Juniper-Roasted Wild Boar Leg with Red Wine

Use a leg declared fit for consumption and keep it between 0 and 4°C. Ask for evidence of Trichinella testing when available. Even with a negative result, this recipe requires thorough cooking: salt, wine and domestic freezing do not replace it.

Preheat a conventional oven to 160°C. Set a rack in the lower third and prepare a clean, calibrated meat thermometer. Use a large roasting dish or Dutch oven deep enough to hold the juices.

Remove damaged tissue, blood clots, visible sinew and excess soft fat without cutting deeply into the meat. Do not wash it; pat it dry with paper towels. Then clean the work surface, knife and your hands to prevent cross-contamination.

Lightly crush the juniper berries. Crumble the bay and thyme, then mix them with the salt, sugar, cracked pepper and ground pepper. These quantities season the meat only; they are not a preservation method.

Rub the mixture over every side of the leg. Place it immediately in the roasting dish, meaty side up. There is no prolonged salt cure, ageing period or room-temperature drying.

Pour the wine around the meat without washing off the seasoning. Dot the top with the lard. Wine and aromatics add flavour; they do not make the meat safe.

Roast at 160°C. Baste occasionally with the clean pan juices, using no utensil that has touched raw meat. Cooking time varies greatly with weight, shape, bone and oven; the thermometer, not the clock, determines when it is done.

Check several points in the thickest parts without touching the bone. Every point must reach at least 71°C. If any reading is lower, continue cooking and check again with a clean probe. Colour alone is not a reliable test.

Remove the leg from the oven, cover it loosely and let it rest for 20 minutes. Carve it with a clean board and knife. Serve hot or warm with the strained, reheated pan juices.

Refrigerate leftovers within two hours of cooking. For rapid cooling, remove the meat from the bone and divide it into small, shallow portions in closed containers. Keep at 0 to 4°C and use within 48 hours.