Sanglier (wild boar)

I have only ever seen a sanglier (wild boar) once in Corsica and it was absolutely huge so I was glad I was in a 4x4 at the time! That said, I absolutely love sanglier and as you can’t buy it from the butchers, the only way to get some is from a hunter.

I was always very against hunting when I lived in England, but when you live in Corsica it is a way of life and something you have to learn to accept. Yesterday while I was out walking I was given a huge chunk of sanglier in a carrier bag from the back of a 4x4. I wasn’t even sure which bit of the beast it came from so I had no idea how to cook the damn thing!

After taking advice from my neighbours (and the discovery of a kidney and some ribs), general consensus was that it was a piece of belly, so I marinated it in red wine and herbs for most of the day, and the slow roasted it on a low temperature for about 3 hours in wine, with garlic, rosemary and bay leaves.

Unlike most red meats, sanglier needs to be well cooked all the way through (not pink). The taste is very strong and the texture is actually more like beef than pork- delicious!