Suckling pig

[Ruth]

Last week I bought a 12 lb, suckling pig. The idea was to try different cooking methods in preparation for a party next month. I had it cut into six portions (two haunches, two shoulders and two ribs). I roasted one of the haunches traditionally with the oven set to 350° convection until the meat reached 170°F and turned on the broiler at the end to crisp the skin. It was good but the meat was rather dense. Last night I vacuumed the other haunch after seasoning it and adding a little lard. I cooked it for 12 hours at 74° C for exactly twelve hours. After allowing it to rest for 30 minutes or so I boned it before refrigerating. For dinner tonight I seared the skin side before serving.

The meat was tender and juicy and the skin deliciously crisp. The idea came from Joan Roca although I used a slightly higher temperature than he suggests. I did,however, make his orange-shallot sauce which was a perfect accompaniment.

[jackal10]

12 hours at 58C would be even better

[Ruth]

12 hours at 58C would be even better

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Joan Roca suggests 70° C. What would be better at 58°C? The texture? Did you actually do that with suckling pig? I would think that it would need to stay in a 58°C bath for much longer than twelve hours, especially the haunch.

[jackal10]

Suckling pig is young and tender, although with a lot of collagen (skin etc), but not that fatty.

At 75C the muscle fibres will have contracted tightly, and the sheaths disrupted, so the meat will be stringy and comparatively dry, like stewed meat.

At 58C the muscle will not have seperated into strings.

12 hours is long enough to convert most of the collagen to gelatine, and for the heat to have been conducted to the centre of the meat.

24 hours might be even better for gelatanous skin, but then you are going for crisp skin, so that consideration is different.

For super crispy skin rub with vodka before your sear it.

See http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...dpost&p=1542211

[adey73]

So section piglet, bag and cook then torch?

is it that simple?

[jackal10]

Pretty well, but you might want stuffing, sauce and side dishes

oh and 20 or more people to eat it.

Basic dilemma is whether to have the skin as crackling after cooking(rub wih salt and vodka, score, dry in fridge for 8 hours, then torch (and re-warm the meat) or as unctious succulance..

[lennyk]

this is tempting me to try some pork belly sous vide and then broil to crisp the skin

[jackal10]

Inspired

Pork belly piece, spring onion, slice ginger, tbs each of soy sauce, Balsamic vinegar and Madeira (or any sweet wine)

Into the water bath at 58C. Forget it until tomorrow...

Edited August 12, 2008 by jackal10 (log)

[adey73]

Did you Jaccard and brine the piggy?

And are you going to remove the skin and crackle it?

[jackal10]

No I neither jacquarded nor brined the piggy.

With 24 hours in the liquid in the bag brining is pretty irrelevant.

The skin will come out unctuous and gelatinous, so no need to jacquard.

I was intending to use this for filling steamed buns (bao), but might crisp up some, just to show...

[lennyk]

thanks for the headstart so I can follow your lead.

Will prolly start it Thursday

[jackal10]

The bag had a small pinole in the seal, so not as dark as it should be.

Soft and lucious tho.

Into the fridge overnight uncovered to dry off the portion for crisping

Edited August 13, 2008 by jackal10 (log)

[adey73]

Just got a quote of £99 for a 5kg piglet, is that an average price?!

What are the most serviceable cuts?

[Prawncrackers]

Is that from Pugh's Piglets? Sounds a lot to me, i'd expect nearer a 7-8kg one for that. Do not buy from Forman & Field as they simply buy from Pugh's anyway and mark it up.

[adey73]

Yeah. They are only 10mins down the road from me.

You got a cheaper source?

Edited August 14, 2008 by adey73 (log)

[Prawncrackers]

Helped to buy one a couple of years ago from a butcher near me called CH Rowley in Old Arley (near Coventry), didn't cook it myself though. Just called them on 01676 540419, said that a 10kg will be about £60-70 so even cheaper than i thought!

As for the most servicable cuts, if you are paying that much then it's all good! Just think whole in a Spanish or Cantonese style, oink oink!

[jackal10]

Just got a quote of £99 for a 5kg piglet, is that an average price?!

What are the most serviceable cuts?

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That seems a little expensive - you can get a 10-12Kg pig for that online

You cook it whole and eat it all, but there is a lot of bone and head waste.

Scored half and warmed the meat through - the oven was not hot enough to crackle so reverted to blowtorch. Skin still a bit wet. Thin and crispy on the outside, but not really crackled.

TP tells me I should have brushed it with vodka before putting it in the fridge to dry, and I expect she is correct

Delicious - this piece did not make it as far as char sui bao, since I scoffed it for lunch. Porky goodness.

Edited August 14, 2008 by jackal10 (log)

[origamicrane]

TP tells me I should have brushed it with vodka before putting it in the fridge to dry, and I expect she is correct

Delicious - this piece did not make it as far as char sui bao, since I scoffed it for lunch. Porky goodness.

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Hey Jackal

Yes, brush with vodka before putting it in the fridge.

The full process would be:

1. pat the rind dry with paper towels.

2. score the rind all over with a scalpel or spike it using a spiked hammer or jaccard.

3. rub 2 tsp of sea salt into the rind and the cuts

4. brush evenly with 1 Tbsp vodka and into the fridge over night.

5. Just before you cook it sprinkle another teaspoon of salt over it.

6. preheat your oven to max (250C) and stick the belly in for 15 mins.

7. then reduce the heat to about 200C for 15 minutes

8. then 5-10 minutes 1 inch under a hot grill check constantly here to make sure it doesn't burn.

But I got a feeling that it will be very hard to get good crackling after sous viding the pork belly skin.

If i was doing sous vide pork belly I would remove the rind and turn that into crackling seperately.Sous vide the meat, when the meat is done cube it and finish it in a frying pan.

hmm......

sounds good!! must go make !!

PS: my full recipe is on recipe gullet

http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r2100.html

Edited August 15, 2008 by origamicrane (log)