The last of Autumn’s leaves have fallen, and Winter has officially set in for the long haul. It will now be some 3 months until the green shoots of Spring start to show. But yet somehow, Nature knows we are all longing for something hearty. Something rich. And something gamey, to warm us from the inside. Italian wild boar ragù.
You can find wild boar (cinghiale) are across many parts of Europe, and hunters typically hunt them throughout the winter months. In Italy alone, estimates put the wild boar population anywhere up to 1.5 million animals. And the fact that Italians generally consider them to be a pest, they are not squeamish about despatching them.
More About Cinghiale
Wild boar is the defining ingredient of Tuscan autumn cooking. Find out what cinghiale is, where it lives, and how Tuscans cook it.
Read the Cinghiale GuideIts gamey flavour and juicy meat makes for a very flavoursome ragù which will make your tastebuds wish Winter would last a little longer.
Sadly you either need to hunt yourself or know someone who does to get hold of wild boar. But if you can’t get hold of the real thing, then pork shoulder is a very good substitute.
In truth, you can eat this wild boar ragù on its own, with bread, potatoes, rice or any kind of pasta, but I particularly enjoy it with tagliatelle or parpadelle.
If you enjoyed this recipe, take a look at these other amazing Italian recipes.
Buon appetito! 🇮🇹
Italian Wild Boar Ragù
Equipment
- Chef Knife
- Chopping Board
- Cast Iron Pan
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp pork dripping
- 1 kg pork shoulder diced into 3cm cubes
- 100 g smoked bacon lardons
- 1 large onion (finely chopped)
- 1 large carrot (diced)
- 2 celery stick (finely chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (crushed)
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 250 ml red wine
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp thyme leaves (finely chopped)
- 350 ml passata
- 150 ml hot chicken stock
- 500 g tagliatelle
- 150 g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 140°C.
- Heat the pork dripping on a high heat in a cast iron pan, and brown the meat in batches until browned on all sides. Remove the meat from the pan.
- Add the bacon lardons and cook for 2 – 3 minutes on a medium heat, then add the onions, carrot and celery to the pan, and reduce the heat and cook for about 8-10 minutes until softened. Use a wooden spoon to scrape any of the residue of the meat from the bottom of the pan. Add a tablespoon of water to help deglaze the pan if the vegetables become too dry.
- Add the garlic and crushed fennel seeds and sauce for 1 minute, then add the tomato paste and allow the paste to cook for a minute or two. Add the wine and raise to a a simmer and cook until the wine has reduced by half.
- Return the meat to the pan, including any juices that have escaped while it rested, 1 teaspoon of salt, the passata and the herbs. Add just enough stock to cover the meat and then bring back to a simmer.
- Put a lid on the pan and put in the pre-heated oven for 2-3 hours until the meat is tender.
- Cook the tagliatelle and stir through the ragù with a couple of tablespoons of pasta water and serve with parmesan cheese.