Buddies With Benefits

One unique benefit of hanging around other sportsmen and hunters is the gift of game meat. There are many tired old jokes about not being able to give away extra fish one has caught. Such is never the case when one of your gang kills a wild boar.

Recently my fellow sportsman and attorney Marc was fortunate enough to stalk and shoot a large wild pig. There was copious amounts of meat butchered off this monster and I was the lucky receipient of nearly 40 lbs. of prime wild swine. I grilled some of the tastier and more tender cuts this weekend. Last night I set about making a Wild Boar Ragu with some of the less desirable cuts. This recipe is based on a Northern Italian peasant recipe and is served over Paperdelle pasta. The process requires about 3 hours of slow simmering after construction but the resultant rich and flavorful ragu is just devastatingly delicious.

The process is as follows:

Procure some wild boar(if you are a non-hunting candy ass or do not know a boar slayer,you can use pork shoulder or order boar from D'Artagnan but it ain't the same.)

This reminds me of a joke about Albanians told to me by an Albanian bartender: The recipe for roast lamb, the National dish of Albania, begins as follows: First, steal a lamb.....

Chop 2 large yellow onions and saute in olive oil in a Le Cruesette or other suitable cast iron vessel. Add 5 cloves of chopped garlic and then add the cubed pig. I add a few of the bones(to be removed later) in order to impart more rich flavor to the dish.

After browning all the meat add 2 cans of chopped tomatoes followed by bay leaves(5)sage, basil, oregano and salt and pepper. Next a few anchovy filets. Then add about 2 cups of decent red wine. I used a Chianti.

As the mixture begins to simmer add 2 or 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and a few cloves. Toss in some red pepper flakes and then reduce heat to simmer. Place a lid on the vessel but leave it a tad ajar so steam can escape and so the mixture reduces.

Simmer for 3 hours or until the meat is falling apart and much of the liquid is reduced. If you have a kitchen "wand" with a strong motor you can whack the mixture a few times to foster a smoothness while still leaving a fair amount of chunks. Plate this sauce over wide paperdelle pasta and give each serving a healthy crown of freshly grated Parmagianno.

Serve with quality Itailian Bread...Sarcone's from Philly is best on the planet....some good Red Wine and a Ceasar salad.

I suggest a Nocella or Limoncella with an Espresso afterward to ward off the food coma symptomatic of your urge to gorge on this entree...perhaps a cigar as well. . This Wild Boar ragu knocks the crap out of any wimpy Bolognese you may have ingested in the past...there is really no comparison.

So when some hipster or city dweller or non-hunter asks if I actually eat what I kill....I smile and say yes....and describe this meal as an example....and advise that they would pay 28 bucks a plate for the pleasure in a restaurant....but it would not be the same since the boar would be farm raised and not wild.