I had spent the day, a Saturday, working, and was pretty beat after cleaning up the wiring in a switch rack, but I was quickly reinvigorated by the prospect of eating this meal. Thankfully, my wife was willing to help out a bit. She got my roasted potatoes put together and in the oven as I unwound for a few minutes after getting home. I'd saved some of the bacon fat from our breakfast, and had her combine a couple of tablespoons of those drippings with an equal part of olive oil, some Kosciusko beer mustard, dill, and Worcestershire sauce. Once she had those in the oven, I took back over the kitchen.
For the boar, I wanted to try some deep, rich flavors, so I opted for a rub of coarsely ground coffee (Mierisch coffee, for the record), fennel seed, salt, and pepper. I briefly pan-seared the 2 racks in a cast iron skillet, then moved them to finish off in the oven. I also wanted to complement the boar with a good sauce, so I turned to one that I've counted on many times before, with a slight alteration. It is a creamy mustard sauce that emulates one I'll write about more in the future. This time around, I opted for a basic roux, some milk, prepared mustard, ground mustard, roasted mustard seeds, and dill. This is a bit of a variance from my norm, but in addition, and most importantly, I added a bit of white balsamic this time around. It added a bit of sweetness that mellowed the flavor quite nicely.
The Verdict
On the whole, the meal was good. The two racks were of unequal size, so the one we ate last night was, if anything, a bit more well done than I cared for. The other rack was deliberately underdone, and I served it up tonight as leftovers after a quick sear in the skillet. These were, for me, a bit more tender, but both were satisfying. The fennel was great, and coffee surprisingly mild. They worked well together, but when paired with the mustard sauce, the flavors were far more interesting. I would probably opt for one or the other next time, and not both, if I were to keep the sauce. Or I would keep both and serve with a balsamic or cider reduction next time. That said, I'm sure there will be a next time. I am finding boar a delicious delicacy, and will have to keep it on our menu from time to time.
The potatoes were a real treat, and we found ourselves dipping them in the sauce just as much as we did the meat. Our first night, we had some corn with our meal, and the second night some green beans. There really was no good reason to go crazy with the veggies, so I didn't. We had both meals with some Chilean Carmenere, and it was fine, but I think I'll spend a bit more time picking a better wine the next time I serve boar.
I know I usually write more about life, but this time through, it is all I can do to just write about the meal. That said, I'm proud to report that BOTH our daughters tried, and seemed to enjoy the meat!
I'll have to plan for the gator down the road a bit. Stay tuned.
