Tagliatelle al Ragù di Cinghiale dell'Appennino Marchigiano

Ingredients

• For the marinade
• 800 g wild boar shoulder, cut into 5 cm pieces
• 750 ml Rosso Piceno, enough to submerge the meat
• 6 juniper berries, lightly crushed
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• For the ragù
• 250 ml Rosso Piceno, fresh, for deglazing
• 300 ml meat stock, for braising
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• For the tagliatelle
• 300 g tipo 00 flour
• 3 eggs, whole, room temperature
• To finish
• 60 g Pecorino di Fossa, finely grated

Method

1. 1
   Place the boar pieces in a non-reactive bowl. Pour over the Rosso Piceno, add the juniper berries, bay leaves and rosemary. The meat must be fully submerged. Cover and refrigerate for 48 hours. The marinade draws out the aggressive gaminess particular to Apennine hill boar; a shorter treatment will leave bitterness in the finished ragù. The meat is ready when it has darkened evenly throughout and the wine has taken on a deep red-brown colour.
2. 2
   Lift the boar from the marinade and pat each piece completely dry with kitchen paper. Discard the marinade in its entirety — marinade proteins, if used as braising liquid, produce a bitter, murky sauce. Heat olive oil in a heavy casserole over high heat. Brown the boar pieces in batches without crowding until a deep mahogany crust forms on all sides. The sound of active sizzling that does not steam indicates correct browning.
3. 3
   Deglaze the casserole with the fresh Rosso Piceno, scraping up all the browned sediment. Add the meat stock. Bring to a simmer, then cover tightly and transfer to an oven at 160 °C. Braise for 2.5–3 hours. This is where the dish lives or dies: the boar must reach a state of complete collapse — probe a piece with a fork and it should offer no resistance, falling apart without any pressure. Braising liquid should be significantly reduced and dark.
4. 4
   Remove the boar. Using two forks, shred the meat finely — pulling it into small pieces that will distribute through every portion of pasta. Return the shredded meat to the braising liquid and stir to combine. Reduce uncovered on the stovetop until the ragù is cohesive and glossy rather than soupy. It must have texture: individual shreds visible throughout, no large pieces remaining.
5. 5
   Combine the flour and eggs to form a smooth, elastic dough. Rest for 30 minutes, then roll and cut into tagliatelle of approximately 6–7 mm width. Cook in well-salted boiling water. Fresh tagliatelle are done when they rise and yield a tender but not flabby bite — taste a strand.
6. 6
   Transfer the tagliatelle directly from the water into the ragù pan, carrying pasta water with them. Toss over medium heat, adding pasta water by the ladleful as needed, until the pasta has absorbed the sauce and the two are inseparable. The pasta must absorb the ragù before leaving the pan — a wet, separated sauce means insufficient finishing time. Plate and grate Pecorino di Fossa generously over each portion.