Roast Suckling Pig Day

Roast sucking pig. Gert Olesen / Pixabay.com / 2015 / CC0 1.0

The 18th of December is Roast Suckling Pig Day.

The day celebrates a whole, roasted, small pig, and is decidedly not a vegan-friendly holiday.

The “guest of honour” forms the centre of a very decadent feast, and its meat is considered by many to be a delicacy. It certainly provides a festive occasion appropriate for this time of year.

“A whole roast suckling pig is quite special. No other feast food of the holiday season cooks so easily, and presents so majestically. With its mahogany, crisp skin and its sticky-tender meat, people thrill to be at the party where this is on the buffet…. ” — Hamilton, Gabrielle. Whole Roast Suckling Pig. New York, NY: New York Times. Accessed October 2021 at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020720-whole-roast-suckling-pig

Do you like the pork skin crackling?

#RoastSucklingPigDay #NationalRoastSucklingPigDay

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hashtag/nationalroastsucklingpigday

See also: Pork, Non-Electrical Rotisseries, Rotisserie, Spit, Caja China, Pig’s Face Day

Planning the roasting

Technically, a suckling piglet is one which is between two and six weeks old, weighing between 3 and 13 kg (6 and 28 lbs.).

To participate in today, you have to start a bit in advance, because it can be difficult to get hold of such a small, young pig on short notice. You would need to place an order in advance with a butcher to get one.

Traditionally, such whole pigs have been cooked by spit roasting, but not many people have the means to do that now. A home oven, though, should be able to fit in one on the small end of the suckling pig weight range.

“Measure your oven, and be firm with your butcher about the pig’s size, so you can be sure it will fit — most home ovens can easily accommodate a 20-pounder [9 kg].” ^[1]Hamilton, Gabrielle. Whole Roast Suckling Pig. New York, NY: New York Times. Accessed October 2021 at
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020720-whole-roast-suckling-pig

Epicurious recommends a pig about 5 kg (12 pounds), and says “ask your butcher to split the pig for you.” ^[2]Rodriguez, Douglas. Cuban-Style Roast Suckling Pig. New York, NY: Epicurious. May 2002. Accessed October 2021 at https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cuban-style-roast-suckling-pig-107566

Once you’ve dealt with the size issue for your home oven, most people seem to say, don’t be afraid and give it a try:

“Don’t be afraid to… try — cooking a whole small pig is like cooking a whole turkey.” ^[3]Rodriguez, Douglas. Cuban-Style Roast Suckling Pig. New York, NY: Epicurious. May 2002. Accessed October 2021 at https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cuban-style-roast-suckling-pig-107566

Allow lots of low, slow cooking time:

“Just give the pig the time it needs in a low and slow oven for its meat to reach its signature tender, succulent perfection, while you clean the house or do whatever it is you do before a special party. For the last 30 minutes, ramp the heat of the oven all the way up to get that insanely delicious crackling skin. ” — Hamilton, Gabrielle. Whole Roast Suckling Pig. New York, NY: New York Times. Accessed October 2021 at
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020720-whole-roast-suckling-pig

And whatever you do, make sure you invite lots of people, because you won’t want lots of leftovers as you head into Christmas, which generates its own crazy amount of leftovers on top of everything else!

If you can get hold of a spit roast mechanism for a larger size, you could even organize a charity pig roast for today!

There are several different famous styles of cooking a young pig including Cuban style, German style, and Hong Kong style.

History

The earliest print mention that CooksInfo is aware of for a “Roast Suckling Pig Day” in November dates from 2000 in Alberta, Canada:

“Dec. 18 — National Roast Suckling Pig Day” — Warwaruk, Jody. Here’s a holiday to make you feel all sweet and gooey. Edmonton, Alberta: The Edmonton Journal. Wednesday, 30 August 2000. Page G2, col. 6.

It also got a mention in Utah a bit later that same year:

“Holiday highlights the remainder of the month include the ‘Festival for the Soul of Dead Whales’ (Dec. 10), ‘National Bouillabaisse Day’ (Dec. 14), ‘National Roast Suckling Pig Day’ (Dec. 18), and ‘National Whiners Day’ (Dec. 26).” — Nailen, Dan. Culture Vulture. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Salt Lake Tribune. Friday, 1 December 2000. Page B1, col. 1.

Sources

Bloem, Adele. National Roast Suckling Pig Day. Roodepoort, South Africa: The Roodepoort Record. 18 December 2016. Accessed October 2021 at https://roodepoortrecord.co.za/2016/12/18/national-roast-suckling-pig-day/

December 18 – National Roast Suckling Pig Day. National Food Days in New York City. 18 December 2012. Accessed October 2021 at https://nycfooddays.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/december-18-national-roast-suckling-pig-day/

National Roast Suckling Pig Day! Philadelphia, PA : Quaker Valley Foods. Accessed October 2021 at https://quakervalleyfoods.com/national-roast-suckling-pig-day/

Rodriguez, Douglas. Cuban-Style Roast Suckling Pig. New York, NY: Epicurious. May 2002. Accessed October 2021 at https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cuban-style-roast-suckling-pig-107566