Wild Boar
Submitted by julstew
Braised wild boar marinated for two days in red wine, cider vinegar, and juniper, then simmered tender with carrots, onions, and celery. Finished in a rich currant-jelly gravy and served with chestnut puree.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
2 hrsREADY
3 hrsWild boar is darker, leaner, and far more intense than farmed pork, and this old-world braise treats it with the respect it deserves. The key is a long marinade.
For two full days, the boar bathes in red wine and cider vinegar spiked with juniper berries, garlic, bay, and thyme. The acidity tenderizes the tough muscle while the juniper and herbs tame the gaminess and infuse the meat with a piney, woodsy fragrance.
Then the whole thing, marinade and all, goes into the pot for a low, slow simmer until the meat turns tender, with carrots, onions, and celery added toward the end so they don’t fall apart.
The sauce is the payoff. The braising liquid gets enriched with beef broth and a spoonful of currant jelly, then thickened into a glossy brown gravy. That sweet-tart jelly is the classic counterpoint to rich game.
Spoon it over sliced boar and serve with chestnut puree.
Pro Tips
- Use a glass or enamel bowl for the marinade, as the recipe directs; the acidic wine and vinegar can react with reactive metals.
- Don’t rush the two-day marinade; it’s what tenderizes the lean, tough boar and mellows its strong flavor.
- Reduce the gravy until it coats the back of a spoon for that proper brown-gravy thickness.
Variations
- No wild boar? The same marinade and braise work beautifully for venison or a tough cut of pork.
- Swap the currant jelly for lingonberry or red plum for a similar sweet-tart finish.
- Add a few crushed juniper berries to the gravy for an extra hit of that woodsy note.
Ingredients
Directions
Combine consomme', vinegar, wine, pepper, salt, bay leaves, thyme, garlic, and juniper berries in a glass or enamel bowl.
Place boar meat into marinade. Let marinate for 2 days at room temperature.
Place meat and marinade in a large kettle.
Cover and simmer for 2 to 2½ hours or until meat is almost tender.
Add carrots, onions, celery.
Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
Remove meat and vegetables and keep warm.
Add beef broth, currant jelly, and flour mixture to pan liquid.
Stir until sauce bubbles and thickens slightly.
Let sauce cook at a boil until it becomes the thickness of a good brown gravy.
Pour hot gravy over portions of sliced boar and vegetables.
Serve with Chestnut Puree.
Comments
I made this dish but cut the marinating ingredients in half and it still had too much liquid. I also only marinated the meat for about 12 hours which was too much. We weren't cooking a wild boar, it was a wild sow, so that may be why. The meat from this pig is delicious and not at all strong, kind of beef like. Anyway, this recipe really needed tweaking. Also 20 minutes is not long enough to cook vegetables in that sauce. I cooked them for well over an hour and they were barely done enough, still "al dente". The portions of flour is missing from the recipe too, so I had to guess on that. All in all, it turned out fairly well and I served it over Spatzel noodles. The meat was overpowered by the marinade so if I try this again, with wild sow meat, I'll shorten the marinating time to maybe 6 hours and keep it in the fridge.
P.S. The chestnut purée was a great condiment! The recipe really was delicious and with all the leftover sauce I had, I boiled some tender lamb meat and then heated it through in the sauce and that was really tasty too!