Roast Piglet Leg with Crispy Skin and Sweet Potatoes
Igor Gjozinski
6/3/2025
Updated on
4/29/2026
Public
Classification
Category:
Main Dish
Cuisine:
Not specified
Difficulty:
Medium
Servings:
4
Total Weight:
1880g
Time Breakdown
Preparation
20m
Cooking
3h 0m
Resting
20m
Total Time
3h 40m
Nutrition
4
1261
Calories
4
83.5 g
Protein
4
30 g
Carbs
4
91.4 g
Fat
Sugar:
9.3 g
Fiber:
4.8 g
Saturated Fat:
30.4 g
Unsaturated Fat:
0 g
Trans Fat:
0 g
Cholesterol:
303.8 mg
Sodium:
3160.6 mg
Calcium:
53.8 mg
Iron:
1mg
Potassium:
677.5mg
Salt:
0g
Ingredients 3
Servings:
Pork piglet leg with skin
1350
Gram
4590.0
324.0g
0.0g
364.5g
Salt
30
Gram
0.0
0.0g
0.0g
0.0g
Sweet Red Potatoes
500
Gram
452.0
10.1g
120.0g
1.0g
Cooking Instructions
A spectacular center-piece dish featuring tender, juicy pork with an incredibly crunchy crackling, perfectly complemented by caramelized, roasted sweet potatoes.
Ingredients:
1 boneless piglet leg (skin on)
Coarse salt (for seasoning)
Apple cider vinegar
1 glass of water (for the pan)
1–2 sweet potatoes
30 g salt dissolved in 50 ml water (for the crisping solution)
Instructions:
Prepare the meat: Wash the piglet leg thoroughly and pat it completely dry using paper towels.
Pierce the skin: Using a toothpick or a sharp skewer, poke numerous small holes all over the skin. The more holes you make, the better—this helps the fat render out and ensures the skin crisps up beautifully.
Salt the meat: Generously season the underside (the meaty side) of the leg with coarse salt. Turn it over and salt the skin side as well, massaging the salt into the skin to help it penetrate.
Vinegar rub: Pour some apple cider vinegar into a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the entire surface of the skin with the vinegar.
Roasting setup: Place the piglet leg on a rack inside a roasting pan. Pour one glass of water into the bottom of the pan, then cover it tightly with a lid or seal it securely with aluminum foil.
Start from a cold oven: Place the covered roasting pan into a completely cold oven. Set the temperature to 170°C (340°F) and set the timer for 90 minutes.
Initial roast: After 90 minutes, remove the pan from the oven. Take off the lid or foil, flip the piglet leg so the meaty side faces up, and spoon some of the pan juices over the meat. Return it to the oven uncovered and roast for another 30 minutes.
Prepare the sweet potatoes: While the meat is roasting, peel and cube the sweet potatoes.
Flip and grill: After those 30 minutes, remove the pan again. Check the bottom of the pan: if there is liquid, spoon some over the skin; if it is dry, add a little water to the bottom. Flip the piglet skin-side up. Set your oven to grill mode (or its highest heat setting) and roast for a final 30 minutes. At the 15-minute mark, baste the skin once more with the pan juices.
Add sweet potatoes: Arrange the sweet potato cubes in the pan around the piglet leg to roast during this final phase.
Baste with the salt solution: Prepare the crisping solution by dissolving 30 g of salt in 50 ml of water. Every 10 minutes during the final 30-minute grill phase, brush the piglet skin with this salty solution to achieve an extra-crunchy crackling.
Rest and serve: Once the skin is deep golden-brown and perfectly blistered, remove the pan from the oven. Let the meat rest for 20 minutes before carving and serving alongside the tender sweet potatoes.