Part the Second

So. To recap: we left the pig in a blanket

...and under a coat.

The next morning, Thanksgiving Day, I unwrapped him. The liquid was still so hot I could not keep a finger in it without burning.


I lifted him out and he looked pretty much the same as when he'd gone in. But he was not.





Very carefully I cut away the skin, leaving a good layer of fat. Where the fat was much thicker, I shaved it off.


Then I scored the fat lightly with my knife, to make diamond shapes. Don't cut down to the meat or it will peel away during baking.




At each intersection of scorelines I put in a clove.


I mixed 8 tablespoons of brown sugar with two of powdered (dry) mustard...

...and I patted it firmly all over the scored fat. Then stuck it in a 350' oven for about 40 minutes with some ladlesful of the cooking liquid from its pot. Every ten minutes or so I opened the oven and patted some more of the sugar mixture over the pig, as it tends to slide off in the heat as it melts and caramelizes.



The finished pig.

But wait!

I reduced the leftover juices in its roasting pan and spooned them over as a last glazing.



 
Then put it in cab with myself and drove to Manhattan, smelling like Thanksgiving.

It was eaten up.