COOKING WILD BOAR RECIPES

Steps:

• The night before making the ragù place the meat in a bowl with the rosemary, peppercorns, garlic and enough wine to cover. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Discard the rosemary and garlic. Drain the meat in a strainer set over a bowl, reserving the wine. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering, and add the carrot, celery and onion. Sauté until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the meat and cook, stirring frequently, until all the liquid released by the meat has evaporated and the meat is browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the reserved wine and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is dry, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with a spoon. Add 1 cup water, reduce heat to very low, and cook, partly covered, at a low simmer for 1 hour.
• Add vegetable stock and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the meat begins to break apart, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove from heat and, using a whisk or spoon, break the meat into very fine shreds. Serve, if desired, over tagliatelle or other pasta.

Steps:

• 1. Rub the leg of wild boar all over with the salt and the pepper. Place it in a shallow dish, cover it loosely, and refrigerate it for 36 hours.
• 2. Bring the wine, the herbs and spices, and the vegetables to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan over medium high heat and cook for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Strain, reserving the bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns and cloves, and discarding the vegetables.
• Whisk in the vinegar.
• 3. Quickly rinse the salt and pepper from the boar to remove most but not all of it. Pat meat dry and place it in a shallow dish. Pour the cooled marinade over it, return it to the refrigerator, loosely covered, and let it marinate for 36 hours, turning it at least four times.
• 4. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
• 5. Remove the leg of wild boar from the marinade and pat it dry. Make 20 tiny slits in it all over, and insert a clove into each slit. Transfer the boar to a baking dish, and pour one-fourth of the marinade over it. Roast in the center of the oven until the boar is very golden on the outside, and when you cut into it it is a very faint pink, but not in the least red, which will take about 2 hours. Check it occasionally to be sure the marinade hasn't completely evaporated, and pour the additional marinade over the roast, one-fourth at a time.
• 6. When the boar is roasted remove it from the oven, and set it on a platter in warm spot, loosely covered, to sit for at least 20 minutes so the juices have a chance to retreat back into the meat. To prepare the sauce, transfer the cooking juice and any browned bits from the bottom of the baking dish to a medium sized saucepan. Whisk in the chicken or veal stock and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce by about one-fourth, then stir in the red current jelly. Continue cooking and whisking until the sauce is smooth and satiny, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• 7. Before slicing the boar remove as many of the cloves as possible. Thinly slice the wild boar and arrange it on a platter. Garnish with flat-leaf parsley leaves. Either pour the sauce over the meat, or serve it on the side.
• *Leg of wild boar is available for mail order from:
• Broken Arrow Ranch
• P.O. Box 530
• Ingram, TX 78025
• (800) 962-4263