Russian cuisine
Stuffed suckling pig
Ingredients
Meat cooked in big chunks; whole animals and birds with stuffing are all part of traditional Russian cuisine. It has survived from medieval times to this day. A stuffed suckling pig is one of the most famous Christmas dishes, often the centerpiece of a festive meal.
- 1 suckling pig, 3-4 weeks old
- 1 cup of buckwheat grain
- 3 boiled eggs
- 2 onions
- Garlic
- Horseradish
- Salt
Cooking
Clean the porkling and rub in ground salt, garlic and horseradish on the inside and the outside. Pierce the skin with a needle in a few places.
Pour 1 cup of buckwheat into 2 cups of boiling water and cook gently until the grain fully absorbs the water. Mash 3 boiled eggs or cut them into really small pieces. Cut the onions into small bits and fry in vegetable oil or pork fat till soft.
Mix the buckwheat with eggs and onions, stuff the pig loosely making sure the stuffing stays in place. Cover the ears and the snout with aluminum foil. Place the pig on a baking tray bending the legs under the body and bake in a medium-hot oven for about 3 hours. Every 10 minutes you need to baste the animal with the fat from the baking tray – that guarantees soft meat and beautiful golden crust. Serve hot and whole on a big dish.
You can also vary the stuffing – for instance, take a pound of fried garden mushrooms instead of the eggs.
TIP:
To cook a whole suckling pig is pretty easy – you only have to choose a good one. The animal should be 3 to 4 weeks old, and make sure it’s fresh and has never been frozen. Normally porklings sold at the markets are already gutted, that means half of your work is done.
Before stuffing you need to chop off the hooves, clean the hide with a knife (simply scrape the skin gently, make a long cut along the body from the hind legs to the head and pick out as many bones as you can without damaging the whole). If you need to sew the porkling together to keep the stuffing in, use thick cotton thread and pierce the skin at least half an inch from the cut.
TIP:
The stuffed piglet is usually garnished with pickled vegetables, mushrooms, fresh parsley and celery, pickled loganberries and apples.
