Wild. Boar. Ragu. . . . Oink.

I'm finally doing it y'all.
Wild Boar Ragu.

Patrick and I stopped in to Bud's Custom Meats in Penngrove and picked up a couple of hunks of wild swine (and Bloody Mary jerky, of course) and I set to work marinating for my ragu.
I found this recipe on Chow and proceeded to screw it up immediately by combining ALL ingredients into a bag and allowing them to marinate overnight.  :/
Luckily I did not destroy it (wild piggies are spency) - in fact, it was amazing.

I also stopped into Whole Paycheck and picked up some gnocchi and a little hunk of Parmesan and I am ready to get pan searing and give those Myth gnocchi of my memories a run for their money.

2 pounds wild boar tenderloin, cut into large chunks
carrot, small dice (about 1/2 cup) - I used baby carrots since that's what I had, but you could use 1 large one
2 ribs celery, small dice (about 1/2 cup)
1 medium yellow onion, small dice
4 medium garlic cloves, crushed
1 bay leaf

3 fresh thyme sprigs or 2-3 teaspoons dried
1 cup hearty Italian red wine, such as Sangiovese - I used a Pinot Meunier I got from my wine club that I wasn't wild about, but was good quality so I felt bad chucking it and kept it to cook with
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 -4 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups low-sodium beef broth (or brown veal stock if you'd prefer)
sliced mushrooms
Parmesan or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

 

Combine boar with carrot, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme,tomatoes, tomato paste, broth and red wine in a sealable plastic bag and refrigerate overnight.

Heat the oven to 300°F and arrange the rack in the middle. Remove meat from the marinade and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Reserve marinade for later.

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or a large heavy-bottomed pot with a tightfitting lid over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add meat and sear until nicely browned, about 6 minutes per side. (You may have to do this in 2 batches.)

Add reserved marinade, and bring to a simmer.

Cover the pot and place in the oven until meat is fork tender, about 2 hours (but check it - ours was ready after an hour and a half). 

 

I thought it wasn't quite rich enough at this point, so I added another tablespoon or two of tomato paste and stirred it through, and added some sliced brown mushrooms and put it back in the oven for 10 or 15 minutes.

 

When meat is tender, shred it with two forks and mix well. Keep ragu warm over low heat until ready to combine with pan seared gnocchi. 

For those pan seared gnocchi?  I just put a tablespoon of unsalted and a tablespoon of salted butter in my pan (because I had them, not because I think you have to - I think all of one or the other would be fine and if you use unsalted you can season to taste) and allowed it to melt.

I chucked in the gnocchi and tossed them about to brown on most sides and crisp up a little.  A couple of scoops of the ragu and a hearty dusting of grate Parmesan and you're ready to swoon.

It would also be great over tagliatelle.

I don't know if there are many things better for a chilly December night.