flipRoasted Wild Boar Haunch with Honey and Juniper Berries
Roasted Wild Boar Haunch with Honey and Juniper Berries
Why this dish? Basine is the wife of Childeric I, king of the Salian Franks, and mother of Clovis. At the royal banquets of Tournai, hunting provides wild boar, game of the Germanic forests, served whole at the center of the table: the king distributes the best pieces, and it is through this generosity that the warriors' loyalty is woven.
A large piece of wild boar (or pork) long roasted, glazed with honey and rubbed with juniper berries gathered from the forests. The festive meat, the one that seals alliances around the fire.
Approach my hearth, stranger, and do not fear the flame. When my husband the king receives his faithful, we bleed the boar his dogs have raised in the forest, and we turn it on the spit until the fat sings on the embers. I have it rubbed with those small black berries of the juniper, which bite the tongue, then coated with our honey: thus the rind becomes shining like the gold of Tournai. He to whom the king hands the best piece from his own hand, that one knows he is loved.
- •Wild boar haunch — one piece for the company (main meat)
- •Honey — generously (glaze and sweetness)
- •Juniper berries — a handful, crushed (forest aromatic)
- •Salt — as needed (seasoning)
- •Pork fat — for basting (fat)
Roasted Wild Boar Haunch with Honey and Juniper Berries
A large piece of wild boar (or pork) long roasted, glazed with honey and rubbed with juniper berries gathered from the forests. The festive meat, the one that seals alliances around the fire.
Why this dish? Basine is the wife of Childeric I, king of the Salian Franks, and mother of Clovis. At the royal banquets of Tournai, hunting provides wild boar, game of the Germanic forests, served whole at the center of the table: the king distributes the best pieces, and it is through this generosity that the warriors' loyalty is woven.
Approach my hearth, stranger, and do not fear the flame. When my husband the king receives his faithful, we bleed the boar his dogs have raised in the forest, and we turn it on the spit until the fat sings on the embers. I have it rubbed with those small black berries of the juniper, which bite the tongue, then coated with our honey: thus the rind becomes shining like the gold of Tournai. He to whom the king hands the best piece from his own hand, that one knows he is loved.
Ingredients (period version)
- Wild boar haunch — one piece for the company (main meat)
- Honey — generously (glaze and sweetness)
- Juniper berries — a handful, crushed (forest aromatic)
- Salt — as needed (seasoning)
- Pork fat — for basting (fat)
Ingredients
- Wild boar haunch or pork shoulder roast — 1.5 kg (main meat)
- Honey — 4 tbsp (glaze)
- Juniper berries — 2 tbsp (aromatic)
- Salt — 2 tsp (seasoning)
- Lard (or oil) — 2 tbsp (fat)
- Water or beer — 200 ml (basting liquid)
Method
- Take the meat out 1 hour before cooking. Crush the juniper berries in a mortar with the salt.
- Rub the entire piece with melted lard, then with the juniper-salt mixture. Let rest 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 160 °C. Place the meat on a rack over a roasting pan, pour the water or beer into the pan.
- Roast for 2 to 2.5 hours (about 1 hour per 500 g), basting every 30 minutes with the juices.
- In the last 15 minutes, increase the oven to 200 °C and brush generously with honey two or three times to glaze the surface.
- Let rest 15 minutes under foil before slicing. Serve with the cooking juices.
How it was made : Game — boar, deer, roe deer — was at the heart of aristocratic Frankish banquets, where the sharing of meat materialized hierarchy and loyalty. Pieces were roasted on a spit over the hearth or in pits. Juniper, a local berry, was among the rare aromatics of the North; honey served both as sweetener and preservative.
The contemporary twist : Present on a raw wooden board as at a Merovingian feast, meat sliced in a fan, juice in a small stoneware pot, and a few scattered juniper berries for decoration.
Sources : Grégoire de Tours, Histoire des Francs (Decem libri historiarum) · Bruno Dumézil, Les royaumes barbares en Occident
Basina of Thuringia · Charactorium
