Take a sharp knife and score the skin across in narrow stripes
(you may cross it again so as to form diamonds) and rub in some
powdered sage. Raise the skin at the knuckle, and put in a
stuffing of minced onion and sage, bread-crumbs, pepper, salt, and
beaten yolk of egg. Fasten it down with a buttered string, or with
skewers. You may make deep incisions in the meat of the large end
of the leg, and stuff them also; pressing in the filling very
hard. Rub a little sweet oil all over the skin with a brush or a
goose feather, to make it crisp and of a handsome brown. Do not
place the spit too near the fire, lest the skin should burn and
blister. A leg of pork will require from three to four hours to
roast. Moisten it all the time by brushing it with sweet oil, or
with fresh butter tied in a rag. To baste it with its own dripping
will make the skin tough and hard. Skim the fat carefully from the
gravy, which should be thickened with a little flour.
A roast leg of pork should always be accompanied by apple-sauce,
and by mashed potato and mashed turnips.