Authentic Italian recipe -

Cosciotto di maiale al forno

Baked leg of pork Our original home cooking

Carlo and I are used to bake the pork leg with very little oil and this cooking technique breaks down the fat than the traditional recipe. The idea is to use a lot of beer in baking. So our roast piglet leg has less calories.

Cut the raw ham into thin strips. Wash the rosemary and sage leaves and pat dry them with absorbent kitchen paper.
Lard the leg; make small incisions with a pointed knife all over it. Insert a raw ham strip together with a litlle piece of sage leaf and some rosemary needles in every incision.
Put 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan (the best choice is the wok) and let the leg fry on both sides. Remove the meat from the pan, add the remaining olive oil and chopped onions. Let them fry lightly. Be careful the onions don’t brown.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
Put the onions and fat in a deep baking pan; add the beer and the leg of pork. Season to taste with salt and pepper (only if desidered) and bake for about 3 hours, turning over the meat frequently.
Thirty minutes before the end of cooking remove the leg from the pan and cut it up to the bone, then keep on baking.
Serve the leg hot in a large serving plate.

Note

- Accompany this dish with baked potatoes.
- If you want to prepare an Italian meal, open your menu with some appetizers, serve a first course based on pasta and then this leg. Finish with an apple tart.

What's the right wine ?

Our suggest is: Bonarda dei Colli Piacentini.