The Wild Boar Ragù with red wine and spices is truly exceptional: delicate and tasty at the same time. It’s a sauce for pappardelle or pasta in general, which often intimidates those less experienced in the kitchen, so today I decided to dispel this myth. No difficulties but just organization, because it takes 12 hours for marinating and about 20 minutes of cooking. As for the first step, you just need to prepare the night before for the next day’s lunch, and I can assure you it won’t take you more than 15 minutes. Before cooking, you should wait for the meat to reach room temperature, so just take it out of the fridge at least an hour earlier. In the meantime, you can calmly prepare the chopped vegetables. When everything is ready, place yourself in front of the stove and don’t leave until cooking is finished. In the end, you’ll serve a truly exceptional first course, worthy of a starred chef.
Here are some recipes for dressing pasta:
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: For 2.2 lbs of ragù
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2.2 lbs ground wild boar meat
- 4.2 cups red wine
- 10 cloves
- 8 juniper berries
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 4 leaves sage
- 1 sprig marjoram
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 2 leaves bay leaves
- 8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 medium onion
- 1 stalk of celery
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper, not necessary
How to Prepare Wild Boar Ragù with Red Wine and Spices
After removing the ground wild boar from the fridge, place it in a large bowl. Pour 3.8 cups of red wine over it and break up the meat with the tines of a fork.
Place the aromatic herbs in a blender, add the remaining 0.4 cups of red wine, and blend finely. Once this process is done, pour the mixture into the bowl and mix.
Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for about 12 hours. When the marinade is ready, take it out of the fridge about an hour before cooking so that everything reaches room temperature. Finally, separate the juice from the meat using a sieve.
In a large, high-sided non-stick pan (you can also use a pot if you prefer), put 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and heat it. Add the ground meat, brown it for two or three minutes over very high heat, and as soon as it starts to dry, moisten it with a ladle of the marinated wine.
Very important: do not lower the heat throughout the cooking, otherwise the liquids will not thicken and it will take longer. Also, the meat will become very tough.
As soon as it has dried again, remove it from the pan and set it aside in a bowl. In the same pan, add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, the chopped celery, carrot, and onion, and brown for a minute.
Add two ladles of wine to the sauté and continue cooking over high heat, moistening until the vegetables are slightly softened (add liquid until you achieve the correct cooking). Once the cooking base has reduced, return the ground wild boar to the pan.
Adjust for salt and, if desired, pepper, although in my opinion, it’s not necessary as it’s already very flavorful. Cook for a few more minutes, and right after turning off the heat, drizzle with the remaining extra virgin olive oil.
Serve your Wild Boar Ragù with Red Wine and Spices, preferably with homemade pappardelle, but it will also be delicious with dry pasta.
Advice and storage
The wild boar ragù keeps in the fridge for at least three days in an airtight container, preferably glass or ceramic.
Also, like all meat, it should be placed in the lowest part of the fridge where the temperature is colder.
You can also freeze it, making sure to thaw it slowly in the refrigerator for about 24 hours.
However, if you want to preserve it longer, I recommend canning it using the water bath method.
For safe canning, I suggest checking out the following link: Homemade Canning
