Originally Pata Asada (Roast leg of pork) was a traditional Christmas dish, nowadays it is consumed throughout the year. Many bars and cafes serve it regularly as a tapa or in a sandwich.
Pata Asada Canaria recipe
Serves: 8-10 people
Preparation: 15 mins
Cooking time: 3-4 hours
Ingredients:
1 leg of pork on the bone (approx. 5kg)
Coarse sea salt
8 garlic cloves (to taste and according to the size of the leg)
Table salt
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C, adjust the heat up/down depending on your oven once you put the pork in.
- Rub the whole leg with coarse sea salt.
- Make incisions along the leg with a sharp knife and insert the slices of garlic.
- Place the leg of pork onto a suitable roasting tray, cover with aluminium foil and put it in the oven. If you don’t have a fan assisted oven make sure you turn the roasting tray each hour to ensure the meat cooks evenly.
- Lower the temperature of the oven to 180°C. Allow approximately 45 minutes per kilo of meat.
- Halfway through the cooking time, remove the aluminium foil and return to the oven.
- After 3 hours start to check the meat regularly by inserting a sharp knife or skewer into the meat at different points until the juices run clear or no liquid comes out.
- The skin should be nice crispy crackling by now – remove from the oven and sit for approx. 5 minutes.
- Carve the meat into thin slices, add a little salt and serve with the cooking juices drizzled over it.
Tips & variations
If the crackling hasn’t gone as crispy as you like you could try removing it from the meat and quickly frying over a medium heat on the hob, although this shouldn’t be necessary.
Serving suggestsions
This meat is a real treat and a star in its own right! However, it lends itself to having a bit of crusty bread on the side to mop up the delightful juices.
Have you tried our recipe, or tried a variation? Let us know how it turned out!
