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1
Heat the oven to 180 °C. Rub the capretto portions thoroughly with half the lard, the crushed garlic, salt, and pepper. Set aside while the oven reaches temperature. The meat is ready to proceed when the lard has visibly softened into its surface.
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2
Arrange the sliced potatoes and onions in an even layer across the base of a terracotta roasting dish. Season lightly with salt. The potato layer must cover the entire base — the pieces of capretto will rest directly on top, and every drop of rendered fat must fall onto them.
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3
Lay the capretto portions skin-side up over the potatoes. Tuck the myrtle leaves and rosemary sprigs between the meat pieces. Dot the remaining lard over the skin. This is where the dish lives or dies: the potatoes must sit beneath the meat so they cook in the dripping milk fat and lard; placed above, they dry out and the essential exchange of fat between meat and potato does not occur.
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4
Roast uncovered at 180 °C for 1 to 1.5 hours, basting every 20 minutes with the fat that collects in the dish. Do not cover at any point. The skin is correctly basted when it glistens evenly after each pass; where the fat has pooled unevenly, redistribute it with the spoon.
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5
Check the portions closest to the bone first — these finish earliest. The saddle portions may require 10 additional minutes. The capretto is done when the skin is deeply golden and crisp to the tap of a spoon, the juices run clear when the thickest piece is pierced at the bone, and the rosemary on the surface has crisped and begun to darken at its tips.
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6
Remove the capretto from the dish and rest for 5 minutes. The potatoes beneath should be saturated with kid fat and yielding throughout — press one with the back of a spoon; it should give without resistance. Serve the potatoes alongside the meat, spooning the remaining pan fat over both.