Braised Wild Boar Shoulder with Prunes and Leeks

A few weeks ago I made a recipe on my Instagram stories for a wild boar dish I was trying out. I had brought a bunch of wild boar back from my Adventure Getaway and I was in experimentation mode. I got a lot of requests for the recipe so I’m sharing it with you here at last. It is Braised Wild Boar Shoulder with Prunes and Leeks and has an incredible balance of flavor, and can be made with lamb, beef or pork too.

Braised Wild Boar Shoulder with Prunes and Leeks:

The braised wild boar is a combination of sweet, salty and tangy. The fruit and orange peel give it a floral flavor as well.

And the yogurt topping balances out the intensity of the flavor and has a cooling quality.

This dish rests on a bed of sautéed leeks which you cook separately. Making this made me realize how I should cook leeks more often, they are an unsung hero of the vegetable family.

Let me know what you think of this dish! It works well with other meats too. And be sure you’re following me on Instagram and Facebook to see me cook in real time. And you can subscribe to my YouTube channel for free to see me do it all on video.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Braised Wild Boar Shoulder with Prunes and Leeks

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time3 hours hrs

Total Time3 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup grape seed or sunflower oil
• 1 lb wild boar shoulder bone-in preferred
• Salt and pepper
• 2 large onions diced
• 3 cloves garlic diced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• One 14-oz can chopped tomatoes
• 5 thyme sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• Zest of 1/2 orange in strips
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups stock of your choice
• 1 cup soft prunes pitted
• 6 large leeks cut into 1/2-inch pieces

To Serve:

• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
• 2 cloves garlic minced

Instructions

• Preheat over to 350 degrees F.
• Pour oil in a heavy bottomed pot, season the boar shoulder with salt and pepper on all sides and add it to the pot. Brown on all sides and remove from pan.
• Add the onions and garlic, season with salt to release the juices. Deglaze with the white wine and scrape brown bits from pot with a wooden spoon.
• Add the boar shoulder back to the pot and add the remaining ingredients, except for the stock, leeks and prunes.
• Add just 1 cup of the stock to the pot and cover with a lid or foil. Put it in the oven and cook for 2-3 hours, turning over the boar shoulder with tongs every 30 minutes.
• In the last 45 minutes of cooking, add the remaining 1 cup of stock and the prunes and cover.
• Meanwhile in a saute pan, add oil and saute the leeks on high heat, sprinkling with salt to release the juices. Let the leeks cook until soften. If the pan becomes too dry, add a splash of white wine or water.
• Make the yogurt sauce by combining the yogurt, parsley, lemon zest and garlic and mix well. Transfer to the refrigerator and let flavors develop until ready to serve. It will become better as it sits.
• To serve, spoon the leeks onto a plate and cover with a heaping portion of the braised boar. Top with the yogurt sauce and dig in!