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Young Roast Pig for Christmas

A roasted young pig stuffed with breadcrumbs, eggs, butter, onions, sage, raisins, salt pork, and cream, served with holly and mistletoe.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Sage and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,388 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Young Roast Pig for Christmas

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Procure a fine young pig, ensuring the flesh is firm and pink with clear eyes.

  2. Dress the pig, leaving the head, feet, and tail intact.

  3. Prepare the dressing by mixing breadcrumbs, beaten eggs, butter, onions, sage, raisins, salt, and pepper.

  4. Rub the inside of the pig with salt and pepper.

  5. Place slices of salt pork along the backbone.

  6. Fill the pig with the dressing mixed with water and cream.

  7. Sew the pig shut with cord.

Roast and serve

  1. Place the pig in a large baking pan with knees turned under and a small cob in the mouth.

  2. Add a little water to the pan.

  3. Roast in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 20 minutes.

  4. Begin basting and continue at regular intervals until the pig is brown and tender.

  5. When ready, place the pig on a platter on its knees, garnished with holly and mistletoe.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Sage + peppertop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,388 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Onion + porktop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,214 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Sage + porktop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,527 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Bind the breadcrumb dressing so it holds together when stuffed and roasted.
Breadcrumbs
Form the bulk of the dressing and absorb the butter and liquid for a soft stuffing.
Butter
Adds fat and richness to the dressing, keeping it moist as it cooks.
Salt pork
Renders fat over the roast, adding moisture and savoury flavour to the meat.
Cream
Adds moisture and richness to the dressing for a softer, creamier texture.

The step that matters

Basting at regular intervals. Basting spreads melted fat and pan juices over the skin, promoting even browning and keeping the surface from drying out during the long roast.

Swap the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, onion, sage, pepper, pork, cream):

  1. Lemonfits better
  2. Avocadofits better
  3. Limefits better
  4. Raisinthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, onion, sage, pepper, pork, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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