Suckling Pig from the Supermarket

FavorFlav’s Marcus Polman enjoys browsing local supermarkets during his Portuguese holiday and comes across a suckling pig in the freezer aisle.

The best excursions on holiday are those to the supermarket. Especially the megastores with their mouthwatering fresh fish, vegetable and meat departments are always worth taking a detour for. In Portugal—where I am staying for a few weeks in a paradisiacal quinta (don’t tell anyone)—I found a freezer aisle full of suckling pigs in my favorite supermarket (Continente).

But soon my thoughts drift to what it looks and tastes like after proper preparation on the spit

Try finding that in the Netherlands, where fish fingers, pizzas and chicken nuggets of dubious origin dominate the freezer aisle.

The little pigs look somewhat helpless and bare in their frozen state. But soon my thoughts drift to what it looks and tastes like after proper preparation on the spit or in the oven. The white, tender and juicy meat, the crispy skin, and filled with a tasty forcemeat containing, among other things, the kidneys, liver, parsley, sage, rosemary and garlic.

The much-acclaimed chef Wil Demandt of the Amsterdam restaurant Bordewijk once showed me how to prepare such an impressive roast.

Check out the recipe here. Thanks to Wil.

And for anyone who thinks a round trip to Portugal is a bit too much of a detour to get hold of a suckling pig, one can have one delivered to their home by the men from Beef & Steak. A pig of Dutch origin, optionally pre-cooked and delivered right to your door. That’s how to score at a summer BBQ in the coming weeks.

Text: Marcus Polman
Image: Marcus Polman – Nora van den Heuvel