A whole piglet or small wild hog, cooked in an aromatic broth with rice, crispy garlic and a sweet, sour and spicy sauce.

Cooking a small hog in its entirety can seem a little daunting, but this method couldn't be more simple. Cut into large pieces, the hog is gently cooked in an aromatic broth until tender, then cooled in the broth. As the broth cools, it may or may not produce a little fat (ours did not, but hopefully yours does). This fat is used to fry some garlic to golden, after which the garlicky fat seasons rice made with the flavorful broth, and the fried garlic goes on top.

Serve this tender, poached young pig with a pungent sauce of sweet soy, garlic, ginger and hot peppers, the cooked rice, some fresh herbs and cucumbers. This is an excellent make-ahead dish for hog camp or a summer get together with friends.

Serves 8

The hog

1 small hog, skinned and gutted, cut into pieces, about 3-4 pounds (or use 3-4 pounds of small or medium hog cuts like shanks, shoulder and ribs)

1 onion, halved

1 head garlic, halved 

2” piece of ginger, smashed

4 stalks lemongrass, smashed, optional

2 star anise pods

2 quarts hog or chicken stock

¼ cup Kosher salt

The rice

10 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

Avocado or coconut oil or lard, as needed

2 cups jasmine rice

3 cups reserved broth from the piglet

Salt

The sauce

10 garlic cloves, peeled

2” fresh ginger, peeled, roughly chopped

1-2 jalapeño or serrano peppers, or 1-2 tbsp Thai bird’s eye chiles or chiltepin peppers

6 sprigs cilantro, roughly chopped

5 tbsp rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

5 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp dark sweet soy sauce 

¾ cup reserved pork broth, warmed 

Garnish

Cucumbers, sliced

Cilantro

Lettuce leaves

Lime wedges

In a large pot, combine the small hog (or pieces of larger hog), the onion, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, anise and stock with enough cold water to cover. Add the salt. Bring to a simmer and cook very gently, until just starting to get tender but not falling apart, about 2-4 hours, depending on the hog. Do not skim any fat from the hog - you’ll need it later. Cool the hog to room temperature submerged in the broth, then refrigerate overnight.

Remove any fat that has solidified on the top of the pot and melt in a medium pan over low heat. Add enough avocado oil or lard to make ¾ cup of fat/oil in total. Start reheating the hog in the broth over low heat.

Add the sliced garlic to the fat and oil and cook gently until a consistent, very light golden and aromatic, about 1-2 minutes, shaking the pan often. Pour the garlic through a strainer into a small bowl. Set the garlic-infused fat aside and reserve the garlic.

In a medium-sized, lidded pot, bring the rice and 3 cups of the broth to a simmer. Place the lid on the pot and turn down the heat to very low. Cook for 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, leaving the lid on, for another 8 minutes. (Alternatively, cook the rice in a rice cooker with the broth). Remove the lid, fluff the rice with a fork. Set aside.

Make the sauce: in a food processor, combine the garlic, ginger, hot chiles, cilantro, vinegar, sugar and sweet soy. Pulse until ground and homogenous. Add the reserved pork broth, pulse to combine. 

Invert the rice onto a large platter and pour the garlicky fat over the top. Slice or pull the pork into medium-sized pieces, or serve it as is and let guests pull the meat from the bones themselves. Serve over the rice with the reserved crispy sliced garlic on top. Serve the sauce, cucumbers, cilantro, lime wedges and lettuce leaves on the side.