FILET OF WILD BOAR w/PRUNES & APPLES

By BobD

Ingredients

• For the marinade:
• Cinghiale con Le Prugne
• Serves 4 to 6
• 3 cups red wine (one-750 ml bottle)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 2 plump garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
• 2 branches fresh rosemary
• 4 large fresh sage leaves
• 4 whole cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 3 -inch piece of cinnamon stick
• 3 pounds wild boar or pork tenderloins (2 to 4 pieces, depending on size)
• For the sauce:
• 3/4 pound pitted prunes (about 3 cups)
• 6 Granny Smith or other firm apples (about 2 pounds)
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt
• For cooking the meat:
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt or kosher salt
• 3 small branches fresh rosemary
• Recommended equipment:
• A heavy-bottomed deep sauté pan or a wide shallow saucepan, 5- or 6-quart capacity, with a cover, for cooking the sauce

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from lidiasitaly.com

Preparation

Step 1

A heavy high-sided skillet or sauté pan, 13 inches diameter or larger, with a cover, for cooking the meat
Pour the wine into a deep stainless metal or glass bowl, then mix in all the chopped vegetables, herbs and spices. Trim the tenderloins of any fat or loose bits of meat and submerge in the marinade. Cover and marinate the meat in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or up to 1 day.

A couple of hours before cooking the meat (or earlier if you prefer), remove the tenderloins from the bowl and scrape them clean, saving all the bits of marinade. Wrap the meat pieces and set them aside (or refrigerate) while you prepare the sauce.

Scrape the entire marinade into the wide saucepan and pour in 8 cups of water, stirring up the solids. Cut one of the apples into chunks (remove the core but leave the peel on) and add to the pan along with 1 cup of the prunes.

Cover and bring the liquid to the boil. Set the cover slightly ajar and cook at a steady boil until all the vegetables are very soft and have released their flavor, 40 minutes or more. Uncover the pan and continue cooking to reduce the sauce more rapidly, stirring often, until there are only 3 cups of liquid left.

Pour the cooked marinade through a sturdy sieve or colander set over a bowl and press on the solids to release all the juices. Return the strained liquid to the sauce pan and drop in the rest of the prunes. Peel the remaining apples, remove the cores and cut into thick wedges (at least 2-inches wide, so they will not fall apart) and drop them into the pan. Sprinkle over the ½ teaspoon salt .

Bring the sauce back to the boil slowly, turning the fruit pieces so they’re coated in liquid. Poach the fruit at a gentle boil for 15 to 20 minutes, until the prunes are plump and soft, the apple wedges are tender but not mushy, and the juices are syrupy. Turn off the heat and keep the fruit sauce warm while you cook the tenderloins.

Have the tenderloins at room temperature. Pat the meat dry and season on all surfaces with the salt. Pour the olive oil into the wide skillet and set over medium heat. Lay the tenders in the pan, side by side, and rest the rosemary sprigs on top. After a minute or more, when the meat is sizzling on the underside, turn the tenders to brown another surface and put the rosemary back on top. Cook for another minute, rotate the tenders again, and reposition the rosemary.

Now cover the pan tightly, lower the heat a bit and cook covered, turning the tenderloins and shifting their position in the pan every couple of minutes. Keep the rosemary on top of the tenders, so its flavor permeates the meat.

After 8 to 10 minutes of slow cooking uncover the pan, raise the heat and cook rapidly for 4 to 5 minutes, turning and shifting the tenderloins in the sizzling juices until they’re nicely caramelized all over. (Let the rosemary brown briefly in the pan but discard before it burns.)

Remove the tenderloins to a warm platter, to rest for 5 minutes or so. When ready to serve, cut them into inch-thick slices. Serve with warm prune-apple sauce on the side.