Home › The Principles of Cookery › PIG, SUCKING, ROAST (Dr. Kitchener's recipe)

PIG, SUCKING, ROAST (Dr. Kitchener's recipe)

A sucking pig is in prime order for the spit when about three weeks old. It loses part of its goodness every hour after it is killed; if not quite fresh, no art can make the crackling crisp. To be in perfection, it should be killed in the morning to be eaten at dinner; it requires very careful roasting. For the stuffing, take of the crumb of a stale loaf about five ounces; rub it through a colander; mince finely a handful of sage (i.e. about two ounces), and a large onion (about an ounce and a half); mix these together with an egg, some pepper and salt, and a bit of butter as big as an egg; fill the belly of the pig with this, and sew it up; lay it to the fire, and baste it with salad-oil till it is quite done. Do not leave it a moment; it requires the most vigilant attendance. Roast it at a clear brisk fire at some distance. To gain the praise of epicurean pig-eaters, the crackling must be nicely crisped and delicately and lightly browned, without being either blistered or burnt. A small three weeks old pig will be done enough in about an hour and a half. Before you take it from the fire, cut off the head, and part that and the body down the middle; chop the brains very fine with some boiled sage-leaves, and mix them with good veal gravy, or beef gravy, or what runs from the pig when you cut its head off. Send up a tureenful of beef gravy sauce besides. Currant sauce is still a favourite with some of the old school. Lay your pig back to back in the dish, with one half of the head on each side, and the ears one at each end, which you must take care to make nice and crisp. When you cut off the pettitoes, leave the skin long, round the ends of the legs. When you first lay the pig before the fire, rub it all over with fresh butter or salad-oil; ten minutes after, when the skin looks dry, dredge it well with flour all over; let it remain on an hour; then rub it with a soft cloth. A pig is a very troublesome subject to roast. Most persons have them baked.