Roast Suckling Pig (Cochinillo Asado)
A whole milk-fed piglet roasted low and slow until the meat is fork-tender, then blasted with high heat and basted with cold water for skin that shatters like glass. This is the dish Segovia built its fame on.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Season and rest
Pat the split pig completely dry inside and out with paper towels; a dry skin is the first secret to crackling. Rub the salt and pepper all over the inside flesh and inner skin, then let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while the oven heats to 170°C (340°F).
- 1 whole suckling pig
- 2 tbsp coarse sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
✅ Done when: the skin feels dry to the touch and the pig has lost its fridge chill
First slow roast
Lay the pig flesh-side up, skin-side down, on a large roasting tray or two joined trays. Pour 400 ml water into the tray along with the bay leaves, brush the exposed flesh with half the melted lard, and roast at 170°C (340°F) for 1 hour 30 minutes, topping up the water if the tray dries out.
- 400 ml water
- 2 bay leaves
- 75 g melted lard
✅ Done when: the meat near the bone is tender and the juices run clear, not pink
Turn and continue
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Crisp the skin
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Let it rest
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Carve and serve
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Season and rest
Pat the split pig completely dry inside and out with paper towels; a dry skin is the first secret to crackling. Rub the salt and pepper all over the inside flesh and inner skin, then let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while the oven heats to 170°C (340°F).
- 1 whole suckling pig
- 2 tbsp coarse sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
✅ Done when: the skin feels dry to the touch and the pig has lost its fridge chill
First slow roast
Lay the pig flesh-side up, skin-side down, on a large roasting tray or two joined trays. Pour 400 ml water into the tray along with the bay leaves, brush the exposed flesh with half the melted lard, and roast at 170°C (340°F) for 1 hour 30 minutes, topping up the water if the tray dries out.
- 400 ml water
- 2 bay leaves
- 75 g melted lard
✅ Done when: the meat near the bone is tender and the juices run clear, not pink
Turn and continue
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Crisp the skin
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Let it rest
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Carve and serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
Suckling pig has been roasted in the clay-fired ovens of Castile since medieval times, but it was in Segovia, with its old wood-fired bakers' ovens and famous mesones near the Roman aqueduct, that the dish became an institution. Restaurants there built their reputation on roasting piglets just weeks old, prized for skin so thin it crisps almost like pastry.
The ritual of cutting the pig at the table with the edge of a plate, rather than a knife, became part of the show: proof to diners that the meat was tender enough to need no blade at all.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It is the signature dish of Segovia, famous for skin that shatters audibly and meat that stays impossibly moist and mild underneath.
💡 Fun Fact
Several historic Segovia restaurants still cut the cochinillo tableside using only the edge of a ceramic plate, a theatrical way of proving how tender the meat is.
Segovia, Castile and León
40.94°N, -4.11°W
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