We believe that this is the best suckling pig in Spain
I don't know if the coke restaurant It's the best, but it's certainly different and definitely my favourite.
The one owned by the Sandoval brothers (Mario, Rafael and Diego) is a contemporary haute cuisine restaurant. a, but they - who are smart as hunger - have had the wisdom not to forget where they come from, to know with certainty where they are going. Since they have never denied their origins, they kept the vaulted oven that their grandfather had built in the kitchen of their restaurant –which was a grill- when they weren't even born. Although Mario moves freely between foams and spherifications (and has won the South of Madrid for the cause of contemporary haute cuisine) he has continued roasting the suckling pigs that have given the house so much fame.
And what do Coque's piglets have that the others don't? Several things. They are from a different breed, which comes from the crossing of the Durock and Pietrain breeds, while those from Segovia and Ávila are a mixture of Landrace and Large White. They are raised on a farm owned by the Sandoval family, with all kinds of pampering and care, for that they are the jewel in the crown. Piglets with very white meat, which are slaughtered when they are 17 days old , when they weigh 3.5 kg (one kilogram less than in Segovia) and have not tried any other food than breast milk. In addition, they are not “stranded”, that is, they have not undergone bleaching treatments as is done in many slaughterhouses.
The brewing method is also different. The suckling pigs **are spread raw with oil, salt and a few drops of vinegar (neither lard nor any ajilimoje)**. They are then placed skin side down on metal racks (and not in a clay pot). In the lower part, a tray collects the fat released by the animal. After an hour they are turned over to roast on the other side. In an hour and a half more they are ready. Just before taking them out to the table, they are grilled over oak embers. In three minutes the skin is completely curled, and is impregnated with the aroma of coal.
"Our oven -explains Mario Sandoval- vaulted, with a rotating refractory wheel, is fed with oak firewood, but indirectly. The hearth is isolated from the chamber where the pieces are roasted". The result is Magnificent pieces, with clean smells, tender and unctuous meat, and crisp, shiny and wrinkled skin , which peels off the fat and puffs up like a soufflé. Evidence that with an elementary technique outstanding results can be achieved.
The challenge that Sandoval has now set for himself is to expand the use that he gives to this Ferrari for barbecues, which is the oven that his grandfather installed. "Given the possibilities we have started to work with vegetables, fish and meat, all roasted -Explains Sandoval- and with different woods that Rafael -with his good sense of smell- selects. Let's see what we get. Experiments with tubers and bulbs (beets, salsify, potatoes, onions, squash, celeriac) have been successful because cooking them without water cooks them in their own juices and concentrates the flavors. With meat and fish we get magnificent textures”.
In September they will launch a roast menu called “Más Madera” and it will be made entirely in a wood-fired oven. And this is not the only novelty. The interesting work carried out with the egg (hydrolysed white and yolk) has produced, among other things, a spectacular tocino de cielo and various industrial applications. And they are already announcing the inauguration of a new premises in the heart of Madrid, next to the new casino that will open in Plaza de Colón. We wait impatiently!
The Sandoval brothers