Pressure Cooker Wild Boar Ragu (Ragu Di Cinghiale)

It's Wild Boar Week on DadCooksDinner. (Why wild boar? I…I don't know. Why not wild boar?)

It's Mario's fault.

It has to be Mario's fault. I think of wild boar as an ingredient for traditional Italian cooking. But I'm not sure why. As much as I love the cuisine, I'm certainly not Italian. My best guess is an episode of Molto Mario, lodged in the back of my brain years ago.

Now, why wild boar? Try it and you'll see. Traditional Italian ragu is wild boar's killer app. The complex flavor of wild boar - mainly pork, but nuttier, and deeper, like some beef is mixed in - makes the perfect base for a pasta sauce.
For more on "why wild boar", see my post from Tuesday. And I still say Feral Swine is a great name for a punk band.

Can't find wild boar? Substitute pork shoulder. (If you want to try to duplicate the complex boar flavor, add a little beef chuck roast, say a 2:1 ratio of pork to beef.) It won't be wild boar…but it will still taste great on linguine.

No pressure cooker? No worries. See the Notes section at the end of the recipe for details.

The boar is ready - a squeeze of the tongs and it shreds itself.

📖 Recipe Card

Pressure Cooker Wild Boar Ragu (Ragu di Cinghiale)

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• Author: Mike Vrobel
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x

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Description

Wild boar shoulder pressure cooked in red wine and crushed tomatoes until it shreds into a rich ragu for pappardelle or linguine.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x

Aromatics

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, minced
• 1 celery rib, minced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and minced
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Boar and liquids

• 1 cup red wine
• 2 pounds wild boar shoulder, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary

To serve

• Pappardelle or linguine, cooked according to package directions
• Grated pecorino Romano (optional)
• Minced fresh parsley (optional)

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Instructions

1. Sauté the aromatics: Heat the oil in the pressure cooker over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, tomato paste, red pepper flakes and ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté, scraping the bottom, until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the wine: Pour in the wine, bring to a simmer, and scrape up any browned bits.
3. Load the pot: Add the boar, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper, and stir to coat. Add the bay leaf and rosemary, and pour the tomatoes on top without stirring.
4. Pressure cook: Cook at high pressure for 25 minutes (30 in an electric cooker), then let the pressure come down naturally, about 20 minutes.
5. Shred and serve: Discard the bay leaf and rosemary. Press the boar against the side of the pot with a spoon to shred it, and stir it into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, and serve over pasta with pecorino and parsley.

Equipment

6-Quart Instant Pot

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Notes

Equipment: A pressure cooker (I used an Instant Pot).

No pressure cooker? Use a heavy Dutch oven, and increase the wine to 2 cups. After adding the tomatoes, bring to a boil, cover, and bake at 350°F for about 2 ½ hours, until the boar shreds easily.

Can't find wild boar? Pork shoulder works great.

Adapted from Mario Batali's Pappardelle with Boar Ragu.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

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