SETH: All right, so how do you even begin to prepare this pig?

RICHARD: Well, first off, we're going to start doing a few incisions.

We season right before we go into the pit, we want to make sure that we can distribute the seasoning equally all around the pig.

SETH: And you're seasoning the inside of the pig here, is that correct?

RICHARD: And we're seasoning the inside of the pig, because we're cooking with direct high heat.

If we season the outside, that will burn.

You want a nice crispy skin.

SETH: And I've had Filipino lechon, I've had porchetta, but what makes Puerto Rican lechon special?

RICHARD: Well, for me, I would say it is the best, because basically, this is a tradition that I grew up doing.

My great-grandfather used to be the pig master back home.

And we try to carry on the recipe and the tradition here.

We start by having a very traditional seasoning, fresh garlic, dry oregano, fresh pepper and salt.

SETH: Well, this is a beautifully seasoned pig.

But what does it take to get this onto that?

RICHARD: Oh, we're about to show you right now.

Of course, slide it up.

You're cooking on direct heat, so...

There you go.

SETH: After Richard and Mario get the pig on the spit, they secure it in place using metal wire.

All right.

Well, I guess I didn't really know what I was getting myself into when I got out of bed this morning.

RICHARD: I don't think you had an idea of how real this was.

SETH: And this is how food is made.

RICHARD: When we first open Lechonera, the first debate we had, like, "Do we keep the head on, yes or no?

", because it's going to be a little bit difficult for some people.

But actually when we opened, we had a lot of people requesting to get the head.

We also have customers that call early in the morning, "Hey, can you save the head?

I'm going today."

SETH: Wow.

All right.

So there's a part of the pig for everybody.

RICHARD: Yes sir.

MARIO: There is.

RICHARD: So now the pig is ready to go on the pit.

So are you ready?

SETH: Let's do it.

RICHARD: All right.

MARIO: So now we're taking it to the pit.

Richard's going to go on the other side right now.

And then he's grabbing it.

RICHARD: Ready to go.

MARIO: And that's it.

Turn it on.

SETH: Then the machine does the work?

MARIO: Yeah.

The machine does the work.

We already have one going, because we want to eat some point today.

And then we going to baste it.

What we use is annatto seed oil.

We cook the annatto seeds in olive oil and avocado oil.

Every hour, we're constantly basting the pig.

SETH: And the annatto oil is giving it a really nice red color when you brush that on.

MARIO: Yes.

So it will help with the coloring of the pig and also will inject a little bit of some flavor.

When we get old people here and they try it, they're like, "Oh, did you put annatto seed?"

And we're like, "Okay so it gives some... SETH: They know.

MARIO: They know exactly.

And then something we also do is for younger generations, we do some what we call perniles, because the younger generations, they don't want the whole pig.

It's part of our menu today.

We got Chinese barbecue pork.

That's not anything traditional out of Puerto Rico, but it's one of Richard's favorite dish.

It's very common in some takeouts in Puerto Rico.

Then we got some pumpkin that we're roasting and some pineapples.

SETH: Wow.

And then obviously you got to be working this fire, making sure the right temperature all the time?

MARIO: Absolutely.

That's actually the hardest part.

That's what people tend to not doing it.

It takes six hours.

So you're constantly feeding fire.

We use charcoal and we use wood.

And you let it do its work.

SETH: Well, on a day like today, standing right here is a welcome.

MARIO: Trust me.

The winter is very, very, very important.

It's the thing that keep us warm.

SETH: Just like it's keeping these pigs nice and warm.

MARIO: Yeah.

Absolutely.

So we already baste the pig.

We're going to add some charcoal.

We're going to close this bad boy out, and then we're going to go cook some rice.

So our rice is very unique.

We make our own sazon with an annatto seed powder.

We're going to give those spices a little bit of a toast.

We use hand-cut vegetables that we sauté in an annatto seed oil.

We are going to incorporate the gandules into the pot.

And then what is very unique is we deglaze with Puerto Rico beer and then we let the alcohol cook.

Then we take some of the water that we use for the gandules.

We add saffron.

When we boil that for a couple minutes, we're going to add the rice.

We're going to start mixing and mixing and mixing.

When we see it that it's pretty much dry, we are going to cover it with banana leaves.

Cook it for like 35 to 45 minutes, and all our herbs get added to the end.

It's going to add more freshness to the rice.

So while this rice is cooking, we cannot forget about the main thing here.

We have to keep an eye on the pigs, adding charcoal and wood as necessary, and checking internal temperatures.

And then when the pig is ready, we take it out and we do the magic.

We chop it.

We are going to separate the pig into primals.

We take the skin, we let it cool down so it get nice and crispy, and then we chop it up.

Very unique here.

That is very different from the island.

We don't do bones, so we're going to take all the meat out of the bones and then we mix everything.

So you're going to get lean, you're going to get moist, you're going to get fatty parts.

So then the best way to serve it is a rice bowl.

We're going to take the rice with pigeon peas.

And then we switch sides often here on the truck.

Today we got braised green bananas.

We are going to make plantain relish.

We're going to add the pig and then we will be ready for a great feast.

SETH: All right, gentlemen.

I cannot wait.

RICHARD: It's the moment of truth.

SETH: I see some skin right on top, and I think we got to do a little crunch test here.

MARIO: Crunch test.

SETH: There's snap.

RICHARD: Oh.

There you go.

How's that?

SETH: Oh man.

I don't want to say too much yet.

I want to go in for some meat, but even in that one bite, nice herbal flavors.

And you didn't even rub the outside of the skin.

RICHARD: Not at all.

MARIO: Not at all.

SETH: But, I got to go in and try some of this meat as well.

RICHARD: Sure.

Let's eat.

Let's eat.

Use your hands, brother.

That's how you eat.

SETH: No more knife and fork.

Come on.

Let's do this.

RICHARD: That's the one.

Ain't that right?

SETH: All right.

Where have you guys been my whole life?

That is incredible.

Just perfectly seasoned.

And of course, the smoke, lots and lots of smoky flavor.

It just warms and fills you, which I really needed today.

And like any good kind of fatty pork dish, you need a little vinegar to cut it with, I'm guessing that's what's in here.

RICHARD: In here we have, I would say, Puerto Rican mother sauce.

Mayo ketchup.

SETH: Mayo ketchup.

Thousand Island dressing.

RICHARD: Thousand Island dressing, right?

And I will say pique.

You will find pique on any Puerto Rican family, under the sink.

SETH: Gotcha.

RICHARD: Your grandma would always have it, and that's what you want to use for your pork.

SETH: So this is a dip?

RICHARD: Dip or a drizzle.

SETH: Dip or drizzle.

All right.

RICHARD: How was that?

SETH: Oh.

I love that because it's piquant.

And you know what?

It also has a little bit of heat too... RICHARD: Oh yeah, it does.

SETH: ...which is nice.

RICHARD: It does.

And you always keep your base, and it's like sourdough, right?

You keep on building on top of your whole base so it can get pretty spicy over the time.

SETH: And on top of all that, I haven't even taken a bite of the rice yet.

Guys, that rice and those peas, everything is so creamy.

I feel like I'm getting another layer of Puerto Rican flavors here.

MARIO: Yeah, Seth, you know, this is basically the purest form of comida criolla Puerto Ricana.

Puerto Rican cuisine doesn't get more pure than this.