Poland meets Mexico -> The Wild Boar

From the thick Polish forests to the warm coasts and deserts of Mexico, there is always a way to combine cultures and their flavors and make something special. It is even more special when you can share it with the people you love. In the case of this delicacy, I teamed up with my dad, the Wild Boar expert. He made the meat and I was busy with the chile sauce and tortillas. 

Steamy kitchen, glass of wine, good company, wild stories, and mutual teaching was more than I could have asked for during my last visit to Poland. On top of that, call me biased, but OMG it was too good to be true. I literary came back the next day for a refill.

Ingredients (enough for a party of 8)

The Meat

2 kg Wild Boar Ham

1 lt whole milk (optional)

10 juniper corns ("jałowiec" it looks like black peppercorns)

1 tbs black pepper corns

1 tbs dried marjoran

1 tbs salt

1 tbs vegeta seasoning (it like a vegetable bullion)

3 chopped garlic cloves

1/2 chopped onion and 1 sliced onion

1 tsp horse radish

2 tsp mustard

1 tbs olive oil

6 bay leaves

The Sauce

6-8 chiles guajillo, dried

6-8 chiles pasilla, dried

1-2 chiles de arbol, dried (optional, these are the spicy ones)

1 orange

2 limes

2 tbs chopped fresh mint

2 tbs chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves

salt and pepper

And tortillas to make tacos.

Preparation

The Meat

Warning! It takes two days to make so read all the instructions first.

Place the meat in a bowl and marinate in milk overnight (or in the morning so you can do the second marinade overnight). 

Useful Tip: Game is strong and hard meat by nature as the animals are running around free and happy until they land in your kitchen. Marinating this type of meat in either milk, yogurt, or sparkly water will soften the meat.

In a mortar (or a blender), crash the following: juniper, pepper, marjoran, salt, vegeta, garlic1/2 onion.

Add horseradish, mustard, and oil, and mix together to form a paste.

Rub each piece of meat with the mixture and place it in a dutch oven (I recommend Le Creuset )

Add 1 sliced onion and bay leaves and marinade overnight.

Preheat the oven to 200C, place the dutch oven inside and cook well covered for 1 hour. Lower the temperature to 150C and cook for another 1.5h.

Useful Tip: Remember, if you are in Mexico city, it will take longer due to the high altitude.

The Sauce

Boil 2/3rds of the chiles in hot water for about 20 minutes till soft and remove the seeds.

Burn the rest of the chiles and the garlic on a dry pan so its black and remove the seeds.

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend till you have a smooth sauce and there are no pieces of skin floating around.

Serving

You can either serve on a plate as shown above covered with the sauce or you can warm up some tortillas and make tacos. Put small pieces of meat in a tortilla and cover with sauce, then roll it up and enjoy the taco.

Big thanks and hugs to the Wild Boar Expert :)