roast Suckling Pig with Fennel-seed Rub

This is a real treat.  We cooked this recently for a party and not a scrap was  left.  How much meat you get depends on how big your pig is!...  The last one we cooked was 8-10kg with head  trotters still on.  It easily fed about 16 adults and gaggle of kids.

You should probably cook this on a rotisserie to get the real drama, but here's how to do it if you only have an oven.  This way gets amazing crispy skin and unbelievably succulent pork.

I got my pig from http://alternativemeats.co.uk/.
They do a massive range of game, goat, mutton and loads of really interesting meats like Crocodile, Buffalo, Kangaroo, Kudu, Springbok, Blesbok and Zebra. 

This pig was £90, so not cheap!  But it goes a long way, and in in this instance it's worth splashing the cash!

CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE:


If you only have a normal sized oven, and no rotisserie, you can only do one thing... chop your pig in half.  You can then cook the 2 halves seperately, or in different ovens, and then put it back together once cooked.  With a bit of clever dressing, no-one will notice.  And if they do, who cares!  it will still look and taste incredible.

Firstly take a very sharp knife and gently cut between the ribs of your pig halfway along it's rib cage. Ideally you want to be left with 2 pieces of roughly the same weight.  Cut all the way up to the spine and cut through between the vertebrae to the other side.  If the knife is good and in the right place, you don't need much pressure.  Continue cutting between the opposite ribs until you have 2 seperate pieces.

You can flavour it in a thousand ways, but i can vouch for this one.  It's fantastic.

1 handful dried or fresh bay leaves
1 handful rosemary
1 handful of parsley
1 head of garlic
1 orange
1 lemon
olive oil
sea salt & black pepper

5tbs fennel seeds

Mix together the bay leaves/rosemary/parsley and roughly bash in a pestle & mortar or with a rolling pin in a bowl.  Bash the garlic and add.  Don't worry about peeling it, it adds to the flavour.

Add the zest & juice of the orange and lemon and add enough olive oil to make a paste.

Rub this all over the inside of the pig, but not on the outside.

Bash up the seeds into a fine powder in a clean bowl with 5tbs sea salt.  Rub this all over the outside of the pig, working it well into all the scores in the skin.

Ideally leave the pig for 20mins to bring out some of the water.

The ears, snout and trotters can burn easily so wrap them in some silver foil. If you want to do the traditional and put an apple in the pig's mouth it would be an idea to stuff a ball of foil in it's mouth at this point, so that it doesn't lock tight while cooking. Also it's worth putting foil over both the ends of the pig where you've made your cut.  This will stop the it drying out.

Pat the skin dry, add any left over fennel seeds and then put in the oven at 240C for 30 mins.  Then turn to the heat down to 110C and leave alone for anything from 10-16hours.  After the first 10 turn it down to 80C,  check it every hour or so to make sure it's not burning. It should be beautifully browned.

At this point it's ready to eat, but one good trick is to take it out of the oven until you need it. It can rest for several hours.  Just before you need to feed everyone, put it back in a really hot oven for 20 mins to crisp up.  The results are brilliant!  It will give you the best pork you've ever had, honest.  How's that for a claim...