Britain has a growing wild boar population and there are several wild boar farms getting this incredible meat to supermarkets and food markets across the nations. Wild Boar has less fat and cholesterol than pork and a deeper flavour but needs to be cooked for longer as wild boar’s a harder working animal. It’s not a terribly expensive meat; I picked up 500g of diced Wild Boar from the Suffolk Food Hall for £6 and it made 4 adult and 2 kid portions of this beautiful ragu.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 2 Adults & 2 Kids with leftovers
500g diced wild boar
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3 rashers smoked back bacon
1 white onion
2 carrots
2 celery sticks
1/2 head of garlic
250ml red wine
250ml tomato juice
400g whole tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
rosemary stalks and 2 bay leaves
- Put the flour, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper into a mixing bowl then add the wild boar and toss to coat all the pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet (with a lid) on a medium high heat then add the meat and brown all over. Once the meat is browned use a slotted spoon to remove it to a bowl.
- Pre-heat the oven to 170°C (150°C Fan). Peel and dice the onion, garlic and carrots then dice the celery and bacon. Fry the bacon for a couple of minutes in the oil to colour then add the vegetables, chopped garlic and 1/2 tsp of salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Add the red wine and deglaze any bits in the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the whole tomatoes, tomato puree and tomato juice.
- Bring the sauce to a boil then turn off the heat, add the meat back to the pan along with rosemary and bay then put the lid on. Pop in the oven on the middle shelf for 2 hours.
- Remove the herbs then toss cooked paradelle or tagliatelle with the sauce and finish with grated parmesan. The sauce is ideal for freezing.
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