Cinghiale in AgrodolceSweet-and-Sour Wild Boar

Cut the boar and immerse in a red-wine marinade

• 1 Trim thick silverskin and excess connective membrane from 600 g wild boar shoulder and cut into 4–5 cm cubes.
• 2 Slice 75 g onion 2 mm thick, cut 50 g carrot into 5 mm rounds and remove the strings from 40 g celery before cutting into 3 cm chunks.
• 3 Peel 1 garlic clove, crush with the flat of a knife and remove the central germ.
• 4 Lightly crush 8 juniper berries and 10 black peppercorns with the flat of a knife to release their aromas.
• 5 Put the boar, cut vegetables, crushed garlic, juniper, peppercorns, 2 bay leaves and 2 cloves in a glass or enamel container.
• 6 Pour in 500 ml red wine and 40 ml red wine vinegar, press the meat down by hand and apply plastic wrap directly against the surface.

Marinate for 24 hours to color and scent the meat throughout

• 1 Put the container in the refrigerator at around 4°C for 24 hours.
• 2 Every 6 hours, turn the meat 1 time with clean tongs and replace the plastic wrap against the surface.

Reduce and clarify the marinade for the braising base

• 1 Strain through a colander to separate the meat and aromatics from the liquid. Discard the marinating vegetables and spices, which have fulfilled their role.
• 2 Carefully pat the boar dry with paper towels, arrange on a tray, cover and refrigerate until just before searing.
• 3 Transfer the strained marinade to a small saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat.
• 4 Skim off and discard the gray scum and cloudy protein with a ladle 5–6 times.
• 5 Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15–20 minutes, reducing by half to about 250 ml.
• 6 Strain the reduced liquid through a fine sieve lined with paper towels and reserve.

Prepare the sauce additions and aromatic vegetables

• 1 Put 40 g raisins in a small bowl, pour over 50 ml Vin Santo and soak for 30 minutes.
• 2 Spread 30 g pine nuts in a dry frying pan and toast over low heat for 3–4 minutes, shaking constantly; transfer to a plate to cool when lightly golden.
• 3 Cut 20 g candied orange peel into 3 mm dice.
• 4 Finely chop 20 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa) and place in a bowl.
• 5 For the braise, cut 75 g onion, 50 g carrot and 40 g celery into uniform 5 mm dice; crush 1 garlic clove and remove the germ.

Flour the boar and sear deeply on all sides

• 1 Remove the boar from the refrigerator and season evenly with 4 g salt.
• 2 Spread 20 g cake flour on a tray, roll the meat in it to coat lightly and tap off all excess flour by hand (infarinatura means lightly flouring before cooking).
• 3 Heat 40 ml olive oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers and begins to smoke lightly, add just half the meat without overlapping.
• 4 Sear each side undisturbed for 2–3 minutes until deep brown, about 8 minutes in total, then remove to a plate. Sear and remove the remaining half in the same way.

Cook pancetta and soffritto and mellow the tomato paste

• 1 Cut 60 g pancetta into 5 mm-wide batons. Add 20 ml olive oil to the pot from which the meat was removed and fry the pancetta over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
• 2 Add the onion, carrot and celery cut into 5 mm dice and the 1 crushed garlic clove; sauté over medium heat for 12–15 minutes. Constantly scrape the browned base with a wooden spoon, dissolving the deposits in the vegetables’ moisture.
• 3 Add 20 g tomato paste and fry over medium heat for 2–3 minutes, pressing it out against the sides with a wooden spoon.

Start the braise with reduced marinade and broth

• 1 Return the seared boar and all its collected juices to the pot.
• 2 Pour in 250 ml reduced marinade and boil over high heat for 2 minutes to remove the sharp smell of alcohol.
• 3 Add 200 ml warmed meat broth (stock made with meat and aromatic vegetables), then tuck 1 bay leaf, 1 rosemary sprig and 4 sage leaves between the pieces of meat.
• 4 Once boiling again, reduce to low heat and cover with the lid slightly ajar.

Braise for 2 hours 30 minutes until the boar falls apart

• 1 Meanwhile(During the final 30 minutes of braising) make the agrodolce caramel in a small saucepan (step 9).
• 2 Braise over low heat for 2 hours 30 minutes.
• 3 Open the lid every 30 minutes, gently turn the meat from the bottom with a wooden spoon and check for sticking.
• 4 If the liquid falls below half the meat’s height, add the remaining warm broth in 50–100 ml additions, 200 ml in total, to maintain the level.
• 5 Finally, use a thermometer to verify that the center of the meat has been heated to at least 75°C for at least 1 minute.

Caramelize the sugar and add vinegar for agrodolce

• 1 Meanwhile(Carry out this stage during the last 30 minutes of the boar’s braise.)
• 2 Spread 30 g granulated sugar evenly in a small saucepan and set over medium heat.
• 3 Once it begins melting at the edges, swirl the pan without stirring with a spoon, distributing the melted portion and caramelizing to a deep amber over 3–4 minutes.
• 4 Turn off the heat and carefully pour in 60 ml red wine vinegar in 2–3 additions, holding the pan away from your face.
• 5 Return to low heat and simmer for 1–2 minutes, dissolving the hardened caramel with a wooden spoon to form a thick syrup.

Combine the agrodolce, raisins, pine nuts and peel and reduce

• 1 Remove the 1 bay leaf, rosemary stem and sage leaves from the braising pot with cooking chopsticks.
• 2 Spoon off excess fat floating on the surface.
• 3 Pour in all the agrodolce syrup and shake the pot to mingle it with the braising liquid.
• 4 Add the 40 g raisins together with their Vin Santo soaking liquid, the 30 g toasted pine nuts and 20 g orange peel cut into 3 mm dice.
• 5 Cook uncovered over medium-low heat for 20–25 minutes, turning from the bottom with a wooden spoon every 5 minutes.

Melt in the chocolate for richness and shine

• 1 Turn off the heat and scatter 20 g chopped dark chocolate all over the sauce.
• 2 Shake the pot and stir gently with a wooden spoon, melting the chocolate completely with residual heat.
• 3 Stir in the remaining 2 g salt and 2 g freshly ground black pepper.
• 4 Warm over very low heat for just 1 minute without boiling.

Rest and serve on warmed plates

• 1 Cover, remove from the heat and rest for 10 minutes.
• 2 Warm 2 deep plates with boiling water or in a 60°C oven.
• 3 Divide the boar evenly between them and spoon the remaining sauce, with its pine nuts and raisins, over the meat to cover it.