Leitão à Bairrada (Wood-Oven Suckling Pig)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 170 min
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 12 servings
- Ingredients
- 5
About this dish
This needs a wood-fired oven with a whole suckling pig of about 6kg turning on a spit, and pork belly in a home oven makes a different dish.
Read more
The garlic, lard, pepper and salt paste goes inside the cavity, which then gets sewn shut to hold it in. Neither skin color nor time proves the meat is done: the pig comes off the heat only when several thick spots in the shoulders and thighs, away from bone and fat, all read at least 63°C. Pull out every bit of the sewing thread before carving.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Prepare a spit sized for the whole pig and bring the wood oven to 250-300°C.
Pat the dressed pig dry on the outside and inside the cavity with paper towels.
- 2
Crush the garlic and combine with all the lard, pepper and salt into a paste.
Spread inside the cavity and stitch the opening closed with food-safe cooking twine.
- 3
Secure the pig firmly to the spit.
Roast while turning in the wood oven at 250-300°C for about 1.5-2 hours, checking frequently that the skin does not burn on one side.
- 4
Probe several thick areas of shoulder and leg; all must read at least 63°C.
Avoid bone and fat and continue roasting if any area is below that temperature. Remove when the skin is roasted and the temperature checks are satisfied.
- 5
Rest on a clean surface for 10 minutes, always allowing at least 3 minutes.
Remove the spit and all stitching, then carve away from the bones and divide meat and skin into 12 portions.
References checked
These references were consulted when this page was prepared or corrected. A source check does not mean the recipe was independently kitchen-tested.
- 25 de Abril: 50 anos, 50 receitas, page 27
Turismo de Portugal · Checked: 2026-09-07
- Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart
USDA FSIS · Checked: 2026-09-07
- Food Thermometers
USDA FSIS · Checked: 2026-09-07
Use-up ingredient planner
Turn these ingredients into two more meals
The overlap excludes basic seasonings. Open the next recipe and your selected dishes will stay with you.
Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)
peeled garlic
Gyujiru Okinawan Beef Soup
lard
Aji Criollo (Peruvian Chili Sauce)
ground black pepper