Pincho of the Week: Cochinillo

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This week’s pincho of the week has to be one of my favorite dishes in Spain: cochinillo, aka baby suckling pig. Doesn’t that just sound delicious? Not really, but trust me, it’s mouthwatering good. Now the last thing in the world I want when it comes to food is for my food to stare back at me. I am still very American in that I do not want to see where my food comes from or what it looks like before it’s cut up and cooked. I have bad luck with this in Logroño. I live on a big market street, so every morning when I walk up to catch the bus I have the pleasure of watching all the butchers unload their goods to the market. I have definitely seen more than I ever wanted to. And unfortunately for me, cochinillo is usually served whole. I am talking the whole little piggy. On a plate. Head, snout, hooves and all. Fantastic.

This is the famous dish of Segovia, between Madrid and Salamanca, and I always get it when I am there because it’s so good, though, it literally kills me to walk past all the restaurants displaying the pigs in the window. I mean, I am the kind of girl who dreams of owning a teacup pig. But, I can never say no to a good cochinillo. I’m a hypocrite.

 

Anyways, cochinillo is usually baked in the oven or over open flames, so the skin gets nice and crispy. The meat is so tender, juicy and soft; it is almost like eating a roast chicken. And lucky for me, I can now get my cochinillo fix in the Logroño, at a stylish restaurant/bar called Las Cubanas. Located next to Laurel and coincidentally, about 30 seconds from my apartment on C/San Agustín, you can either sit down at the restaurant for a full meal, or just enjoy a pincho of cochinillo served with potatoes (cochinillo crocante con salsa de patatas a la panadera). And the best part? Because of the pincho-sized portion, no hooves or face! Perfect for me!