Hot Stuff: Incanto's Whole Roasted Suckling Pig with its "Nasty Bits"
SFist Mary goes whole hog with our newest food column, Hot Stuff!
We can't think of a better way to spend a birthday (our husband's) than eating an entire animal with seventeen fellow carnivores at Incanto Restaurant's private room, in Noe Valley. This is a bit of Laura Ingalls Wilder in the City, for sure. Not only are the food and wine superb at Incanto, it's where we ate offal (Prather Ranch veal testicles, anyone?) with Culinary Bad Boy Anthony Bourdain earlier this year.
Although the Whole Beast options that Chef Chris Cosentino will carve tableside can include lamb or goat, we chose the suckling pig. It seemed the most "user friendly" for all palates (this theory would ultimately be tested by the presence of three brave pregnant friends in attendance). Besides, Homer Simpson said it best: pig is a wonderful, magical animal.
Vegans beware, after the jump!
Chef Chris knew we live on the wild side, culinarily speaking, and first offered up platters of the kidney, heart and liver. These are referred to as "The Nasty Bits," which were in this case mainly eaten by men. The heart was petite, very tender and tasted and felt clean. For the kidney, it reminded us of a small sausage, with mild, smooth meaty flavors. We didn't try the liver, and used the excuse of "saving room." Reports from the Birthday Boy were that the liver had a similar taste and texture to calf's liver.
It was daunting to see the pig set up because it still had its head on and eyes open. On the other hand, the skin looked beautiful: all shiny and beautifully browned. We couldn't wait to get a piece of that! Chef Chris expertly wielded his knife to carve. Some of our pregnant friends cringed and kept their backs turned away from the pig. However, when the platters of sliced pig made the rounds, everyone revved up. It was amazing how tender, moist and flavorful the pork tasted. There was more than enough of everything. We'd love to know Chef Chris's secrets for getting the pig to taste so good.
As the feasting continued, he offered the Birthday Boy the entire pig's head. This effort caused loud sucking and eating noises, because the pig skin and ears were crackly and crunchy. Chef Chris paused from carving and pronounced, "Somebody got the ear!" as the Birthday Boy smiled and crunched away. Our friend Lora looked like she might throw up in her mouth a little bit but thankfully, that didnt happen. We wanted to like the pig trotters but have had limited success with those meaty beasties in the past. The Incanto version was gelatinous, sticky, and hard to eat, which is how trotters seem to be regardless. For us, it was far easier to set the trotter aside and continue feasting on the carved pork and addictive strips of pig skin.
Would we return for another Whole Beast option? Perhaps we'll save up, since the Birthday Whole Pig dinner ran $111 per person with tip, which was higher than we had estimated when inviting friends. Like other embarrassing moments in life, we blame too much wine. It may be challenging to find folks willing to dig into goat or lamb, but we remain hopeful. Easter Sunday may offer the best solution, when Chef Chris serves a trio of the three animals. We won't wait till then to return to Incanto, but Easter's on our calendar already.
Incanto Restaurant
1550 Church Street at Duncan
tel: (415) 641-4500