Wild Boar Stew – Spezzatino di Cinghiale

 

Umbria is a landlocked region, and because of that, meat, particularly pork, beef, and lamb, are extremely popular. Umbrians also eat a lot of game, including wild boar, pigeons, pheasant, rabbit and hare. I have to admit, that I have never been one to get very adventurous with game, and the few times I tried wild boar, known as cinghiale, in a restaurant I was not terribly impressed.

It has been hunting season here in Umbria this past month, cinghiale season in fact, and every weekend we see the hunters up and down our road hunting wild boar. Earlier this week we had a knock on our door and it was one of the locals who gifted us with the hind quarter of a cinghiale much to my dismay. Having never cooked wild boar myself, I honestly didn’t know what to do with it but thank goodness for the internet.

I did a quick search to see if there were anything speacial I needed to do with our cinghiale to prepare it, and read that it was best turned into stew, and simply cook it in sauce long and slow. I got out the slow cooker, onions, celery, and garlic, and had my husband cut the meat into pieces and trim it.

We browned the meat in a large frying pan first, then threw everything into our slow cooker and set the timer for 8 hours. After the cooking time was up, the meat was falling apart so we knew it was ready to eat. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised, as the stew was very tasty and the overall flavor of the stew was great.

Though we ordinarily would serve this stew over polenta, we decided simply to eat it from the bowl as is with a sprinkling of gremolata on top. Gremolata is a combination of lemon zest, garlic, parsley that I find really brings braised meats and stews to life. Traditionally served on Osso Buco, I also like it on braised pork or lamb shanks, or hearty stews like this one.

Our fridge was a little bare after our recent trip to Puglia, but feel free to add chopped carrots, and even mushrooms to this stew as well. If you are not lucky enough to find wild boar, you could certainly substitute an equal amount of stewing beef for the boar. To cook the stew stovetop instead of a slow cooker, simply slowly simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours in a flame-proof covered casserole.

Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele 

Wild Boar Stew

Wild Boar Stew

Yield: Serves 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours 20 minutes

Wild boar becomes quite tender when cooked in a slow cooker.

Ingredients

  • 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 Medium Onions, Peeled & Coarsely Chopped
  • 2 Celery Stalks, Chopped
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, Peeled & Minced
  • 2 Pounds Wild Boar Meat, Trimmed & Cubed
  • Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 Cup Dry Wine, Red or White
  • 1 (28-ounce) Can Chopped Tomatoes
  • 1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
  • 1 Teaspoon Chopped Fresh Rosemary
  • 2 Bay Leaves

Gremolata Topping:

  • Zest of 1 Large Lemon
  • 1 Large Garlic Clove, Peeled
  • 3 Tablespoons Fresh Chopped Parsley

Instructions

  1. In a heavy frying pan, heat the oil and then brown the meat on all sides turning frequently.
  2. Add the meat to your 6 Quart slow cooker, then add the celery, onions, and garlic to the frying pan and lightly brown.
  3. Place the vegetables in the slow cooking along with the meat.
  4. Deglaze the frying pan by pouring in the wine and over high heat use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the browned bits.
  5. Add the tomatoes, oregano, rosemary, and bay leaves to the frying pan and bring to a boil.
  6. Taste the sauce, then season with salt and pepper.
  7. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables and set the times on low for eight hours.
  8. Just before serving, finely mince together the topping ingredients.
  9. Serve the stew on polenta, or in bowls with a sprinkling of gremolata on top.

Did you make this recipe?

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15 Comments

  1. I found your blog through the Facebook group, food blogger friends and I’m so glad I did. I love your little spot on the Internet! The food, the styling and the photograph really appeal to me. I’ve never eaten (or cooked) wild boar but I applaud you for having a go at it! It looks delicious!

  2. granma’s reciepe: fry on olive oil some celery, carrots and onions, add to the boar’s meat cut into cubes, add a little thyme, cover with red wine and leave for the night. Next day chop lots of onions (ideally in proportion 1:1 with the meat, 1:2 would also do), slooooooooowly fry them on half olive oil/half butter in a covered stove for at least half hour. Meat: drain the marinade and add the meat to the softened onions, add some juniper berries, a bay leaf and a little thyme and rosemary and cook for at least 2 hrs. If needed, add some red wine and/or water for the cooking. Regulate the salt and pepper (instead or along with salt you may use a little bit of a stock cube to round the flavour). Serve with some “patate in tecia” (I love the version with smoked bacon), spätzli, mashed potatoes, kanedeli, polenta or just a piece of plain good bread. And good red wine, of course 🙂 buon appetito!

  3. I put this in the crock pot today before I left for work, I’m excited to see how it turns out! We had an 80 lb. wild hog that was caught in a live trap that I have been butchering for sausage and saved a couple of pounds of the meat to try this stew. I added a handful of coursely chopped carrots and some mushrooms, as per your suggestion. I bet my house is going to smell heavenly when I get home! Thanks for the recipe!

  4. Our craft butcher in in Sacramento, California, V. Miller meats ,  has wild boar this weekend.  I am going to try this great looking 
    recipe for our family dinner.  I just had wild boar in Italy in a ragu .  Delicious!

  5. I bought a 5 lb. pack of Wild Boar Stew Meat from D’Artagnan a while back and I stumbled across this recipe trying to figure out what to do with it. It was very easy to make and I already had all the ingredients in the cupboard. My wife and I both thought it turned out great! Thanks for sharing.

  6. Omg this was SO good.  We split a huge boar with my neighbors and I finished cutting up my half day before yesterday.  I made your recipe yesterday.  I made sure to brine it and marinate with juniper and thyme.  Then I did add a little beef broth to the slowcooker. 

    I didn’t like the gremolata but I did not have Italian flat leaf parsley at my local market, only curly. Which was the issue.  It was obviously older and bitter. But we loved the stew. Thank you for the recipe!!  I made creamy garlic-Parmesan polenta and homemade garlic bread.  

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