A sucking-pig, to be eaten in perfection, should not be more than three weeks old, and should be dressed the same day that it is killed.
Ingredients
Pig
6 oz. of bread crumbs
16 sage-leaves
pepper and salt to taste
pepper and salt to taste
a piece of butter the size of an egg
salad oil or butter to baste with
about 1/2 pint of gravy
1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice
Directions
Well mix together the finely-grated bread crumbs, minced sage, pepper, salt, and a piece of butter the size of an egg
After preparing the pig for cooking, stuff the mixture into the body of the pig
Sew up the slit neatly
Truss the legs back, to allow the inside to be roasted, and the under part to be crisp
Put the pig down to a bright clear fire, not too near, and let it lay till thoroughly dry
Have ready some butter tied up in a piece of thin cloth, and rub the pig with this in every part
Keep it well rubbed with the butter the whole of the time it is roasting, and do not allow the crackling to become blistered or burnt
When half-done, hang a pig-iron before the middle part (if this is not obtainable, use a flat iron), to prevent its being scorched and dried up before the ends are done
Before it is taken from the fire, cut off the head, and part that and the body down the middle
Chop the brains and mix them with the stuffing
Add 1/2 pint of good gravy, a tablespoonful of lemon-juice, and the gravy that flowed from the pig
Put a little of this on the dish with the pig, and the remainder send to table in a tureen
Place the pig back to back in the dish, with one half of the head on each side, and one of the ears at each end, and send it to table as hot as possible
Instead of butter, many cooks take salad oil for basting, which makes the crackling crisp; and as this is one of the principal things to be considered, perhaps it is desirable to use it; but be particular that it is very pure, or it will impart an unpleasant flavour to the meat. The brains and stuffing may be stirred into a tureen of melted butter instead of gravy, when the latter is not liked. Apple sauce and the old-fashioned currant sauce are not yet quite obsolete as an accompaniment to roast pig.Source: The Book of Household Management by Isabella Beeton (1859)
Scotch Collops
