Wild Boar Meatballs w/ Juniper Tomato Sauce
Tender, boldly flavorful wild boar meatballs in a tomato sauce seasoned with juniper berries. This is our second wild boar meatballs recipe. You can find the other one here.
INGREDIENTS
- Meatballs:
- 1lb Ground Wild Boar
- 1 Egg, beaten
- ½ cup Panko Bread Crumbs
- 1 tbsp chopped Fresh Mint Leaves
- 1 tbsp Mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Smoked Salt
- Sauce:
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Onion, small diced
- 1 tsp Whole Juniper Berries
- 1 tsp Alaska Flake Smoked Salt (could substitute other smoked salt)
- ½ cup White Wine
- 1 cup really rich Pork or Beef Stock (or combine ¼ cup beef or veal demi glace with ¾ cup water)
- 1 cup Tomato Puree
- ¼ cup Heavy Cream
- Salt
DIRECTIONS
1
Grind a teaspoon of the smoked salt and the juniper berries together in a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder (how to grind whole spices).
2
Oil a large pan or cast iron skillet with two tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Saute. After about ten minutes (when the onions have started to brown), deglaze the pan with the white wine & simmer until almost all the liquid has evaporated.
3
Add the stock, tomato puree, and ground spice mixture. Simmer for ten minutes.
4
Puree the sauce in a blender, then return it to the pan to be reheated when the meatballs are ready.
5
In a large bowl combine the ground wild boar, egg, mint, panko bread crumbs, the other teaspoon of smoked salt.
6
Very gently mix the contents of the bowl.
7
Very gently form the mixture into golf ball sized meatballs.
8
Sear the meatballs on all sides in a hot oiled skillet.
9
Once the meatballs are browned, transfer them to the pureed sauce, with a little bit of the fat from the pan.
10
Stir the cream into the sauce and bring it to a simmer. Simmer for ten minutes to finish cooking the meatballs.
11
Serve.