Wild boar

[Inishta]

This is a rib roast of wild boar. Done in a slow oven for 3 hours, marinated as necessary and eaten with oven roasted potatoes and redcurrant jelly sauce...................awesome!

[DrakeRemoray]

Re: Wild boar

Yum....Hard to get wild boar in the US!

[Inishta]

Re: Wild boar

Hi Drake...........Turkey being a muslim country it is impossible to get domestic pork, except for some average bacon and sausage imported or the occasional red-cross parcel brought in from UK by friends. We do, however, have lots of wild boar on the mountains around us and almost no-one to eat it when they are shot. I get telephone calls on a regular basis to go and collect one. I was under the impression there are lots of 'hog' in Texas and surrounding states.

inishta

[wlively]

Re: Wild boar

Yes, there are plenty of wild boar in Texas. More that can be killed. I don't know if it is that the breed is different or our tastes are different, but only young ones are considered edible here. Most of the wild hogs here are either Russian or Ferrel. They say an old one is down right rancid, which is a scary thought as I must say I didn't care for the younger one I ate.

[Inishta]

Re: Wild boar

The boar here are Anatolian. They are generally only hunted for sport not food and big tusk boar are taken as specimens on licensed hunts. The roast in the picture was taken from a 65 kg female which I dressed and butchered. Most boar that is shot are not very accomodating as to where they die and are often too large to retrieve whole because of the distance from transport and the terrain. I have had boar legs brought that have come from 100kg animals and it seems that is the cut hunters think we want. The best parts, in my opinion, are left on the mountain. I will only participate in a hunt where the boar is taken for food.

[james]

Re: Wild boar

Of course boar is a big thing in Tuscany, and also in Provence. We've had a number of encounters with wild boar while driving country roads late in the evening. Once a family of three jogged right past the car as we were just leaving a friend's home after dinner; and we could occasionally hear them snuffling around outside our house in Impruneta. Hunting is a big deal, and you jeeps and guys with guns during the season, and the occasional unlucky boar tied to the top of a jeep. I'm not a hunter, so that doesn't work for me.

Boar is also farmed in Tuscany -- and depending on the restaurant, they either will (or won't) tell you where your cinghiale is wild. Pappardelle Cinghiale is a big regional specialty.

Of course in the old days, the boar had a good shot at killing the hunter -- so it was a little more fair. :-)

James

[n2iko]

Re: Wild boar

If my memory serves, taste of the wild meat is depandant on what the diet of the animal is/was. GIGO.

The one and only wild one I ate was on a diet of garden veggies and acorns from the woods. He got too frisky in the veggie garden was how it wound up on the BBQ. It was a meal to remember though.

[Ageo308]

Re: Wild boar

This is a rib roast of wild boar. Done in a slow oven for 3 hours, marinated as necessary and eaten with oven roasted potatoes and redcurrant jelly sauce...................awesome!

Very nice indeed! i love cooking wild boar, i prefer the ones from the mountains as they eat the roots and other greens which make them nice and healthy.

Wild meat is always better than domestic as its leaner and sweeter.

[pjk]

Re: Wild boar

Adrian,

The boar you describe almost sounds like an animal we have living in the hills of Australia. It's called the Wombat.

The Wombat - eats, roots, and leaves.

Oh' to be a wombat.

Cheers,
peter

[Hendo]

Re: Wild boar

I heard something similar - eats, roots, shoots and leaves! I think it would be lost on our US friends though! I mean, they even root for their favourite sporting team! P.

[fredjana]

Re: Wild boar

Okay, had to chime in. My son and his grandpa finished off a couple of California boar last summer and we ended up with a half freezer full of meat. Take the backstrap, loin or tenderloin and use the following recipe. Be sure to let it cook all afternoon. It is especially good the day after making - in any case, serve with lots of fresh oven baked Italian bread and a hearty Chianti or Brunello. Saluti!

Pappardelle with wild boar sauce Arezzo-style
Recipe by Valentina Harris
SERVES 4
Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking 4 hours 30 minutes

1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, scraped and chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
100g chopped prosciutto crudo
4 tbsp olive oil
450g wild-boar stewing steak, cubed
1 large tumbler of full-bodied red wine
sea salt and freshly milled black pepper
5 tbsp tomato pur?e, diluted in about 6 tbsp hot game
or beef stock
300g canned tomatoes, sieved
large pinch fennel seeds
small pinch cumin
400g pappardelle
grated Parmesan to serve (optional)

Fry the vegetables gently with the prosciutto and the olive oil until the onion is transparent, then add the meat. Seal on all sides until browned, then pour over the wine, add seasoning, cover and simmer for about 3? hours, or until the meat is completely tender. During this time, gradually add the tomato pur?e and canned tomatoes. Once the meat is falling apart, add the fennel seeds, the cumin and stir thoroughly. Simmer for a further hour, covered. Check the seasoning.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil, add the pappardelle, stir and return to the boil. Drain the pasta when it is al dente, return it to the pot in which it was cooked and add the sauce. Mix it all together thoroughly and transfer to a serving platter or individual plates to serve.

[Inishta]

Re: Wild boar

We're at it again. Second meal from the oven. This time we are having some friends over so a 6kg (13lb.) back leg from the same boar was the order of the day.

Picture one is the leg in its original state. Two is marinading for 48 hours (turned every 10). Three is the boar ready for the oven studded with garlic and cloves and raised on a bed of potatoes, carrots and onions.

[Inishta]

Re: Wild boar

This is the biggest fire yet as the oven is still curing. I think next time we will be able to get to the "scary fire". Boar is put in after the flames have died down, door closed and five hours later was ready for the table.

[DrakeRemoray]

Re: Wild boar

That is my kind of cooking! I love those roasts on the bone!

Great work!

Drake