Hunter's 'Wild-Boar' Hotpot Recipe – Sybaritica

This Hunter’s ‘Wild-Boar’ Hotpot contains no actual Boar Meat, but uses the trick of cooking regular pork with Red Wine to mimic the taste.

• 1 1/2 lbs. Pork Shoulder cut into bite sized cubes;
• 1 1/2 lbs. Baby Potatoes;
• 12 small dried Chinese Black Mushrooms;
• 1 small Onion chopped;
• 1 small Carrot chopped;
• 1 stick of Celery chopped;
• 1 – 2 tbsp. minced Garlic;
• 1 tsp. each dried Sage and Thyme;
• ½ tsp. each Celery Seed and Black Pepper;
• 1 tsp. Salt;
• 2 ½ cups plain Tomato Sauce;
• 1 cup Red Wine;

• Reconstitute the mushrooms in warm water to cover for an hour so and then drain them, reserving the soaking liquid.
• Trim the stems from the mushrooms, reserving them for stock, if desired, then slice the caps in half, or quarters if very large.
• Brown the meat over moderately high heat in a little oil and then set aside.
• Saute the carrot, onion and celery in a little oil or butter until the onion is translucent.
• Add the meat, garlic, and other seasonings and saute a few minutes further until the herbal aroma rises.
• Add the potatoes, tomato sauce, red wine and one cup of the mushroom soaking liquid, then simmer gently for about an hour and a half until the potatoes are tender and the liquid reduced and slightly thickened.
• Serve hot from the pot, or else chill overnight to allow the flavors to meld.