Description
Hearty Wild Boar Stew transports home cooks through rustic Italian mountain landscapes with rich, tender meat slow-simmered in red wine and aromatic herbs. Savory depths and robust flavors invite wilderness and culinary tradition onto dinner plates you’ll eagerly anticipate.
Ingredients
Scale
Meat:
- 2 pounds wild boar meat, cubed
- 1 garlic clove
Vegetables and Aromatics:
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- Zest of 1 lemon
Liquids and Seasonings:
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup dry red or white wine
- 1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high temperature, searing wild boar meat until golden brown and caramelized on all sides.
- Remove meat and sauté chopped onions, carrots, and celery in the same pan until vegetables become translucent and fragrant.
- Deglaze the pan with robust red wine, scraping up all browned bits from the bottom to capture deep, rich flavor profiles.
- Add crushed tomatoes, fresh thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper, creating a complex aromatic base for the stew.
- Return seared wild boar to the pot, ensuring meat is fully submerged in the liquid and vegetable mixture.
- Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer gently for 2-3 hours until meat becomes incredibly tender and starts to fall apart.
- While stew cooks, prepare gremolata by finely chopping fresh parsley, mincing garlic, and zesting lemon to create a bright, fresh garnish.
- Once meat is fork-tender, adjust seasoning and allow stew to rest for 15 minutes before serving.
- Plate over creamy polenta or smooth mashed potatoes, generously topping with vibrant gremolata for added freshness and color.
Notes
- Select wild boar from a reputable butcher to ensure meat quality and tenderness.
- Consider marinating meat overnight in red wine to enhance flavor and break down tough muscle fibers.
- Trim excess fat and silverskin before cooking to prevent gamey taste and improve meat texture.
- Use a Dutch oven instead of slow cooker for more controlled caramelization and deeper flavor development.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 379 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 295 mg
- Fat: 21 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 17 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 10 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 38 g
- Cholesterol: 85 mg