So, Saturday night, home alone (my very soon to be wife is out on her hen party), what do you do? Fire up the smoker, of course!
The wild boar
I thought I’d try smoking wild boar. I have cooked it many times in the kitchen, but never smoked it. I think it should be a very good match for some low n’ slow, as it has very good flavor. I made a great sauce to go with it, see the recipe below. It goes very well with both pork and chicken. It has a very subtle touch, yet is loaded with good flavors.
I feel I have learned quite a lot in my last few grill sessions, with good help from this forum. So, this time I wanted to do the bare minimum, and skip “fancy†techniques, until I master it. No injection, no spraying or basting, no wrapping.
Treating the meat
I started by appliying a good rub. In this case I mixed a handful of juniper berries (crushed in a mortar) and applied liberally. That’s it. Juniper berries goes really well with wild boar. I put the ham in a plastic bag, and let it “sit†for a good while.

Here's the ham, stringed up.

Getting my Q on
I lit up the hardwood charcoal in my ceramic egg, set it to 300 deg F, and put the boar on the grate, and plenty of pecan wood on the coal. I wanted a strong smoke flavor on this one. And yes, I am adamant about cleaning my grate :-)

I took it off when the inner temp hit 147 deg F (64 deg C), and wrapped it in aluminum foil and a bath towel. Let it rest for 25 minutes.
Saucing it up
1/2 cup pimento olives (green olives with a bit of red paprika where the pit usually is).
5-6 sundried tomatoes
2-3 banana shallots, or 4-6 regular shallots. I usually use banana shallots, that way there are fewer for me to chop J
2 tablespoons thick, concentrated beef stock.
2 cups cream
some sugar
Chop the shallots finely, and fry them on medium heat in equal parts butter and vegetable oil. Try 1 tbsp of butter and oil each. Add more if you feel you need it. Add finely chopped sundried tomatoes and olives, and fry a little more. Now add the beef stock and the cream, and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Pour it all into a blender, and mix it to a smooth sauce. Pour it back into the pan, and add a pinch or two of sugar.
Here's the steak, sliced up, ready to serve. Note the juniper berries on the surface, as well as a good smoke ring:

Here's the end result, I served it with home made hash browns, a classic. Keeping it simple.

The verdict
I'll be honest with you folks, this was by far my best work. Just incredible. The pecan and the juniper was a match made in heaven. Great! On to the next challenge.
Have a great weekend, all.
The wild boar
I thought I’d try smoking wild boar. I have cooked it many times in the kitchen, but never smoked it. I think it should be a very good match for some low n’ slow, as it has very good flavor. I made a great sauce to go with it, see the recipe below. It goes very well with both pork and chicken. It has a very subtle touch, yet is loaded with good flavors.
I feel I have learned quite a lot in my last few grill sessions, with good help from this forum. So, this time I wanted to do the bare minimum, and skip “fancy†techniques, until I master it. No injection, no spraying or basting, no wrapping.
Treating the meat
I started by appliying a good rub. In this case I mixed a handful of juniper berries (crushed in a mortar) and applied liberally. That’s it. Juniper berries goes really well with wild boar. I put the ham in a plastic bag, and let it “sit†for a good while.
Here's the ham, stringed up.
Getting my Q on
I lit up the hardwood charcoal in my ceramic egg, set it to 300 deg F, and put the boar on the grate, and plenty of pecan wood on the coal. I wanted a strong smoke flavor on this one. And yes, I am adamant about cleaning my grate :-)
I took it off when the inner temp hit 147 deg F (64 deg C), and wrapped it in aluminum foil and a bath towel. Let it rest for 25 minutes.
Saucing it up
1/2 cup pimento olives (green olives with a bit of red paprika where the pit usually is).
5-6 sundried tomatoes
2-3 banana shallots, or 4-6 regular shallots. I usually use banana shallots, that way there are fewer for me to chop J
2 tablespoons thick, concentrated beef stock.
2 cups cream
some sugar
Chop the shallots finely, and fry them on medium heat in equal parts butter and vegetable oil. Try 1 tbsp of butter and oil each. Add more if you feel you need it. Add finely chopped sundried tomatoes and olives, and fry a little more. Now add the beef stock and the cream, and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Pour it all into a blender, and mix it to a smooth sauce. Pour it back into the pan, and add a pinch or two of sugar.
Here's the steak, sliced up, ready to serve. Note the juniper berries on the surface, as well as a good smoke ring:
Here's the end result, I served it with home made hash browns, a classic. Keeping it simple.
The verdict
I'll be honest with you folks, this was by far my best work. Just incredible. The pecan and the juniper was a match made in heaven. Great! On to the next challenge.
Have a great weekend, all.
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