A suckling pig is a piglet fed on its pig milk (i.e., a piglet which is still a "suckling"). In culinary contexts, a suckling pig is Animal slaughter between the ages of two and six weeks. It is traditionally cooked whole, often Roasting, in various cuisines. It is usually prepared for special occasions and gatherings. The most popular preparation can be found in Spain and Portugal under the name lechón (Spanish) or leitão (Portuguese).
The meat from suckling pig is pale and tender and the cooked skin is crisp and can be used for pork rinds. The texture of the meat can be somewhat gelatinous due to the amount of collagen in a young pig.
History
Many ancient recipes for suckling pig survive from Roman and
Chinese cuisine. Since the pig is one of the first animals domesticated by human beings for slaughter, many references to pigs are found in human culture. The suckling pig, specifically, appears in early texts such as the sixth-century
Salic law. As an example of a law governing the punishment for theft, Title 2, article 1, is, in Latin, Si quis porcellum lactantem furaverit, et ei fuerit adprobatum (malb. chrane calcium hoc est) CXX dinarios qui faciunt solidos III culpabilis iudicetur. "If someone has stolen a suckling pig and this is proven against him, the guilty party will be sentenced to 120
Denarius which adds up to three solidi (Latin coins)." The words chrane calcium are written in Frankish; calcium (or galza in other manuscripts) is the gloss for "suckling pig"; porcellum lactantem.
These glosses in Frankish, the so-called
Malbergse Glossen, are considered the earliest attested words in
Old Dutch.
[Ruth Schmidt-Wiegand, "Die Malbergischen Glossen, eine frühe Überlieferung germanischer Rechtsprache," in ]
Regional dishes
There are various preparations for suckling pig in Western and Asian cuisines.
Latin countries
Lechón (
Spanish language, ; from
leche "milk" + -ón),
cochinillo asado (Spanish, literally "roasted suckling pig"), or
leitão (Portuguese; from
leite "milk" + -ão) is a pork dish in several regions of the world, most specifically in Spain (in particular
Segovia),
Portugal (in particular
Bairrada) and regions worldwide previously colonized by the Portuguese Empire or
Spanish Empire.
Lechón/Leitão is a word referring to a
roasted baby pig (piglet) which was still fed by
Breastfeeding its mother's milk (a suckling pig). Lechón/Leitão is a popular item in the cuisine in
Los Angeles (in the United States), Spain, Cuba,
Puerto Rico, Honduras, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador,
Peru, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and other
Hispanidad in Latin America, as well as in
Portugal,
Cape Verde,
Angola,
Mozambique and other Portuguese-speaking nations.
It is also present as
cochon de lait in the French-Swiss and
French cuisine cuisines (in particular in
Metz), in
Italy (in particular in Sardinian cuisine as
su porcheddu) and
Romania.
The dish features a whole roasted suckling
pig cooked over
charcoal. It has been described as a national dish of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Spain, Portugal, as well as the
Philippines. However, the pig-roasting traditions of the Philippines (similar to other Austronesian regions) have native pre-colonial origins. The meaning of "lechon" in Filipino has diverted from the original Spanish term
to become a general term for "roasted pig", and is used in reference to adult roasted pigs rather than to suckling pigs, with
Cebu being asserted by American chef
Anthony Bourdain as having the best pigs.
In most of these regions, lechón/leitão is prepared throughout the year for special occasions, during festivals. It is the centerpiece of the tradition Cuban Christmas dinner La Noche Buena.
Colombia
Lechona, also known as
lechón asado, is a popular
Recipe.
It is similar in style to many preparations made in other
South American countries, consisting of a roasted
pig stuffed with
yellow peas,
Scallion, and spices, cooked in an outdoor brick
oven for several hours. Yellow rice is sometimes added, especially in Bogotá. It is mostly traditional to the Tolima Department in central Colombia and is usually accompanied by
, a corn-based dough.
Puerto Rico
The dish has been described as a national dish of Puerto Rico.
The name of the dish in Puerto Rico is
lechón asado.
It is a traditional dish served at festivals and holidays.
Southeast Asia
Indonesia
In
Indonesia, roast pig (using both adult or suckling pig) is called
babi guling,
babi putar,
babi panggang or
babi bakar; it is predominantly found in non-Muslim majority regions, such as Hindu
Bali and Christian Batak lands in
North Sumatra, the
Minahasa people of
North Sulawesi,
Toraja in
South Sulawesi, Papua, and also among Chinese Indonesians. In Bali,
babi guling is usually served with lawar and
steamed rice; it is a popular dish in Balinese restaurants and
.
In the Batak people's tradition,
babi guling is a prerequisite in wedding offerings by the bride's family. In Papua, pigs and yams are roasted in heated stones placed in a hole dug in the ground and covered with leaves; this cooking method is called
bakar batu (burning the stone), and it is an important cultural and social event among Papuan people.
Philippines
The
Philippines, a former Spanish colony, also has a dish that acquired the Spanish name "lechón" (usually spelled
lechon without
, but also
litson or
lichon); but it differs from the Spanish lechón in that it uses adult pigs, uses different native ingredients (distinctively
lemongrass,
binucao fruits,
tamarind, and
citrus leaves), is cooked differently, and is pre-colonial in origin (natively known as
inasal or
inihaw na).
It is most similar to neighboring native dishes like the
Balinese people babi guling (though differing in the stuffing and spices used).
Variants of lechón that use suckling pigs are differentiated as lechon de leche (which in Spanish would be a linguistic redundancy), but otherwise are cooked in the native way as in regular lechon.
The term lechon has also become generalized as a loanword for anything spit-roasted over coals. It is also used for other Filipino dishes like lechon manok (native roasted chicken) and lechon baka (a whole cow spit-roasted Filipino-style), thus lechon made from whole pig is differentiated as "lechon baboy" (literally "pig lechon").
East Asia
China
In various Chinese communities (especially in Southern China), a roast suckling pig is purchased for special family occasions, business lunches, or as a ritualistic spiritual offering. For example, one tradition is to offer one or several whole roast suckling pigs to the
Jade Emperor to celebrate a Chinese film's opening. The pig is sacrificed to ward off evils and in prayer for the film's success. One garnish used to make the dish look more appealing is a circular slice of pineapple and cherry, and is often placed in a red box for luck.
Suckling pig dishes in parts of Southeast Asia, like Singapore and Vietnam, are also influenced by ethnic Chinese cuisine. Roast suckling pig is eaten in Chinese or Vietnamese restaurants for important parties.[
] It is also a popular dish at wedding dinners or a party for a baby's completion of its first month of life.[
][
]
Northern Europe
The
of Austria, Croatia, England, Georgia, Germany, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia,
Switzerland and Sweden
favor the dish highly as well. It accompanies
goose as the traditional Christmas feast of families in Russia and Serbia, while the
Russian Navy maintains a tradition of presenting a roast piglet (or several) to the crew of a ship returning from deployment.
Suckling pig is known in German, Austrian and German-Swiss cuisines as Spanferkel and in the Dutch cuisine as speenvarken. It can be roasted in the oven
In Sweden suckling pig is called spädgris, it is usually cooked in the oven, or sometimes roasted directly over the fire. It is often stuffed with various fruits such as apples and plums, together with butter and breadcrumbs.
United States
The suckling pig is used in
Cajun cuisine in the southern U.S., where the
Cochon de Lait Festival
is held annually in the small town of Mansura, Louisiana. During this festival, as its name implies, suckling pigs are roasted. Other uses for the suckling pig in the U.S. include slow roasting in an oven or (as in a Hawaiian-style
pig roast) in a pit. The latter remains popular in the cuisine of the Southern United States.
See also
Footnotes
External links
