Esteemed Readers, the origin of this dish is as ancient as Rus’. Roast pigs filled with buckwheat or mushrooms were dishes of the Zars’ menus. Its cooking is demanding but the result is fabulous. As a rule, a pig is roasted for a good company & it is highly praised as rare people are able to make this dish well. If you don’t mind some pretty pork, try to cook it. It will be a great surprise for your guests! Here is a classic Russian recipe of 1897.
Roasted Pig Zar’s Dish Ingredients:
1 pig – 1.5/1.7 kg, milk for steeping, oil- 2 tbps., butter – 200 gr., a sprout of parsley.
Filling: veal liver- 450 gr., 1 medium piece of wheat bread, 1 big onion, salt- 3/4 tsp., pepper -1/4 or 1/2 tsp., a bit of nutmeg, butter – 20 gr., 2 boiled eggs, 2-3 anchovies, 3-4 big fried cepes (or champignons).
Preparation:
Pig Only: Peel, clean the pig well. Take all the entrails out, steep meat in milk for about three hours. Take it out, dry well, rub the salt into meat. Leave it for half an hour. Melt the butter on a baking tray, put the pig & place the try into the oven. When it becomes a bit roasted, star turning it from side to side pouring with the butter left & then with water (less than a glass), then with its own juice. Cook about 45 min. – 1 hour. depending on the pig’s size. You can serve it instantly filled with boiled buckwheat or use the filling below.
Pig with Filling: Prepare the pig for filling as it is written above. Fry veal liver with chopped onion in oil. Soak the bread until its texture is similar to paste. Mix with liver. Add the spices, 1 tbsp. of butter, boiled eggs, cut anchovies & fried mushrooms. Chop the mass well. Fill the pig. Sew it & roast as it is said above. Season with cut parsley before serving.
Enjoy Your Pig!🥩🥕🧅
PS. The recipes are translated from authentic Soviet Culinary Books.
Maria KethuProfumo
eternamenta 
You can never go wrong with roast suckling pig! A good benchmark of cochinillo (what we call it in the Philippines) is if you can cut it with a dinner plate.