Wild Boar Ragù Recipes

WILD BOAR RAGù

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.

JOE LYCETT'S WILD BOAR RAGù

Steps:

• Slice the wild boar into 5cm chunks and place in a large bowl.
• Peel 2 red onions, then roughly chop with 1 carrot and 1 stick of celery, then add to the bowl with the juniper berries and bay. Pour over half of the wine, cover, and chill in the fridge overnight.
• The next day, remove the boar from the marinade and discard the veg, pat dry and mince coarsely (or finely chop, if you prefer).
• Peel the remaining onions, scrub and trim the remaining carrot and celery, then run them through the mincer too (or finely chop).
• Mince (or finely chop) the pancetta, then place in a large casserole pan on a medium heat with 1 tablespoon of oil. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the minced veg and boar. Cook until golden brown and all the juices have evaporated, stirring regularly.
• Pour in a large glass of red wine and allow to bubble and cook away, then tip in the passata and 500ml of beef stock. Simmer gently on a low heat for 3 hours, adding ladlefuls of the remaining stock throughout (a bit like when you make a risotto), stirring regularly.
• Meanwhile, to make the pasta, crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk together. Season with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then add the oil and 250ml water. Gradually add the flour, patting and bringing it together as you go, then tip out onto a flour-dusted work surface and knead until smooth and silky. Wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
• Take a quarter of the dough (wrap the remaining back up in the clingfilm to stop it from drying out), then roll out as thinly as you can with a large rolling pin (ideally around 2mm thick), dusting with extra flour as you go.
• Cut the dough in half across the middle, then roll up each piece into a loose cylinder. Slice into 1.5cm strips, tossing lightly with your fingertips to separate into pappardelle. Repeat with the remaining pasta and divide into portions, ready for cooking - it's best to cook the pasta in small batches, to order.
• When you're almost ready to serve, taste the ragù and adjust the seasoning, if needed, then add a swig of extra virgin olive oil.
• For each portion, add a spoonful of ragù to a large non-stick frying pan over a low heat with a small grating of Parmesan (if using). Meanwhile, cook the pappardelle in a pan of boiling salted water for 1 minute 30 seconds, then use tongs to drag it directly into the sauce, taking a little pasta water with it, to loosen. Toss together, then plate up. Delicious finished with an extra grating of Parmesan, if you like.

FETTUCCINE WITH WILD BOAR RAGU

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.

WILD BOAR RAGU BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Put the diced wild boar in a nonreactive bowl. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
• Add the wine, half of the diced celery and carrot, the smashed garlic cloves, sage, rosemary, and bay leaves to the bowl.
• Reserve and refrigerate the remaining celery and carrot. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate the wild boar overnight.
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer the wild boar to paper towels to drain. Remove the garlic cloves and chop.
• Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot, then add the onion and reserved celery and carrot and garlic and sauté until softened, 5 minutes.
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer the carrots and celery in the marinade to the pot, and sauté another 5 minutes.
• Add the wild boar to the pot, and brown on all sides, then stir in the wine and herbs from the marinade.
• Increase the heat to high, and let the wine reduce 7 to 8 minutes, then stir in the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and red pepper flakes.
• Lower the heat, and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the boar is tender. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if desired.
• Stir in the milk, and simmer the ragu another 30 minutes. Serve with a flat pasta like pappardelle and grated Parmesan.

PAPPARDELLE WITH WILD BOAR RAGU

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.

MALTAGLIATI WITH WILD BOAR RAGù

Steps:

• To make the ragù, cut the meat into 1/2-inch cubes. Place the meat in a nonreactive baking dish, season it with the salt and pepper, and toss to coat the meat all over with the seasonings. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• Combine the Soffritto, olive oil, anchovies, and rosemary in a large saucepan over low heat and cook for 2 to 3 minutes to soften the rosemary and meld the flavors. Increase the heat to medium high. Move the vegetables to create a bare spot in the pan, add the tomato paste to that spot, and cook for 1 minute, stirring, to caramelize the tomato paste slightly. Add the wine, increase the heat to high, and boil the wine until the pan is almost dry, about 15 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, 2 cups of the chicken stock, and the red pepper flakes, and bring the sauce to a simmer. Add the meat, return the sauce to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and simmer the ragù, adding more chicken stock from time to time to keep the ragù from getting too thick or sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the meat is tender, about 4 hours. To test for doneness, put a cube of meat on a plate. If you can smash it easily with the back of the spoon, it's done; otherwise, continue cooking. When the ragù is done, turn off the heat and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
• Ladle 1 cup of the ragù into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade or the jar of a blender. Pulse several times to chop the meat but not quite purée it. Return the chopped meat to the pan and stir to combine. If necessary, return the pot to medium heat and cook the ragù until the sauce is thick. Use ragù or allow it to cool to room temperature, transfer it to an airtight container, and refrigerate for up to three days; freeze it for as long as three months. Warm the ragù over medium heat before serving, adding enough water to loosen it to a saucelike consistency.
• To finish and serve the pasta, fill a pasta pot or large stockpot with 6 quarts of water, add 6 tablespoons of salt, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. If you are not using a pasta pot, place a colander in the sink or have a wire strainer handy.
• While the water is coming to a boil, combine 1 1/2 cups of the ragù with the tomato sauce, butter, and 1/2 cup of the salted pasta water in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Cook the sauce, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted and the sauce is warmed through, adding more pasta water if necessary to obtain a loose, saucelike consistency. Reduce the heat to low while you cook the maltagliati.
• Remove the maltagliati from the refrigerator or freezer and drop them into the boiling water. Stir to prevent them from sticking together, partially cover the pot so the water returns to a boil quickly and continues boiling, and cook the pasta until it's al dente, about 2 minutes. About 1 minute before the pasta is done, place the sauce over high heat. Lift the pasta out of the cooking water, or reserve 1 cup of the water and drain the pasta, and immediately add it to the pan with the sauce. Cook the pasta with the sauce for 2 minutes, stirring gently with a rubber spatula so you don't tear the pasta, to stain the pasta with the sauce, adding some of the reserved pasta water if the pasta is dry and sticky instead of slippery and glistening. Turn off the heat and gently stir in the parsley. Add the finishing-quality olive oil, stirring vigorously and shaking the pan to emulsify the sauce, taking care not to tear the pasta in the process. Add the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and pecorino romano and stir to combine.
• Spoon the maltagliati in the center of each of six plates, dividing them evenly, and spoon any sauce remaining in the pan over the pasta. Use a microplane or another fine grater to grate a light layer of Parmigiano-Reggiano over each plate, and serve.
• suggested wine pairing
• Montefalco Rosso (Umbria)