Salted and Smoked Wild Boar Loin
A piece of wild boar loin rubbed with salt and herbs, left to mature, then smoked over oak wood. Sliced thin, it is a dry, powerfully salty and savory charcuterie.
A piece of wild boar loin rubbed with salt and herbs, left to mature, then smoked over oak wood. Sliced thin, it is a dry, powerfully salty and savory charcuterie.
The forest does not give every day; the wise man sets aside. Rub the flesh with salt with full hands, press it under a stone for as many days as needed, then hang it in the smoke of the oak, where the roof is black with soot. When winter comes, when snow closes the paths, you will slice into it and remember the hunt. Thus my meat follows you into the heart of the cold season.
- •Loin or ham of wild boar — one piece (meat to preserve)
- •Salt — in large quantity (salting, preservation)
- •Juniper berries and savory — a handful (flavoring)
- •Oak wood smoke — — (smoking, preservation)
Salted and Smoked Wild Boar Loin
A piece of wild boar loin rubbed with salt and herbs, left to mature, then smoked over oak wood. Sliced thin, it is a dry, powerfully salty and savory charcuterie.
Why this dish? The wild boar, game of Cernunnos, is not all eaten on the day of the hunt: to get through winter and feed long journeys, the Gauls salted and smoked pork and boar. Their cured meats were so renowned that they were exported all the way to Rome — the horned god's abundance preserved.
The forest does not give every day; the wise man sets aside. Rub the flesh with salt with full hands, press it under a stone for as many days as needed, then hang it in the smoke of the oak, where the roof is black with soot. When winter comes, when snow closes the paths, you will slice into it and remember the hunt. Thus my meat follows you into the heart of the cold season.
Ingredients (period version)
- Loin or ham of wild boar — one piece (meat to preserve)
- Salt — in large quantity (salting, preservation)
- Juniper berries and savory — a handful (flavoring)
- Oak wood smoke — — (smoking, preservation)
Ingredients
- Loin of wild boar or free-range pork — 1 kg (meat)
- Coarse salt — 1 kg (for burying) (salting)
- Juniper berries, long pepper, savory — 2 tbsp (aromatics)
- Oak or beech wood chips — for smoking (smoking)
Method
- Mix coarse salt and crushed aromatics. Completely bury the meat in this salt, refrigerated, for 24 hours per 500 g (so ~48 h for 1 kg).
- Rinse, dry the piece thoroughly, and let it firm up uncovered in the fridge overnight.
- Cold smoke (under 25°C) with oak or beech wood, in sessions of a few hours over 1 to 2 days.
- Then hang the meat in a cool, dry, ventilated place for 3 to 4 weeks, until it has lost a third of its weight.
- Slice very thinly to serve. (Work cleanly and cold: home curing requires rigor.)
How it was made : Strabo and Varro report that Gaul produced enormous quantities of salted and smoked pork, exported en masse to Rome and Italy — Gaulish cured meats were a renowned commercial specialty. Salt and smoke, by removing moisture, allowed meat to be kept for months: it was the very condition of winter survival and long journeys.
The contemporary twist : Serve thinly sliced on a wooden board with hazelnuts and a drizzle of honey — an "Iron Age" aperitif board to share.
Sources : Strabo, Geography, Book IV (Gaulish salted pork exported to Rome) · Varro, De re rustica (meat preservation)
Cernunnos · Charactorium