Whole Hoggin’, NYC Style:  How to Spit-Roast a Suckling Pig on a Rooftop Grill

Let’s face it, living in NYC can make you a bit jaded. And BBQ’s, well, isn’t everyone having one? Want to trump them?  Bust out a whole pig—that should turn heads. 

In this food video, grilling expert Elizabeth Karmel (Executive Chef, Hill Country) shows us how to spit-roast a whole suckling pig the correct way—low and slow, over indirect heat.

Suckling pigs are piglets fed on their mother’s milk that are slaughtered between the age of 2-6 weeks, at a weigh of roughly 16-22 pounds.  Because they’re milk-fed, they yield meat that is pale in color, tender and juicy, with a somewhat gelatinous texture. 

When roasted properly, you’ll have succulent meat and crispy, flavor-packed skin that’s been nicely carmelized from the heat. Its small size means a suckling pig can fit into an oven, but hey, it’s summer, and you want spectacle.  Throw that baby on the grill! A pig slowly turning on a spit over flames is so much more dramatic, don’t you think?

We got our suckling pig at Los Paisanos in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, but you can get yours at a number of fine butcher shops, as long as you order ahead. Or, you can buy directly from the source at a farmer’s market.

You’ll need a grill and a rotisserie kit, which you can get at a hardware store or online for less than $50.

Seasonings is simple: prep involves stuffing and/or dry-rubbing the lil’ guy with your favorite herbs and spices, then coating with olive oil so the skin can get nice and crisy. We used a spicy dry-rub, then served it with a Mint & Jalapeño Sauce (recipes below). Try to use heat and acid in your seasonings and side dishes to balance out the fattiness of the pig.

Roasting a suckling pig is an event, and serves as the center of many a culture’s festivities and celebrations.  Filipino’s call it Lechon, the Germans, Spanferkel, the Spanish, Cochinillo Asado, and the Cajuns, Cochon de Lait.  We call it awesome.

Dry Rub
1 cup kosher salt
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 cup freshly cracked black pepper
1/8 cup fresh chopped fresh thyme
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp freshly ground cumin
1 tsp freshly ground coriander

Mint & Jalapeño Sauce
1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 lime, juiced
½ cup chopped Jalapeno peppers
1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper

Tell us: What’s your go to eye-catching dish?