Wild Boar Ragù Recipes

Steps:

• For the wild boar ragu: In a heavy casserole over medium heat, add the olive oil, ham, onions, shallots and garlic. Season well with salt. Cook until the ham is caramelized and the vegetables are translucent, 5 to 10 minutes.
• To the casserole, add the boar and pork and season well with salt. Cook until deep brown, about 20 minutes. Deglaze with the red wine, scraping up any brown bits. Bring to a boil, then simmer until most of the wine is cooked out, 5 to 7 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water to the ragu, bring to a simmer and simmer until reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. Add another 1/2 cup water, bring to a simmer again and reduce. Repeat, adding an additional 1/2 cup water at a time and simmering and reducing, until you've added 2 cups of water and the sauce is thick and rich. Stir in the turmeric and cream. Turn off heat and set aside.
• For the fettuccine: Place the egg yolks, flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low, slowly bring the ingredients together; they should form a nice, soft ball. Let dough rest for an hour.
• Cut dough ball into 2 even pieces and form into 2 balls. With a rolling pin, roll out each dough ball as thin as you can manage. Dust each with all-purpose flour and roll each into a tube. Using a sharp knife, cut across the rolled up pasta to form fettuccine (ideally 1/2 inch thick). Toss with flour and put in the freezer until cooking.
• Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add enough salt so that the water tastes like the sea. Add the fettuccine and cook until it rises to the surface, about 2 minutes. Remove the pasta with a spider, or strainer and add it directly to the ragu. Toss to coat and garnish with fresh parsley leaves.

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:

• Add coals to one half of covered grill. Allow coals to burn and whiten, producing an even heat with no flame.
• Place all rub ingredients in bowl and mix. With slightly moistened boar shoulder in pan, pat rub (with dry hands) on non-fatty side of boar shoulder. Be sure to coat all surfaces liberally, even fat and folds. Boar is lean and dries easily in heat. Rub will act as a seal, locking in moisture. Turn shoulder fat side down and lay bacon strips lengthwise across non-fatty side, pinning them to the shoulder with toothpicks at center and ends, ensuring even coverage of the meat surface. Any remaining bacon can be added to the ends. Place shoulder on empty side of grill, bacon side up, and close cover. Cook until internal temperature of pork reaches at least 160 degrees F, roughly 10 hours, depending on size of shoulder. A slow-cooked, well-sealed shoulder should pull apart with tongs.

Steps:

• In a food processor, puree the garlic, carrots, celery and onions into a coarse paste. Reserve.
• Coat a large, wide pot with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Sprinkle the boar generously with salt and add to the hot pan. Cook the boar until it is VERY brown on all sides. Remove the boar from the pan and reserve.
• Ditch the excess oil in the pan. Add a few drops of new oil and add the pureed veggies to the pan. Season them with salt, and brown them until crud forms on the bottom of the pan. Scrape the crud off the bottom of the pan (don't let the crud burn- it adds A LOT of flavor).
• Return the browned boar to the pan and add the tomato paste and cocoa powder. Stir to combine and cook the tomato paste for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Toss in the chopped juniper berries.
• Add the wine and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let the wine reduce by half.
• Add water to the pan so it covers the boar by about 1-inch. Toss in the bay leaves and thyme bundle. Taste the liquid and season with salt if needed (it will). Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let cook for 3 hours, adding water as the liquid level reduces. Taste frequently and re-season as needed.
• During the last 30 minutes of cooking time, let the cooking liquid reduce and the sauce get thick.
• Also during the last 30 minutes of cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat to cook the pappardelle. Pasta water should ALWAYS be well salted. Salty as the ocean! TASTE IT! If your pasta water is under seasoned, it doesn't matter how good your sauce is, your complete dish will always taste under seasoned. When the water is at a rolling boil add the pappardelle and cook until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.
• While the pasta is cooking, remove 1/2 of the ragu from the pot and reserve.
• Drain the pasta and add to the pot with the remaining ragu. Stir or toss the pasta to coat with the sauce. Add some of the reserved sauce if needed to make it about an even ratio between pasta and sauce. Add the reserved pasta cooking water and cook the pasta and sauce together over a medium heat until the water has reduced. Turn off the heat and give a generous drizzle of the big fat finishing olive oil. Toss or stir vigorously. Divide the pasta and sauce into serving bowls or one big pasta bowl. Top with grated Parmigiano. Serve immediately.
• Wine Pairing Suggestion: Chianti
• Place the flour on a clean, dry work surface. Make a hole (this is also called a well) in the center of the flour pile that is about 8 inches wide (bigger is definitely better here). Crack all of the eggs and the yolk into the hole and add the olive oil, salt and 1 to 2 tablespoons water.
• Using a fork, beat the eggs together with the olive oil, water (or more if needed) and salt. Using the fork, begin to incorporate the flour into the egg mixture, be careful not to break the sides of the well or the egg mixture will run all over your board and you will have a big mess! Also, don't worry about the lumps. When enough flour has incorporated into the egg mixture that it will not run all over the place when the sides of the well are broken, begin to use your hands to really get everything well combined. If the mixture is tight and dry, wet your hands and begin kneading with wet hands. When the mixture has really come together to a homogeneous mixture, THEN you can start kneading.
• When kneading it is VERY important to put your body weight into it, get on top of the dough to really stretch it and not to tear the dough. Using the heels of your palms, roll the dough to create a very smooooooth, supple dough. When done, the dough should look VERY smooth and feel almost velvety. Kneading will usually take from 8 to 10 minutes for an experienced kneader and 10 to 15 for an inexperienced kneader. Put your body weight into it, you need to knead! This is where the perfect, toothsome texture of your pasta is formed. Get in there and have fun!
• When the pasta has been kneaded to the perfect consistency, wrap it in plastic and let rest for at least 1 hour. If using immediately, do not refrigerate.
• To roll the pasta: Cut off 1/3 of the pasta dough, reserve the rest and keep it covered.
• Squash the pasta with the heels of your hands to facilitate it going through the pasta roller. Dust with flour. Put the pasta through the roller set on number one. Roll the dough through 2 times, dusting it with flour if it feels sticky or tacky.
• Fold the pasta into thirds and put it through the machine on number one again.
• Change the setting on the pasta roller to number two and run the pasta through. Continue to roll the pasta through the machine, changing the setting each time to a larger number (this will make the opening on the pasta machine smaller). When you get to the desired thin-ness (I recommend number six), cut the pasta into 10-inch lengths. Flour the dough generously and stack them in a pile. Cover the stack with plastic or a clean tea towel and proceed rolling the rest of the pasta.
• When the pasta is all rolled, take 3 sheets of pasta and fold both ends of the pasta over each other until they meet in the middle.
• Using a sharp knife, cut the pasta rolls into 1-inch widths. Unroll the pasta "ribbons" and dust with semolina and reserve on sheet trays.