Cinghiale

     One of my favorite Tuscan dishes to prepare is "Pappardelle al Ragu Di Cinghiale."  It's noodles with a pork ragu.  But not just any pork, mind you.  The recipe calls for wild boar.  That's what "cinghiale" means in Italian.  But that's not easy to come by.  It's not found in any of the national franchise mega marts, nor at most butcher shops, for that matter.



Valorie Fogel with Lloydie, a 3 year old 300 pound Russian Wild Boar                    

photo by Tom Wallace of the Star Tribune                    

     There's only one farm in the entire state of Minnesota that raises Russian Wild Boar, the original pork heritage breed.  Mike and Valorie Fogel own the Money Creek Buffalo Ranch in the south east corner of the state where they raise the pre-historic hogs along with buffalo and highland cattle.  How does it taste?  Mike says it's much leaner and far richer than meat from domesticated pigs.  "It's what pork used to taste like," he claims.  "They are intelligent problem-solvers and very athletic.  They'll eat anything."  But these prime species feed on corn cobs, high-moisture hay, oat pellets and other roughage.  And about now they are enjoying apples and pumpkins.

     One of his biggest buyers, The Heartland Restaurant in St. Paul, agrees.  They have it on the menu there in a variety of ways.  Most of the boar is cut up into chops and roasts.  The liver is made into braunschweiger, the kidneys into cassoulet, the tongue is pickled, the head becomes head cheese and the legs are cured to age as prosciutto.  And bacon?  Well, wild boar bacon goes for $14 a pound.  It's such a hot commodity that the Fogel family doesn't even save any for themselves.  It all goes to the customer!