The term cochinillo refers to a suckling pig, irrespective of sex, which is no more than three weeks old and with an ideal weight of 4.5 kilos/9.2 lb (no more than 6 kilos/13.2 lb) and is slaughtered at an early age in order to guarantee its distinctive qualities of tenderness, derived mainly from the animals' young age and from having been fed on maternal milk.
Tasting notes
It has a firm texture without any hint of softness, although it is never hard. Once cooked it is extremely tender due to the early age at which it is slaughtered and its feeding.
Other notes
It has a clean and even creamy or waxy white coloring on the outside, while the interior is pinkish, pearly white or pale red.
Production / Processing method
Piglets destined to be consumed as suckling pigs must belong to a white breed of pigs and the maximum age at which they are slaughtered is three weeks. They are fed exclusively on maternal milk.
The best-known areas for roast suckling pig are in the province of Segovia and the surroundings (Castile-León).