Wild Boar Ragu
I was lucky enough to get some Wild Boar from one of my favorite purveyors at the farmers market, and instantly thought of a Tuscan style Ragu. After some research on different recipes, came up with my version which combined some of the best sounding elements from those I'd found with the simple techniques that seem to work best for other meat sauces I've done before. The result is a rich, silky, deep mahogany sauce that ideally would be used sparingly on a wide ribbon pasta such as papperdelle, but at a pinch would work with penne, spaghetti, or pretty much any other pasta shape. If you can't get Wild Boar, it would work with some good pork, but beef would probably be a better substitution.
I was lucky enough to get some Wild Boar from one of my favorite purveyors at the farmers market, and instantly thought of a Tuscan style Ragu. After some research on different recipes, came up with my version which combined some of the best sounding elements from those I'd found with the simple techniques that seem to work best for other meat sauces I've done before. The result is a rich, silky, deep mahogany sauce that ideally would be used sparingly on a wide ribbon pasta such as papperdelle, but at a pinch would work with penne, spaghetti, or pretty much any other pasta shape. If you can't get Wild Boar, it would work with some good pork, but beef would probably be a better substitution.
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 lb wild boar preferably shoulder - chopped into 1/4inch dice
- 1 onion (large) diced
- 1 oz dried porcini
- 1 cup red wine preferably a nice chianti or other tuscan red
- 1 14oz can tomatoes crushed or chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage finely chopped
- 6 juniper berries slightly crushed
- Carbohydrate 2.56458375162077 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.0584212500679028 g
- Fiber 0.188249996638347 g
- Protein 0.235097500091407 g
- Saturated Fat 0.0267095000374397 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (179g)
- Sodium 2.86112500204685 mg
- Sugar 2.37633375498243 g
- Trans Fat 0.0113033750111307 g
- Calories 55 calories
Step-by-step
- Soak the mushrooms in 1 cup of hot water for 20 minutes then strain, reserving the liquor, and finely chop them.
- In small batches, brown the Wild Boar well in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Remove each batch to a bowl while the rest is browned.
- Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook slowly until softened and translucent golden.
- Deglaze the pan with the red wine and add the onion and the meat back in.
- Add the mushrooms with their liquor, the tomatoes, the herbs and juniper berries. Lower the heat, cover and simmer slowly for 1.5 hours or until the boar is very tender.
- Adjust seasoning by adding sea salt a little at a time until the flavors pop - probably about a teaspoon total.
- Serve over pappedelle or another wide pasta.
Should the mushrooms go in before the wine or after the meat? That tactical question usually surfaces halfway through braising game, when the pan acoustics change and the liquid threatens to scorch. Wild boar shoulder demands patience, requiring a precise quarter-inch dice so the lean muscle fibers break down uniformly during a ninety-minute simmer. Searing that meat requires crowding prevention, meaning four batches in a hot skillet with two tablespoons of olive oil rather than dumping everything in at once. Crowding drops pan temperature instantly, steaming the protein instead of developing the necessary deep mahogany crust. Rehydration of the dried porcini takes twenty minutes in a cup of hot water, yielding both softened fungi and a concentrated soaking liquor that carries immense umami depth into the pot. Deglazing with a dry Chianti lifts the browned fond from the bottom of the vessel, incorporating those caramelized proteins back into the sauce before the crushed tomatoes, finely chopped rosemary, sage, and slightly crushed juniper berries join the mixture. Seasoning must happen near the end of the cooking process rather than the beginning, adding sea salt in quarter-teaspoon increments until the gamey flavors sharpen and pop. Wide pasta such as pappardelle provides the necessary structural surface area to hold heavy meat sauces without pooling at the bottom of the bowl. Standard pork shoulder serves as a reliable one-to-one substitution if game meat is unavailable, though beef chuck offers a sturdier alternative for cooks seeking a heavier iron profile.
