Recipe: Apple-Smoked Wild Boar Sandwich

Recipe

Apple-Smoked Wild Boar Sandwich

This recipe won me the 1994 National Grand Prize for Best Sandwich of the Year in a contest sponsored by the Pork Producers Council of America. of course, I used pork, but wild boar can easily be substituted.

This same recipe is also great as a main course; simply slice the meat a little thicker. The crust is the best part.

The boar is best when marinated overnight.

2 boneless boar loins, 2—3 pounds each

For the Marinade

6 cups milk
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup bourbon
2 teaspoons black pepper

For the Crust

1 medium Scotch bonnet or jalapeño pepper
2 cups dark brown sugar
1-1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup flour
4 tablespoons smooth Dijon mustard
6 juniper berries, crushed
2 tablespoons cracked black peppercorns
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon salt
4 large eggs, beaten
4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Trim any excess fat from the loins. with a fork, poke several small holes throughout the meat. Mix together the milk, honey, Worcestershire sauce, bourbon, and black pepper in a small bowl. If you have access to a large syringe used for injecting meats, inject a generous amount of marinade into the loin. Otherwise, lay the loin in a shallow bowl, cover with the marinade, and refrigerate overnight for maximum infusion. Turn once.

Light a charcoal fire in a backyard smoker.

To prepare the crust, remove the seeds and veins from the hot pepper with a sharp knife. Use rubber gloves to handle the pepper. Finely chop the pepper and combine it in a large mixing bowl with the brown sugar, cornmeal, flour, mustard, juniper berries, peppercorns, oregano and salt. This will make a pastelike mixture; if it's too dry, add some of the marinade.

In a shallow bowl or pie plate whisk together the eggs with 1/4 cup of water. Remove the loins from the marinade and roll them in the eggs, then in the crust mixture, covering completely.

Heat the oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and brown the loins evenly on all sides using a pair of tongs or two large forks. Watch the loins; the brown sugar can burn easily. Handle gently, the crust will be fragile.

When the charcoal is gray and hot, transfer the loins to the top rack of the smoker and cover. with tongs or large forks, gently turn after about 1 hour. Smoke for another 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 160 to 165 degrees F. Replenish the wood and charcoal as needed. Remove and let loins the rest about 10 minutes before slicing.

Make the spread and dip by combining the mayonnaise, puréed avocado, scallions, and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl, and whisking together. Slice up some bread, toast it, and spread with the avocado mayonnaise. Slice the meat and pile it high on the bread. Slice the Jerusalem artichokes wafer-thin and layer them on top of the meat.

Serve white corn tortilla chips and the remaining avocado mayonnaise on the side.

For the Spread and Dip

2 cups mayonnaise
3/4 cup peeled, seeded, and puréed avocado (1 medium avocado)
1/4 cup trimmed and finely chopped scallions
juice of 1 lemon (about 2—3 tablespoons)
Multigrain bread, for slicing
3 medium Jerusalem artichokes (also known as sunchokes),
scrubbed and thinly sliced

To Drink: A spicy Alsace Gewurztraminer from Hugel is traditionally medium-bodied with spice, vanilla, and pear aromas and just-right acidity.

Another option, the Sierra Cantabria Rioja Reserve from Spain, has complex layered fruit, medium body, and a perfect spicy balance to stand up to a prizewinning sandwich.

from:
Wild Fish & Game Cookbook
by John Manikowski
Photography by Zeva Oelbaum
Artisan, $35.00
192 pages; October 1997
ISBN 1-885183-50-X
Reprinted by permission.