Maialino Arrosto and Porchetta – Roast Suckling Pig
Maialino arrosto is simply roasted piglet, while porchetta refers to a particular Italian tradition of seasoning and roasting pork. The two are closely related, but they are not quite the same thing.
Maialino arrosto and porchetta – what is the difference?
Maialino di latte is a suckling piglet, still young enough to be feeding on its mother’s milk. Roasted whole, it becomes maialino arrosto, prized for its tender meat and crisp, golden skin.
Porchetta, on the other hand, is particularly associated with Lazio and the town of Ariccia, south of Rome. Traditionally, a young pig is carefully boned, generously seasoned inside with salt, garlic, rosemary and other herbs, then closed or rolled and slowly roasted. The result is succulent, highly seasoned pork encased in crisp skin.
Today, smaller versions of porchetta are commonly made from boned cuts of pork, rolled around their seasoning and roasted. These are much more practical for the domestic kitchen.
Porchetta and the tradition of Ariccia
Cooking a whole pig is associated with celebrations and festivals in many parts of Italy, but Ariccia is especially famous for its porchetta. There it has long been sold at markets, festivals and from street stalls, sliced generously and often eaten simply between pieces of bread.
The seasonings vary according to region and local tradition. Rosemary and garlic are strongly associated with Roman and Laziale versions, while wild fennel or fennel seeds are characteristic elsewhere.
Similar traditions are found throughout Italy. In Sardinia, for example, roast suckling pig is known as porceddu or porcheddu and may be flavoured with aromatic myrtle. Lemon zest, rosemary, garlic and fennel are other flavours that marry particularly well with pork.
A celebratory roast
The maialino di latte in these photographs—and another piglet—was cooked by a chef at Libertine, then a French restaurant in North Melbourne. It was one of the courses at a particularly festive farewell lunch for friends who were going overseas for six months. The occasion also marked their twentieth wedding anniversary.
A whole piglet requires a substantial oven. Traditionally, in some rural Italian communities, families could take large roasts to the local baker’s wood-fired oven, particularly on days when the oven was not being used for bread.
Some cooks bone the piglet before roasting, which makes it easier to stuff and later to carve. Stuffings can be elaborate, incorporating minced pork and sometimes offal, or very simple, consisting mainly of herbs, garlic and spices.
For the recipe below, the flavours traditionally associated with porchetta—rosemary, garlic and fennel—are rubbed inside the piglet and into the skin.
Preparing a whole suckling pig… if you are up to it.
Maialino arrosto is not something I cook, but it is a dish I know well. In Australia, whole roast pig or porchetta has also become part of the celebratory table for some Italian families, particularly for Christmas, New Year and other large family gatherings.
If you intend to cook a whole piglet in a domestic oven, there is one very practical consideration: measure your oven before you buy the piglet.
Begin preparations the day before cooking. Leaving the piglet with its aromatic seasoning overnight allows the flavours to penetrate the meat, while keeping the outer skin as dry as possible helps produce good crackling.
Cooking time will depend on the size of the piglet and your oven, so use the timing below as a guide rather than relying on it alone.
Ingredients
- 1 small suckling pig, cleaned
- Extra virgin olive oil, approximately 1 cup, for rubbing and basting
- Dry white wine or water, approximately 2 cups
For the herb mixture
- About 1 cup fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
- 3–4 tablespoons fennel seeds, lightly crushed
- 6–10 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- A generous amount of salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Method
Make sure the cavity of the piglet is thoroughly clean and that the organs have been removed.
Combine the rosemary, fennel seeds, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil to make a fragrant paste.
Make several small slashes in the skin, including over the shoulders and hips. Rub some of the herb mixture into the slashes and spread the remainder generously around the inside cavity.
Place the piglet on a wire rack over a tray and refrigerate overnight, uncovered if practical or loosely covered without trapping moisture against the skin. The drier the skin, the better your chances of achieving crisp crackling.
The following day, remove the piglet from the refrigerator early enough to take some of the chill from it before roasting.
Preheat the oven to 220°C.
Place the piglet belly-down in a lightly oiled roasting pan, positioning the legs close to the body and securing them with kitchen string if necessary. Wrap the ears and tail loosely in foil to prevent them from burning.
Pour about a cup of white wine into the bottom of the roasting pan. Rub the skin with olive oil and season generously with salt.
Roast at 220°C for about 30 minutes, then reduce the oven to 200°C and continue roasting. As a broad guide, allow approximately one hour per kilogram, but the actual cooking time will depend on the size and shape of the piglet and the characteristics of your oven.
Turn the roasting pan every 30 minutes or so to encourage even cooking, but avoid turning the piglet itself. Baste lightly and replenish the wine or water in the bottom of the pan when necessary.
During the final 30 minutes, increase the temperature to 210–220°C to encourage crisp, golden skin. Remove the foil from the ears and tail towards the end so that they can brown without burning.
The pork should be thoroughly cooked and the juices should run clear. For greater certainty, especially with a large whole animal, check the thickest parts with a meat thermometer rather than relying on cooking time alone.
Remove the piglet from the oven and allow it to rest for 20–30 minutes before carving.
Meanwhile, deglaze the roasting pan with a little additional wine or water, scraping up the caramelised juices to make a simple sughetto.
Carve the maialino arrosto and serve with the sughetto.
See posts:
In Adelaide I attended a Tasting Australia event called Mondo Di Carne, held at Rosa Matto’s cooking school – Rosa has been the queen of Italian cooking in Adelaide for many years.
Vincenzo Garreffa is a famous butcher from Western Australia and Mondo Di Carne is the name of his business. Vincenzo boned it and stuffed it with three whole pork fillets (it had to be flesh as tender as the piglet), blanched almonds and a few slices of pork liver. Salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil and rosemary are a must. We all squirmed but we all ate some and enjoyed it.
This is the post:
PORK SALUMI (smallgoods). Tasting Australia 2010
Also, for a simple recipe: