Suckling pig

Suckling pig (or sucking pig^[1]) is a young pig that has only fed on its mother's milk. The piglet is killed between the ages of two to six weeks and traditionally roasted. It is usually reserved for special occasions.

History

There are many recipes found for suckling pig from both the ancient world of ancient Rome and China to the present day spanning cultures and centuries.

Regional

Chinese

Within Chinese cuisine, the pig is usually consumed in small quantities via siu meat within the siu mei category of Cantonese cuisine. When served as a whole, it is known as 乳猪, jyu5 zyu1.

Filipino

It is popular in Filipino cuisine, where it is referred to as Lechón.

European

The European cuisines of Spain, Portugual, Germany and Croatia favor it highly as well.

US/UK

"Cochon de Lait festival" is also the name given to a festival held annually in the small Southern Louisiana cajun town of Mansura. As its name implies, during this festival, suckling pigs are roasted. Some common items that are made from the pig at the festival are cracklin, and boudin. The suckling pig's popularity has declined in the United States and the United Kingdom. The flesh of the suckling pig is pale and tender and the skin is crispy and highly valued as pork rinds. The texture of the meat is somewhat gelatinous due to the amount of collagen in the young pig.

Reference

Davidson, Alan (1999) Oxford Companion to Food

Notes

^ It has suggested that the term "suckling (young)" is erroneous since it is the mother pig that suckles the young, and that the young are those who suck the mother (see Davidson pg 761). However, this does not take into account that "suckling" might just as well be the noun "suckling" rather than the gerund form of the verb "suckle".