Wild boar haunch steak, quickly pan-fried until cooked perfectly & served with a delicious blackberry sauce, a quick & easy way to cook hog.
You can comfortably cook both the steaks and the sauce within 30 minutes, making this a great option for a fancy midweek meal.
Hog Steaks with a Blackberry Sauce
Whilst most of my cooking uses day-to-day staples, I love developing recipes with wild meats.
This delicious and simple wild boar steak with blackberry sauce joins other recipes like roasted partridge and an outrageously good pheasant curry.
This is not the first time wild boar has appeared on my corner of the internet, either. I have both a wild boar ragu and wild boar stew that are delicious.
Both of those dishes protect the very lean meat and keep it juicy by cooking it slowly. This recipe is all about speed; the meat rests for longer than it cooks!
And to a degree, precision, but don't worry, grab a meat thermometer, and it is easy.
The steaks are quickly pan-fried and then basted with thyme butter as they cook in the same way I cook rump steak and the sirloin steak that I serve in surf and turf.
Then, as a bonus, I have a lovely blackberry sauce that can all be pulled together in around 30 minutes!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it ok to cook wild boar a little pink?
Generally speaking, yes, especially if you are commercially sourcing your meat. It is recommended to cook boar to an internal temperature of 65°C or 149°F here, which may vary around the world.
So long as the meat has been tested for trichinosis, which is the norm in the UK and EU, it is safe to eat at a lower temperature. I personally aim for around 63°C or 145°F after resting.
Can I use other types of steak?
Yes, you could use everything from loin steaks to fillets. Use your meat thermometer to get the perfect internal temperature, then rest, and you're laughing.
Do I have to use a meat thermometer?
Have is a strong word, but I personally believe that it is better to use one!
There are many who will tell you that cooking is an art, and it is, but some form of precision plays a part in many art forms. Cooking meat, just like baking, requires a degree of precision.
It is particularly key for cooking very lean meats like wild boar!
Why is resting meat important?
It is all about temperature! When you cook a piece of meat, the temperature at the edges of the steak is hotter than in the middle.
When you rest a piece of meat, the temperature across it evens out, which allows the juices to be more evenly spread throughout the meat.
This is why a steak "bleeds" if you cut it straight from the pan, but does not if you rest it for 10 minutes, and as a result, it is juicier and moister.
Serving Suggestions
I've served my wild boar steak in these pictures with some mashed potato and buttered cabbage.
There are lots of ways to play with similar ideas to deliver a quick and delicious comforting dish that is a bit showy.
Instead of the mashed spuds, butter bean mash, celeriac mash and swede and carrot mash all work wonderfully in this meal. The sweetness of the latter is wonderful with the slight tartness in the blackberry sauce.
Sticking with the potato vibe, if you want to go all-out indulgent, then you should definitely add some fondant potatoes!
If cabbage ain't your thing, which seems bemusing to me, how about some fairy cabbages? These miso roasted Brussel sprouts make a great addition to this recipe.
A final option that sits perfectly on this plate would be some braised cavolo nero!
Equipment Used
I only mention specific brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Hob/Stovetop.
- Small (15-18cm or 6-7") saucepan.
- Large (28-30cm 11-12") frying pan, try not to use a nonstick pan.
- A combination of weighing scales, a measuring jug, measuring cups and spoons.
- Kitchen knife.
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen foil.
- Quick-read meat thermometer (optional).
Wild Boar Haunch Steak with Blackberry Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 350 g Wild Boar Haunch Steaks 2 Steaks
- 25 g Butter 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoon
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
- ½ tablespoon Vegetable Oil
For the Blackberry Sauce:
- 150 g Blackberries 1 Cup
- 175 ml Beef Stock ¾ cup
- 1 Garlic Clove
- 25 g Butter 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoon
- 6 Juniper Berries
- 1 tablespoon Redcurrant Jelly
- Pinch of Sugar
Instructions
- Melt the butter for the sauce in a small (15cm-17cm) saucepan over medium heat.
- When the butter starts to foam, bash the garlic with the side of a knife and add it to the butter along with the lightly crushed juniper berries and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Pour in the beef stock and add two-thirds of the blackberries and the redcurrant jelly, reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.
- Blend the sauce and pass it through a fine-mesh sieve.
- Add the remaining blackberries to the sauce just before serving for 1-2 minutes just to heat through.
- Heat a large (28-30cm or 11-12") frying pan or skillet over a high heat; try not to use nonstick.
- Rub the steaks with the oil and then season with salt and pepper.
- When the pan is hot, place the steaks in the pan and cook for 90 seconds, then flip them and turn the heat down to medium-low.
- Add the butter and sprigs of thyme.As the steaks cook, constantly baste with the foaming butter and flip every two or 3 minutes until they are cooked to your liking. This will take around 4-5 minutes per side in total to get steaks that are just pink and cooked to a temperature of 57°C or 135°F. The internal temperature of the meat will rise by around 7-8°C during the resting process.
- Remove the steaks from the pan and place them on a board, then cover with foil and rest for 8-10 minutes before carving.