This easy, hearty and comforting wild boar stew recipe is loaded with aromatic herbs and mushrooms. Braising the wild boar meat in red wine makes it tender enough to just melt in your mouth. This wild boar casserole is a perfect dish to make ahead of time or to prepare for a larger crowd of people.

Autumn and winter is that time of the year when game meat makes its way to the table. And rightfully so. Game meat lends itself well when preparing stews, and what is better than to serve a hearty meat stew on a cold winters day? Wild boar meat is a very succulent type of meat which is great for slow cooking and braising. The meat is only slightly similar to pork, but is darker in colour, leaner and has a stronger and more intense taste.

Wild boar meat is great for making stews where the meat is braised slowly in a liquid of your choice. The keyword here is slow cooking on low temperatures. This does not mean that you have to cook this in a slow cooker, I never do. This wild boar recipe is perfect to cook on either the stove or in the oven.

Wild boar stew ingredients

• Wild boar meat: Use stew meat for this recipe that is good for cooking low and slow.
• Red wine: Wild boar meat and red wine pairs really well to make a good stew. First of all, the red wine tenderises the meat and adds lots of flavour to the sauce of the stew. While wild boar has an intense and strong flavour, a good red wine will equally match this taste. Use a good quality red wine.
• Onions: Use a few onions to give this stew lots of flavour.
• Mushrooms: I have used white mushrooms which go really well with this stew.
• Flour: Flour is used to thicken the stew. I use normal white flour, but corn starch can be used as well.
• Cranberry jam: Cranberry pairs really well with game meat. Adding a few spoons of cranberry jam to the stew provides the necessary sweetness.
• Dijon mustard: Adding some mustard gives the sauce some acidity and it helps to tenderise the meat. I always try to add some mustard into any stew I make, just because I love the taste of mustard.
• Stock: Adding some stock gives extra flavour to the stew. The best would be to add venison stock, but it is not something I normally use. I normally add chicken stock which is less intense in flavour. If I don’t have ready make stock, I use stock cubes. Count on 1 stock cube per 500 ml or 2 cups of liquid.
• Unsalted butter: I normally use olive oil for nearly all my recipes, but for browning the meat I prefer to use unsalted butter. Feel free to use any type of cooking oil instead.

Which spices to use with wild boar meat

Apart from flavouring with mustard, cranberry and stock, give the stew some punch with these herbs and spices:

• Bayleaves
• Cloves
• Thyme
• Cinnamon stick
• Pimenta, allspice or Jamaica pepper corns
• Optional: Juniper berries and rosemary. I have not in this recipe, but both can also be added and go really well in this stew.

How to make wild boar casserole

Note: All the exact quantities of the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

This wild boar meat stew has quite some ingredients and spices and might look overwhelming to prepare. But I can assure you it is not that difficult. And once all the ingredients are in the pot, all you have to do is wait for the meat to get tender.

First of all, the stew meat should be cut in equal sized cubes. I prefer to cut smaller bite size pieces. Finely dice the onions and cut the mushrooms in quarters. Don’t cut the mushrooms too small otherwise they will dissolve in the sauce.

In order to develop the best flavour you need to first sear the meat. Heat some butter in a frying pan on high heat and brown the meat well on all sides. Work in small batches. When adding too much meat at the same time the pan will cool down and the meat is likely to be cooked instead of seared. This is an essential step to make this stew, so make sure not to skip this one. Searing the meat will give extra intense flavour and it makes the colour of the stew nice and brown. When all the meat is seared, set the meat aside and deglaze the pan with 1/3 of the red wine.

Heat some olive oil in a heavy-bottom pot on medium heat and fry the onions. This step can be done at the same time as searing the meat. After a few minutes, add the chopped mushrooms and keep frying while stirring regularly. Now you can add the seared meat cubes and mix well with the onions and mushrooms. Pour the flour over the meat and stir well to coat all pieces. Depending on the required thickness of the sauce and the amount of liquid, add more or less flour. I use 2 tablespoons of flour with 600 ml or 2.5 cups of liquid.

After a glass or 2 for yourself, pour the rest of the wine in to the pot, as well as the wine from deglazing the frying pan. Add all the spices and herbs as well as the cranberry jam and Dijon mustard. Give it a last stir and reduce to the lowest heat. Let the stew simmer uncovered for 90 minutes. It’s important that the temperature stays on low heat for the meat to tenderise properly. Taste the meat after 90 minutes and if not tender enough leave it to simmer until tender.

Can I make this wild boar recipe in advance?

This stew can be served immediately. When making this a day in advance, you will notice the flavours will have further developed and the meat is even more tender. So yes, this stew can be made in advance which is perfect when having large groups of friends or family for dinner and you don’t want to spend all your time in the kitchen.

Can I add more vegetables?

Of course you can. It’s possible to use other types of mushrooms, like chestnut mushrooms or porcini, or carrots, parsnips, turnips, leek or pumpkin. I decided to only add onions and white mushrooms to this recipe for that little extra flavour. I did not want to detract from the full flavour and texture of the meat in this stew.

How to store this wild boar casserole

How to store in the fridge

I sometimes make this stew in advance in a large batch which I keep for later. This dish can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let the stew cool and transfer to an airtight container before refrigerating.

Can I freeze this wild boar stew?

You can freeze this wild boar casserole. I can recommend making a large portion and to freeze some for later when you need a fast dinner. Cooking this wild boar recipe takes time so you won’t normally be making this every week. I often make a large batch of any stew and freeze the rest for later when I have less time or have unexpected visitors.

To freeze this stew:

• Allow the stew to cool down.
• Portion and transfer into an airtight container suitable for the freezer.
• You can leave it in a 3 star freezer for up to 2 months.
• After thawing, reheat in the microwave or in a pot on the stove or in the oven.

How to serve this stew dish

This meat stew comes with a lot of delicious sauce, so serve this dish with some side dishes to mop up the sauce. Serve with plain rice, mashed potatoes, grilled potatoes, french fries or crispy bread buns. Some vegetable side dishes that go really well with wild boar are these Italian green beans, roasted fennel and carrots or just a green salad.

As a starter and to stay in the fall season, this roasted chestnut soup will do very well. And what about this fig and feta salad or fresh fig bruschetta?

Print Recipe

5 from 6 votes

Wild boar stew with mushrooms

This easy, hearty and comforting wild boar recipe is loaded with aromatic herbs and mushrooms. Braising the wild boar stew in red wine makes the meat buttery tender which will then melt in your mouth. Wild boar casserole is a perfect dish to make ahead or to prepare for a larger crowd of people.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Belgian

Servings: 6

Author: Sabine

Ingredients

• 2 pounds (or 1 kg) wild boar stew meat cut into bite size pieces
• 3 medium onions peeled and finely chopped
• 9 ounces (or 250 grams) white mushrooms cleaned and cut in quarters
• 2 cups (or 500 ml) red wine.
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons cranberry jam
• ⅓ cup (or 80 ml) stock
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil

Spices

• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cloves
• 1 teaspoon black pepper corns or allspice crushed
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• sea salt to taste

Instructions

• In a frying pan, heat the butter and sear the meat cubes on all sides until brown. Work in batches in order not to cool the pan down while browning the meat. Set the meat aside and deglaze the frying pan with ⅓ of the red wine.
• Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot and fry the onions for 3 minutes on medium heat. Add the chopped mushrooms and fry for another 2 minutes.
• Add the browned meat cubes and mix well. Add flour over the ingredients in the pot and stir well until all is covered with a thin layer of flour. Fry for 2 minutes.
• Deglaze with the rest of the wine and add the wine which was used to deglaze the frying pan. Add the mustard and cranberry jam as well as all the other herbs and spices. Add the stock. Turn the stove to very low heat and let the stew simmer uncovered for at least 90 minutes. Check if the meat is tender, if not, leave to simmer longer until soft and tender.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Notes

• Stock: preferably venison or game meat stock. If you don’t have that available, use beef or chicken.
• This recipe is for 6 people. Make the same amount for less people and freeze the rest for another time.

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