Boar On The Floor
My recipe for Boar Stew and a case for homemade red wine vinegar.
If you haven’t been watching Succession, then I don’t know what to tell you. Watch this show. It’s incredible, and I wish I could binge watch it for eternity.
But all good shows must come to an end, and I like to make something fun when we watch culturally significant televised events. Why should the Super Bowl get all the festive recipes?
SIDE NOTE: If you’re also a crazed VPR fan and can’t be bothered to rip yourself from the #Scandoval drama, I am with you. Please consider making my Whiskey Cheese Dip for the VPR reunions, inspired by the yet unproduced, oft referenced MaMaw’s Beer Cheese.
Now, I know Memorial Day is this weekend, and I should be sharing some grilling recipes…but we have the whole summer ahead of us. Here’s a link to my grilling faves if you need inspiration.
Coming up, I have recipes for a low carb Hickory Burger and a new Zesty Chicken thigh recipe for the air fryer that are in the queue, along with interviews with Abel James the carnivore dietician, Dr. Sarah Zaldivar. Lots to look forward to here at the ol’ Substack.
Now for the main event this week…
This recipe for boar stew is inspired by my trip to Italy, and also my life living in the wine country of Santa Ynez, where the boar are plentiful. I have access to boar meat in my grocery store, but most people will not. You can order boar from places like D’Artagnan, you can use beef stew meat, or buy a giant beef chuck roast or sirloin roast and chop it into stew meat. Do NOT get turned off by the thought of boar. It is your friend. It is not gamey. It melts in the mouth. And if you can’t find it, fret not, you can easily substitute beef.
The red wine vinegar in this recipe is crucial. Lately, I’ve been making my own homemade red wine vinegar. I’m sure it comes as no surprise that homemade has a far superior flavor to store-bought. I use leftover bold red wine, like a Syrah, Cabernet, or Sangiovese, which I pour into a mason jar. I cover the mason jar with cheese cloth and put the jar in a cabinet for a few weeks to allow it to turn to vinegar. If you want to store your new vinegar beyond that, it’s probably best to pasteurize by cooking the vinegar to 150 degrees for at least 10 minutes.
Boar stew needs to be cooked slow and low, so make sure you do this in a slow cooker on the low setting…hence my very loose tie in to “boar on the floor.” Is that name a reach? Yes, dramaturgically speaking. But does it taste amazing? You Conheads can be the judge.
As always, a downloadable, printable PDF version of this recipe lives here.
Serve atop Cauliflower Mash or eat the melt-in-your-mouth goodness on its own.
BOAR ON THE FLOOR (BOAR STEW)
(serves 4)
INGREDIENTS
1 2-3 pound wild boar shoulder or beef chuck roast
1/2 cup balsamic or other strong red wine vinegar (I use homemade Syrah vinegar)
1 tablespoon olive tapanade (make your own from Eat Happy or find one with no sugar added)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Juice of 1 blood orange (or you can use a regular orange)
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 rosemary sprigs
INSTRUCTIONS
Cut roast into stew meat pieces, about 1.5” in size.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together vinegar, tapenade, blood orange juice, and garlic.
Season stew meat pieces well with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.
Put stew meat pieces into slow cooker. Pour liquid vinegar mixture over stew meat. Place rosemary sprigs in slow cooker. Cook on low 8-10 hours, until stew meat pieces are fall apart tender. Serve immediately.