Cinghiale / wild boar is a typical traditional animal in Chianti and other areas of Tuscany, in fact in the area you can easily find T-shirts, puppets that resemble the wild boar. It is so normal to be present in the area that for a long time it has been hunted and then cooked in stew, to make a sauce for pasta to become ham or salami.

Wild boar

Honestly, nowadays wild boar hunting has also become important for controlling the number of animals. They are not aggressive animals but they do a lot of damage to crops and to the typical dry stone walls because they dig with their snouts to look for roots.

Contrary to popular belief, meat does not taste like game, even if the animal lives in the wild.

If you want to learn how to cook it, organize yourself in time because the preparation involves marinating and you must be sure of who supplies the meat because hunters must treat the animal after killing, quickly removing its bladder, carefully so as to be sure that nothing comes out otherwise the meat is so compromised that during cooking it releases a strong unpleasant smell and makes it inedible

So if you are sure of the piece of meat you have

  • 500 gr.= 17 oz.wild boar  meat
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 onion
  • 1 carrot
  • 2 leaves bay leaf,
  • 3 red chili pepper,
  • a  branch rosemary
  • 10 juniper corn
  • 1 Liter = 4 cups broth
  • 2 glasses tomato puree
  • salt ,pepper
  1. Prepare the meat in pieces ,let it overnight in wine, rosemary, onion, bay leaf.
  2. The day after let  the meat cook in a casserole and release  water so that it releases the strong taste.
  3. Chop garlic, onion and carrot .
  4.  Cook  them in oil in  a pan, then add  the meat.
  1. Brown the  meat  on all sides ,add  the broth. Leave to cook at medium flame for an hour
  2. Add the tomato puree, salt ,bay leaf, red chili pepper, rosemary and juniper, and cook for an hour.
  3. If you like add black olives or potatoes

Serve it as a meat dish and the small part can be used to make  a great pasta sauce ,for the renowned pappardelle al cinghiale.