Cochinillo Asado Segoviano

Ingredients

• 1 suckling pig, about 4.5 kg, cleaned and split lengthways but left joined at the back
• 60 g coarse sea salt
• 600 ml water
• 100 g pork lard, melted
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar, for the water

Before you cook

• Take the pig out of the fridge two hours before cooking so it comes to room temperature.
• Wipe the skin completely dry with kitchen paper and check that no bristles remain.
• Heat the oven to 160C with a shelf in the lower third.
• Melt the lard gently and let it cool to a brushable consistency.

Steps

1. Lay the bay leaves flat in a large earthenware or metal roasting tray to keep the pig off the base.
2. Set the pig on top skin-side down, so the ribs face up and the skin is protected.
3. Rub the flesh side all over with half the coarse salt, working it into the thickest parts of the leg and shoulder.
4. Pour the water and the vinegar into the tray around the pig, not over the skin.
5. Roast for ninety minutes, checking every half hour and topping up with hot water so the tray never runs dry.
6. Take the tray out and turn the pig over carefully with two large spatulas so the skin now faces up.
7. Prick the skin all over with a fork or the tip of a skewer, going through the skin but not into the meat.
8. Brush the skin thinly with melted lard and sprinkle the remaining coarse salt across it.
9. Raise the oven to 190C and roast for another sixty minutes, brushing with lard every twenty minutes.
10. Turn the oven up to 220C for a final ten to fifteen minutes, watching closely until the skin blisters, bubbles and turns mahogany.
11. Take the pig out and rest it in a warm place for fifteen minutes, uncovered so the skin stays crisp.
12. Carve it into eight pieces, pressing straight down through the skin with the edge of a plate in the Segovian manner.
13. Skim the fat from the tray juices and spoon the dark liquid underneath the meat, keeping the skin dry.
14. Serve with a simple green salad dressed in vinegar to cut the richness.