MethodPreheat the oven to 450 degrees.
In a bowl, combine the orange,
lime, and grapefruit juice and whisk together. Wash and pat the pig dry with paper towels.
Sprinkle inside and out with the salt and pepper and place it in a large roasting pan,
belly side up.
Place the grapefruit, oranges,
limes, onion, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme inside the cavity and skewer it closed. Turn
belly side down and place a ball of wood or a rolled up piece of aluminum foil about the
size of a lemon in the pigs mouth.
Skewer the legs into position
by pulling the forelegs forward and bending the hind legs into a crouching position (this
will help a large pig fit in a home oven, if it fits already, this is not necessary).
Cover the tail and ears with
small pieces of foil to prevent them from burning. Place the pig in the oven and baste
with the citrus juice mixture.
After the pig has roasted for
15 minutes, baste it again with the citrus juice mixture and reduce the heat to 325
degrees.
Roast for 20 minutes per pound
longer, basting generously every 15 or 20 minutes with the juice mixture and then the pan
juices.
To test for doneness near the
end, prick the thigh with the tip of a sharp knife to see if the juices run clear. The
internal temperature should read 165 degrees on a meat thermometer inserted into the
thickest part of the leg.
Remove from the oven and allow
to rest for 10 minutes, loosely tented with a large piece of aluminum foil.
Distribute the parsley and
watercress sprigs loosely around the edges of a large warmed oval platter. Halve the
trimmed blood oranges and place them around the edges of the platter, nestled in the
greens.
Remove the foil from the tail
and ears and replace the wood or foil from the mouth with a lemon, lime, or apple. Carve
at the table, with confidence.
Note: Most good butchers will
be able to obtain a small suckling pig, given 1 or 2 weeks notice. Ask them to dress the
pig and remove the eyeballs and lower lids.
Tip: If your oven is too narrow
for the size of the pig, you could cut it in half - to have one front piece and one back
piece - and roast them on two different shelves in the oven.
My absolute favourite part: The
delicate taste of the very thin suckling pig's "crackling" - the crisp pork
skin. Mmm-mmm-mmm, I could eat acres of that stuff!!! The best one I've ever had was at
the Grenada Ramada Renaissance open-air Barbecue Buffet... the chefs got to know me VERY
well!!!
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