Rooting Around With Wild Boars

Recently, we were fortunate to procure two wild boars from a ranch in Texas. What follows here is the first in a thread that will unravel the path of these boars from the Texas hill country to the plate here at Niche Restaurant. In the coming days and weeks, you can catch a glimpse of the creative process in the kitchen at Niche through a collection of history, photos, anecdotes, recipes, global methods and techniques. We welcome and encourage you to leave your thoughts and questions below.

…Sipping my coffee with early morning bleary eyes here at Niche last Tuesday morning, I answered a call from Tom at the Broken Arrow Ranch in Ingram, Texas. I chat on the phone with Tom every couple of weeks to keep up with what is coming off the ranch in the Texas hill country. I first began working with Broken Arrow Ranch for the American Bounty Dinner at James Beard’s home last year, where I served their Sika venison loin. After a quick chat with Tom and a little Texas hospitality congratulating me on the new addition to my family, he let me know that he was going to have some fresh whole wild boar ready to be shipped on Thursday if I was interested. With a few hours of thought, I talked to Chris, the creative culinary engine of the kitchen, about the idea of butchering and cooking them in as many ways as we could come up with. I could see the cogs and springs of ideas running through his mind along with a pensive yet budding excitement. Over another few slugs of creamy and sweet coffee the following morning and a bit more of his Texas hospitality, Tom assured me that he had picked out a couple hogs for me that and that they would arrive at my back door the next morning.