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 …

This year, for Saint Patrick’s day, I decided to get fancy. Instead of my usual corned beef and cabbage, I wanted to make a traditional Irish lamb stew. Traditional may be pushing it a bit, since I did want to cook it in my pressure cooker. Unfortunately…my headnote is going to be a lot quicker than usual. I cooked this recipe a week before St. Patrick’s day, so I would have pictures for the blog. It was fabulous – lamb shoulder chops have so much flavor that they carry this relatively simple stew. (Adding some Guinness helps as well. Brilliant!) I wrote up the instructions, picked out the good pictures, and went to bed.  The next morning, I threw my back out. Ow ow owie ow. It’s three days later, and I can finally sit upright for a few minutes…thanks to all the interesting medicines the ER doctor gave me. *In other words – If this doesn’t make any sense, I apologize. It’s the meds talking. Looking for a quick stew for St. Patrick’s day? …