It's Wild Boar Week on DadCooksDinner. (Why wild boar? I…I don't know. Why not wild boar?)
Wild boar! I think of a snout, tusks, and a bad attitude.
Turns out, I'm not wrong about that. (Especially the bad attitude.) We've got a wild boar problem in Texas. Wild boar are free range, in the original sense - we have no control over them. They roam across the countryside, rooting around in farmer's fields, destroying backyard gardens, generally being a pest.
Picture the swine version of a nuisance animal - let's say a raccoon - digging in your back yard. Except this one weighs 200 pounds. And did I mention the tusks? They're a particular problem in Texas, but they're loose in 39 states, including my home state of Ohio.
"Feral Swine" is the official USDA designation, because American wild boar is a cross between pigs that escaped the first Spanish explorers, and European wild boar introduced for hunters in the late 1800's.
Feral swine is a great name for a band. Or a competition barbecue team. I'd be amazed if the name wasn't already in use on the BBQ circuit.
Why am I telling you all this? Because I've been itching to cook wild boar shoulder for quite a while now, but I couldn't find boar in any local stores. That is, until Giant Eagle opened their Market District store in my area, and I saw wild boar loin. Not what I wanted, but close. Even better, the boar was from D'Artagnan, the duck and foie gras people. They sell wild boar shoulder on their website.. The Internet to the rescue!
Today we're making Spezzatino di Cinghiale - Italian wild boar stew. What does wild boar taste like? Pork, with a nutty, beefy flavor. It doesn't taste like game, but like a stronger flavored than pork.
Dad, this stew is BOAR-ing. Hee hee heee. Get it?
[My daughter. She'll be here all week.]
No pressure cooker? No worries - see the Notes section for traditional cooking instructions. And, if you can't find wild boar, pork shoulder is a fine substitute.
📖 Recipe Card
Pressure Cooker Wild Boar Stew (Spezzatino di Cinghiale)
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Seared wild boar shoulder pressure cooked with red wine, tomatoes and herbs, with carrots steamed above the stew so they stay in chunks.
Ingredients
Meat
- 3 pounds wild boar shoulder, cut into 1 inch cubes (or pork shoulder)
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Aromatics
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion, minced
- 1 celery rib, minced
- 1 large carrot, peeled and minced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup red wine
Liquids
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 (15 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
Carrots
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 3 inch lengths
Instructions
- Sear the boar: Sprinkle the boar with 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the pressure cooker over medium-high heat until shimmering. Sear the boar in 2 or 3 batches, without crowding, until well browned on two sides, about 3 minutes per side. Move each batch to a bowl.
- Sauté the aromatics: Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, then the onion, celery, carrot, garlic and tomato paste. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt, and sauté, scraping up the browned bits, until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the wine: Pour in the wine, bring to a simmer, and scrape the bottom again.
- Load the pot: Stir in the boar and its juices, and add the rosemary and thyme. Pour the tomatoes on top without stirring. Set a steamer basket on top, and put the carrots in it.
- Pressure cook: Cook at high pressure for 20 minutes (25 in an electric cooker). Let the pressure come down naturally for 15 minutes, then quick release the rest.
- Finish and serve: Tip the carrots into the stew, and discard the herb sprigs. Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed (I added about 1 teaspoon more salt). Serve with polenta, mashed potatoes or pasta.
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
Equipment: A pressure cooker (I used an Instant Pot) and a steamer basket.
No pressure cooker? Use a heavy Dutch oven, and increase the wine to 2 cups. After adding the tomatoes and carrots, bring to a boil, cover, and bake at 350°F for about 2 hours, until the boar is tender.
No wild boar? Use pork shoulder. For flavor closer to boar, use 2 pounds pork shoulder and 1 pound beef chuck.
Steaming the carrots above the stew keeps them from turning to mush under pressure.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
Sources
A Few Words on Wild Boar [via Dartagnan.com]
Buy Wild Boar Meat from D'Artagnan
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
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Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
Six of one, half dozen of the other. You really don't need both; the all-clad will perform just fine with this recipe.
That said, the cast iron holds onto heat quite well; for pan-roasting, like this recipe, it has a slight advantage over the all-clad if it is preheated properly. The all clad is better for sauteing, where you need to adjust the heat for the pan sauce. Again, minor differences, and I would be thrilled to own either pan.
Chris Lukowski says
I was very close to buying that pan (the 12", I believe) but decided against it because I already have the All-Clad 12" D5 frying pan, and wondered just how many things I'd need that pan for that the A-C wouldn't be up to. Are the results a lot different with cast iron, and do you choose it over the A-C pan for anything else besides searing steaks?