Monday, November 16, 2015

Wild Boar Tenderloin with Pan Sauce

Wild Boar

It’s game season, and our venison is still at the processors.

Bummer.

I rummaged through the freezer for a package of deer meat and was surprised to find wild boar.  

I just about applauded right then and there, because I thought we had eaten it all.

(All, right – I did clap a bit, but who wouldn’t?)

It was tenderloin!

I had one last chance to do that pig culinary justice, and pulled out an old reliable never-fail cook.

To elaborate: fruits and nuts complement game as a general rule, and a crust helps to hold in moisture.

This recipe called for a mustard and pecan coating. No searing, and no fussing.

I monitored it carefully while it was in the oven, even though there was a pressing need to solve the mystery of what my husband Dan had stashed in a Coleman cooler he deposited outside the back door. 

(That was, and remains, an overriding distraction. I really didn’t want to open it all by myself, because that never leads to pleasant things.)

To finish the dish I made a quick pan sauce from my own homemade jam, the farm’s butter, and Cranberry Bob’s balsamic vinegar.  I love it when a plan comes together.

You really don’t want to know what was in that cooler.

Wild Boar Tenderloin
Wild Boar Tenderloin with Pan Sauce
Serves 2-3

1 lb. Boar Tenderloin (silverskin removed)*
1/2 - 2/3 Cup Roughly Chopped Pecans
1 - 2 TB Prepared Mustard (I used Maille)
Salt and Pepper

Pan Sauce:

2 TB Fruit Jam (Crabapple/Pear/Apple)
3 TB VT Cranberry Co.’s After Balsamic Vinegar
½ TB Redbarn Salted Cultured Butter

Coat tenderloin in mustard, lightly salt and pepper all sides, and roll in nuts. 

Roll tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Pecan Crusted Tenderloin 
Preheat oven to 300f

Bring meat to room temperature and place in a shallow pan.

Boar Tenderloin
Bake for 35-45 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 150-155f.

Remove from oven, cover with aluminum foil and a heavy towel for 20 minutes to rest.

Remove meat to cutting board (keep covered)

Deglaze pan over low heat with vinegar and jam. Stir in butter.  Sauce will be sweet and very fruity.  

Pork chops and loin work equally well with this method.


* Slip a sharp knife just underneath the middle of the membrane. Working away from you, keep the blade against the silverskin, not the meat. Turn, repeat, and remove.