Saturday night dinner

The first time we went to Babbo's 4 years ago, I fell in love with wild boar ragu. The richness of the sauce, the gaminess of the meat, it was heaven. I'm not sure what convinced me to try making it for the first time, but I end up buying both the Babbo cookbook and Mario Batali's Molto Italiano, both of which had recipes for wild boar ragu. I followed the Molto Italiano recipe to a tee and found that it tasted a lot more like the wine I used than I would have liked. Then I started to blend the 2 recipes and found that it tasted too much like tomato sauce. After many iterations, some better than others, I finally have a recipe that I like.

Disclaimer: I have only made this version of the ragu once and I am writing down the recipe by memory. A lot of the measurements are approximations. I highly recommend tasting at the various stages to make sure everything is seasons properly.

And with that, here it is...

Wild Boar Ragu
approx. 8 servings
active cooking time: 1-1.5 hours
inactive cooking time: 3-4 hours

2.5-3 lbs of wild boar shoulder, divide in 2
.25 - .5 lb pancetta, chopped
1 carrot, fine dice
1 stalk celery, fine dice
1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
1-1.5 cups dry white wine
3 cups of tomato sauce (see Pizza Post)
1 16 oz. can of whole tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 qt. brown chicken stock
1 tablespoon beef bullion
1 bay leaf
Pinch of sugar as needed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup flour
2-3 TBS olive oil

Trim some of the fat off of the boar. Cut half of the wild boar shoulder [boar] into 1/2" cubes, slightly smaller than if you were making stew. The pieces do not need to be the same size. Mince the other half of the boar in the food processor and set aside.

In a large dutch oven heat 2-3 TBS of olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of the pan) on medium/high heat.

On a plate mix flour and 2-3 TBS of salt and 1-2 TBS of pepper. Coat cubed boar in flour mixture. Brown the meat. To determine when to turn the meat, you will notice that it has stopped sticking to the bottom of the pan. This is the point when there is a good crust built on the outside. If it is continues to stick, continue to cook it longer on that side. This method can be applied to any piece of meat. If the pan starts to get crowded, brown the boar in as many batches as it takes. Once the cubed boar is finished browning, set aside.

Do not turn the heat off on the pan. There will be bits from the browning stuck to the bottom of the pan. Don’t worry about it, that’s normal. Add 1/3 of the chopped pancetta to the pan. Saute on medium to low heat, allowing the fat to render, 4-5 minutes. Turn up the heat to medium/high and add minced boar to the pan. Salt and pepper lightly (the pancetta is already salty). This will add flavor to the minced meat. Cook the meat about 80% of the way through. It will have extra time to cook later. If you accidentally cook it all the way through, don’t fret, it won’t ruin anything. Once the minced boar is finished, take out of the pan and set aside.

You’ll notice at this point that the majority of the bits are gone from the bottom of the pan. Turn heat down to medium/low. Add the rest of the chopped pancetta, and let the fat render, 4-5 minutes. Add celery, carrots, and onions. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Sauté until soft, 4-5 minutes, then add garlic. Sauté for another 1-2 minutes. Taste. You want to make sure the base flavors are well seasoned or they will lack flavor in the final product. Season as needed.

Add the cubed boar to the pan with the vegetables and mix well. Add wine. Bring to boil and simmer until evaporated. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, ½ of the chicken broth, ½ of the beef bouillon, oregano and bay leaf. Mix well, bring to a boil and simmer. Simmer for 1 hour. Taste.

What does it taste like?
Too tart? Add a pinch of sugar.
Tomato-ey? Add more chicken stock. (This may require a longer cooking time)
Too much wine? Add tomato sauce or paste.
Lacks richness? Add tsp of beef bullion (remember, beef bullion is super salty)

Add in small amounts. You can always add, but it’s hard to take away.

Simmer for another 2-3 hours. Stir every 30-45 minutes. If the sauce starts to thicken too much, add chicken broth. If you don’t have another 3 hours, another hour will do, just don’t add as much chicken stock. Keep in mind, the longer you cook the sauce, periodically adding chicken broth, the richer the sauce will taste and the softer the meat will be. You can over cook the meat, so I wouldn't recommend cooking it for longer than 4-5 hours. Taste periodically, it’ll make all the difference.

This is best served over fresh tagliatelle or other wide pasta.

Enjoy!!