Sows Gone Wild
I assume I’m ineligible for the prize winnings, but my competitive streak won’t let me pass up the gauntlet gansie threw done with the varmint cooking contest.
Unfortunately, the food co-op was sorely lacking in the squirrel, mole and chipmunk departments, so the craziest thing I could find was wild boar. I know, not exactly scurrying folk, but really, it might not be a wild boar, it might be a rodent of unusual size.
Anyways, it’s from D’artagnan, so I jumped. Aside: can we talk about how awesome the D’artagnan brand is? I’ve already told you about their duck bacon. But I’ve been stockpiling their other fancy-pants provisions too, like chicken truffle sausage, dried porcinis and more. Plus, they are apparently all earthy and sustainable to boot. I swear this is not paid promotion, I’m just blown away by their meat.
And, this particular wild boar mini-roast is made from the knuckle of animal, and while I’m not exactly sure what that means, it sounds pretty damn varmint-y to me.
Back to the boar…
I figure if you’re going to serve wild boar, there’s no reason to play it safe, so I concocted a crazy glaze to go over it:
– Two tablespoons of extra virgin
– A tablespoon of brown sugar
– 1 clove chopped garlic
– A handful of chopped ginger
– A drop of black truffle oil
– Splash of Coca-cola
– Salt and pepper.
I don’t like to make grandiose claims, but a quick search of the Internet tentatively reveals me to be the first food blogger ever to combine truffle oil and coke. This may sound like as good a match as a blind date between Britney Spears and Alan Greenspan, but I have to say they took to each other – and I loved the sweet and salty, rich unami umami (I should not pretend to be such a gourmet) result.
I brushed the glaze all over the WB and cooked it for about 45 mins.
Results:
All in all, I have to say I side with the meat industrial complex again. As fun as it was to cook something unusual, it was a little too gamey and chewy. If I was lost in the wilderness and ran into one of these guys, I would take it down, but if I see it at the store again next to a salty pink ham, I can’t imagine I’ll choose the boar.
Not much you can do about the gaminess of wild boar, but the chewiness may be due in part to the type of cut you bought.
For the record, a “knuckle roast” is also known as a sirloin tip roast or a round tip roast.
They are cut from the bottom sirloin, which is the toughest of the prime cuts. The tip roast is definitely tough and is actually the cut used in crock pot cooking to make pot roast.
Most recipes for this cut of meat recommend lower temperatures and longer cooking times (think 300 degrees for 2-3 hours).
Bonus points if anyone can find the phrase that made me giggle like an immature twelve year-old.
Your boar roast would have been quite nice ground up with some pork fat, crushed juniper berries, and dried cherries and served as boar sausage patties alongside a little kraut. And for JoeHoya, who is right on with the long, slow braise, I’m thinking either “blown away by their meat” or a “rodent of unusual size,” which brings to mind the oft-posted pic of a “gifted” squirrel rising up on his hind legs. Actually, “long, slow braise” sounds a little risque, too.
It’s amazing how much food and sex have in common when they play upon our senses and imaginations.