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Leitão da Bairrada
Portugal
The most celebrated regional dish of Portugal. Restaurants in Mealhada serve nothing else.
Bairrada suckling pig — a whole piglet rubbed with lard, garlic and pepper and roasted in a wood-fired oven until the skin is shatteringly crispy. Portugal's greatest roast.
Prep
30 mins
Cook
180 mins
Difficulty
Hard
Calories
350 kcal
Serves
8
Calories are an estimate based on ingredients used
Ingredients
1whole suckling pig, about 6kg
150glard
1 headgarlic, crushed
1 tbspcoarse salt
1 tspblack pepper
1 tbsppaprika
white wineto baste
Method
1
Mix lard, garlic, salt, pepper and paprika. Rub inside and out.
2
Roast at 180°C for 2.5-3 hours, basting with white wine every 30 minutes.
3
Increase to 230°C for final 20 minutes to blister the skin.
Chef's Tip
The lard rub is the traditional Bairrada method — butter cannot substitute.
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Some recipe photos courtesy of Openverse and Wikimedia Commons contributors, used under Creative Commons licenses.