Wild Boar Ragù Recipe (2024)

Recipe from Caterina Schenardi and Daniele Boldrini

Adapted by Jeff Gordinier

Wild Boar Ragù Recipe (1)

Total Time
3½ hours, plus overnight marinating
Rating
5(417)
Notes
Read community notes

In 2011, Jeff Gordinier wrote about Gradisca, in the West Village, where the owner Massimo Galeano wanted to serve the dishes of his Bolognese childhood. So he brought in his mother, Caterina Schenardi. This recipe is adapted from her and Daniele Boldrini, who grew up in Bologna. Ms. Schenardi is especially particular about the flour and egg in her tagliatelle, but here you can just use a store-bought version to go alongside, or use a noodle of your preference. —Jeff Gordinier

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Ingredients

Yield:4 first-course servings

  • 1pound wild boar shoulder or leg, cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces
  • 1rosemary sprig, torn in half
  • 4garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2cups Chianti or other red wine, or as needed
  • 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1small carrot, finely chopped
  • 1small celery stalk, finely chopped
  • 1small onion, finely chopped
  • 1cup canned tomatoes, with their liquid
  • 2cups vegetable stock or water
  • Tagliatelle or other pasta, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

636 calories; 15 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 66 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 35 grams protein; 110 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Wild Boar Ragù Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. The night before making the ragù place the meat in a bowl with the rosemary, peppercorns, garlic and enough wine to cover. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

  2. Step

    2

    Discard the rosemary and garlic. Drain the meat in a strainer set over a bowl, reserving the wine. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering, and add the carrot, celery and onion. Sauté until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.

  3. Step

    3

    Add the meat and cook, stirring frequently, until all the liquid released by the meat has evaporated and the meat is browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the reserved wine and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is dry, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with a spoon. Add 1 cup water, reduce heat to very low, and cook, partly covered, at a low simmer for 1 hour.

  4. Step

    4

    Add vegetable stock and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the meat begins to break apart, 1½ to 2½ hours. Remove from heat and, using a whisk or spoon, break the meat into very fine shreds. Serve, if desired, over tagliatelle or other pasta.

Ratings

5

out of 5

417

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

nancy Buchanan

What is the dollop on top of the pasta in the photo?

Hannah B

This recipe is very similar to the wild boar ragu that my husband ate plates and plates of in Tuscany. I have made several times and usually increase the recipe 2-4 times. I also double the proportions of celery, onion and carrot relative to the amount in the recipe, and take care to chop them very, very fine (sometimes I just run them through the food processor. With a quad batch, cooking takes all day and more tomatoes or broth is needed, but the resulting flavor is incredible!

Gerrit Lansing

In step 1 reference is made to peppercorns, but the quantity is not mentioned in the ingredients list. Thoughts?

scotch37

OK- Don't have access often to wild boar- but bought these at the storehttps://www.dartagnan.com/wild-boar-sausage/product/PSAWB003-1.htmlSo- didnt marinate overnight. sauteed veg and Garlic then added 1TB Tomato paste, then squeezed sausage meat out and browned. deglazed with wine used to rehydrate a bit of Porcini. added Porcini. added 1 cup chopped canned tomatoes. cooked an hour- added some stock and kept going at least half hour more. added 1/8 cup+ cream .S&P Toss Pasta Parm

Rbabecki

Thanks to Hannah B for excellent advice on increasing qty. Made using 5 lbs fresh wild boar stew meat from D'Artagnan. 2 cups Chianti was enough to cover. 10 x Carrots, celery, onions 2mm sliced, chopped in Cuisinart. 1 cup EVOO. Drying meat and vegetables took over an hour. Used 2 28oz cans San Marzano tomatoes, 5 cups water, simmered 2 hours. Added 2 qts vegetable stock & simmered ~ 4 hours. Served over homemade pappardelle. Yes, it's definitely an all day cook, but the flavors are worth it!

Adam

The timing in this recipe doesn’t seem accurate. Took over 4-5 hours to be able to serve

Ruby George Deliciously

We had fresh wild boar for this recipe. I followed the directions to soak overnight in wine and I’m glad I did. The process mellowed the gaminess and made a deliciously tender ragú. Like others, I doubled the batch and I’m glad I did! It’s important to chop the veggies by hand because using a food processor can turn the veggies into pulp and make the ragú too wet.

joe from Philly

it's a long slog cooking but entirely worth it. i omitted the chicken broth and used water instead. instead of a cup of tomatoes, i used a 14oz can. my wife loved it.

Sonya Nicaj

This is the type of recipe that presumes the cook has good skills and knowledge....season with salt and pepper even though it doesn't say. Pat dry the meat before it goes into dutch oven, it helps with browning and drying. Add a bayleaf to the pot. Cook longer than they say, and most importantly, don't cook with wine which you wouldn't drink.

clint M

Great recipe but agree with the others that it takes several hours for the meat to get really tender. We went 4.5 and could have used another hour. Served over homemade gnocchi.

Alexandra

Before you start this recipe, know that it takes much longer than indicated as the other comments suggest. I’m going on hour 4 and I would say my meat still is not tender enough. I am using a combo of venison and boar. Otherwise, it’s simple and soaking in the wine makes all the difference!!

Kristine in Somerville, MA

Due to the 5 star rating from so many cooks I had higher expectations. I thought this would be more savory. I did a triple batch since the shoulder was 3.4 lb, yet I didn't even add the cup of water in step 3. I still found the end product to be too much on the watery side. However, my guests loved it and my husband said it was our best dinner party ever. One question - I trimmed a lot more fat off the meat. Was that a bad move?

another home cook

Good base recipe! I should have seasoned the meat before marinating it. I used an 800 gram (~1.75 lb) fresh roast, chopped up. It took a long time to brown and needed more liquid than I expected, but it softened up well. Needed some umami but a splash of soy sauce woke it up nicely.

Sonya Nicaj

This is the type of recipe that presumes the cook has good skills and knowledge....season with salt and pepper even though it doesn't say. Pat dry the meat before it goes into dutch oven, it helps with browning and drying. Add a bayleaf to the pot. Cook longer than they say, and most importantly, don't cook with wine which you wouldn't drink.

Jeff Stopple

I can't find a whole leg, but high end supermarkets have ground boar in the freezer section which works great. I don't see how the whole peppercorns are supposed to work; how do you get them out again? Don't discard the garlic and rosemary, instead saute them in the olive oil before the vegetables, then discard. Food processor is great for the vegtables.

Rachel :)

Does anyone have thoughts on using ground wild boar? I haven’t been able to find actual cuts at my local stores.

Shannon

I order it and have it shipped

Jeff Stopple

I can't get pieces of wild boar, but high end grocery stores carry ground wild boar, which works great. I use coarse ground black pepper, not peppercorns, because I can't figure out how to remove them and I don't want to break a tooth. The rosemary and garlic can be sauteed in the olive oil (and then removed) for extra flavor. The timing is much too short at every step; this is an all day sauce but so worth the effort.1.5 tsp salt plus to taste at the end.

beverly

The photo looks like it shows ground meat, not shredded as the recipe suggests. Regardless, I used ground wild boar and didn't have to cook as long - let it simmer for a long time like Marcella Hazan's bolognese and it's great.

KBH

I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, but made the following modifications for a bigger batch: I used 3 lbs of ground wild boar meat. Sauteed up about 1 to 1 1/2 cups each of carrots, onion, celery. Used 1 - 28 oz can of whole tomatoes, which I broke up before adding. I cooked the sauce all day - about 8 hours total cooking time from start to finish. I needed that long cooking time to allow the sauce to cook down and thicken a bit. It was AMAZING!

Ruby George Deliciously

We had fresh wild boar for this recipe. I followed the directions to soak overnight in wine and I’m glad I did. The process mellowed the gaminess and made a deliciously tender ragú. Like others, I doubled the batch and I’m glad I did! It’s important to chop the veggies by hand because using a food processor can turn the veggies into pulp and make the ragú too wet.

Max Shapiro

I char the meat on the grill (broiler works too) before marinating it. I also use a lot more vegetables, but the recipe is a classic keeper.thanks

Sandy

I used ground wild boar which seems easier and was. I think the amount of liquid added is off. But I feel that way about all NYT recipes -- seems to be a gas vs. electric stove thing.

alec

How many peppercorns? Doesn’t say to take them out but also not trying to have people bite into peppercorns in the finished product please advise.

KML

Make a bouquet garni style bundle using cheesecloth to contain the peppercorns.

Max Shapiro

I brown the meat before marinating it. Dry it on a baking sheet in the fridge on paper towels over night first. Then overnight it in the marinate, except if I grill the stew meat, then it doesn't matter.

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Wild Boar Ragù Recipe (2024)

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