{{Short description, Spanish pork dish Tostón asado or cochinillo asado is a dish consisting of roast suckling pig. It is commonly used in the

Spanish cuisine Spanish cuisine consists of the cooking traditions and practices from Spain. Olive oil (of which Spain is the world's largest producer) is heavily used in Spanish cuisine. It forms the base of many vegetable sauces (known in Spanish as ''sofrit ...

of Castile, with the variants of Arévalo and Segovia being the most popular ones, although also popular in Madrid and in some places in the regions of

La Mancha La Mancha () is a natural and historical region located in the Spanish provinces of Albacete, Cuenca, Ciudad Real, and Toledo. La Mancha is an arid but fertile plateau (610 m or 2000 ft) that stretches from the mountains of Toledo to th ...

and

Aragón Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises th ...

. This oven dish is traditionally prepared in an earthenware pot and served hot with a crispy crust. It is recommended to combine cochinillo asado with

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

History

Tostón asado, just like roast lamb, forms part of the Castilian cuisine since the Roman conquest of Hispania. There are no recipes and descriptions available of the pre- Celtiberian period. In the 17th century, cochinillo asado became popular at bars and soup kitchens across the region of Castile. Little by little, it was served to travelers that were heading to Madrid. Yet in the middle of the 20th century, several taverns and restaurants in

Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is in the Inner Plateau ('' Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of t ...

and

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

claimed to have the best recipe in an attempt to attract tourists. Cándido is one of the most popular taverns, and the innkeeper became famous in the middle of the 20th century for accompanying the piglet dishes with songs. This ceremony gained international fame.

Preparation

Many markets and butcher shops in Spain offer cochinillo asado. According to some recipes, the piglet needs to be entirely cleaned, but without removing the kidneys. There are many different ways to prepare tostón asado, with the same applying for chopping up the piglet. The preparation process includes cutting the piglet's stomach, as well as the backbone's center, followed by cleaning the interior part. The piglet is usually coated in batter, alongside pork fat, a bit of laurel, leaves and twigs, and prepared in an earthenware pot in an oven. In other regions they use white wine during the process to ensure the meat's tenderness. Tostón asado is usually served in the same earthenware pot. It is also possible to marinate the meat parts during several days, and dehydrate them on the day of the roasting process. A wood-fired oven is traditionally used to roast piglets. Wine is one of the most widely accepted drinks to complement roast suckling pigs, according to gastronomic literature. Normally it is served with special decorations, with an apple on top of the piglet's mouth being one of the most common forms.

References

Tostón asado recipe
Spanish cuisine Pork