Porcetto allo Spiedo — Sardinian Suckling Pig on the Spit

Ingredients

• 1 (5–7 kg live weight, 7–8 weeks old) suckling pig, skin intact and untorn; slaughtered very fresh
• to season fine sea salt
• For the fire and the rest
• sufficient to sustain a 4-hour fire myrtle branches, a continuous supply of small pieces for feeding the fire; a generous fresh bed reserved for the rest
• sufficient to supplement the fire throughout juniper branches, small pieces, fed alongside the myrtle
• as needed to establish and sustain the fire holm oak wood, or a combination with myrtle and juniper

Method

1. 1
   Build the fire to one side of the spit position — not beneath it — so the pig will roast in radiated heat rather than direct flame, which would scorch the outside before the centre is cooked through. Allow the fire to establish fully, with a settled bed of coals and no raw smoke, before the pig is mounted.
2. 2
   Season the pig thoroughly inside and out with fine sea salt. Use no marinade and no basting agent, so that the skin can dry as it roasts and set to that characteristic lacquered finish rather than steaming soft. Mount the pig whole on the long horizontal spit, securing it firmly so that it will not shift during rotation.
3. 3
   Position the spit so the pig lies to the side of, and at the same level as, the fire, then begin rotation — continuously or at minimum every 10–15 minutes — so every face of the carcass receives equal heat and no side has time to tighten and colour faster than the rest. Feed the fire steadily with small pieces of myrtle and juniper branch throughout the cook, because the fragrant smoke rising from these woods is the aromatic foundation of the dish. This is where the dish lives or dies: if the fire drifts beneath the pig or rotation is neglected, the skin scorches while the interior remains raw, and no amount of time on the spit will recover either.
4. 4
   Roast for 3.5 to 4 hours, watching the skin progress from pale to golden to a lacquered amber so you can judge the pace of the fire and adjust accordingly. The skin should be fully set and taut across the entire carcass — not soft or yielding anywhere — with the appearance of thin, burnished lacquer.
5. 5
   To test doneness, pierce the thigh at its thickest point, so you are reading the last part of the pig to cook through rather than a part that is already done. The juices must run completely clear and the meat must feel firm against the probe; a pink or cloudy run means the pig requires further time on the spit.
6. 6
   Remove the pig from the spit and lay it immediately on a generous bed of fresh myrtle branches, so the volatile oils of the myrtle release into the hot, crisp skin during the rest and become the final, essential seasoning of the dish. Rest for 15 minutes; the skin, when pressed at the end of the rest, should fracture and crackle like thin glass.
7. 7
   Carve the pig, pulling the bones free, and arrange the meat and skin on a fresh layer of myrtle branches to serve. The skin must remain audibly crisp at the table; silence from the skin means it has softened and the moment has passed.