Sardinia — specifically the Barbagia and Gallura regions of the interior. The pastoral culture of Sardinia, centred on sheep and pig farming, made porcetto allo spiedo the central dish of celebrations and festivals (the sagre) that mark the Sardinian calendar.
Porcetto allo spiedo is the defining celebration dish of Sardinia: a suckling pig (7-8 weeks old, 5-7kg live weight) roasted whole on a long horizontal spit over a fire of wild myrtle, juniper, or holm oak for 3-4 hours. The skin becomes lacquered-crisp and amber; the interior stays moist and fragrant from the herbs smoked from the fire below. When carved, the bones pulled free, the pig is arranged on a bed of myrtle branches that perfume the meat through residual heat. It is both a culinary technique and a cultural ritual.
The myrtle-and-juniper smoke perfumes the skin during cooking and the myrtle-bed rest deepens it. The skin is lacquered-amber, crackling like thin glass when pressed. The meat beneath is succulent, milky-white, with a flavour of roasted pork and wild herbs. The combination of crunchy skin, tender meat, and herbal smoke is the specific pleasure of this dish.
The fire is built to one side of the pig, not directly below — the pig roasts in the radiated heat, not direct flame. This creates a slow, even roast (3.5-4 hours) rather than a fast, scorched crust. The fire is fed continuously with small pieces of fragrant wood (myrtle branches are traditional). The spit rotates continuously or is turned every 10-15 minutes. No marinade, no basting — the pig is seasoned with salt only. After removal from the spit, it is rested on a bed of fresh myrtle branches for 15 minutes — the myrtle's volatile oils perfume the crisp skin.
The skin quality is everything: the pig must be very fresh and the skin intact and untorn. Any tear in the skin becomes a weak point where fat renders out and the skin deflates. To test doneness, pierce the thigh — the juices should run clear and the meat should feel firm to the probe. The myrtle-and-juniper fire combination creates the most characteristic Sardinian aroma.
Fire too direct and too hot — the skin burns before the interior is cooked. No rotation — the underside chars while the top remains pale. Not resting on myrtle — the myrtle rest is the final seasoning and should not be omitted. Roasting a pig that is too old — the skin of pigs older than 10 weeks is thicker and chewier; the 7-8 week window is specific.
Slow Food Editore, Sardegna in Cucina; Giorgio Locatelli, Made in Italy