Chef Juliette
Selle de Chevreuil et Cuissot
Selle de Chevreuil et Cuissot teaches the discipline of game: strip every tendon, skip marinade for a young, well-hung joint, roast in butter, and stop before leanness turns to dryness.
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Boar and Young Boar (Sanglier et Marcassin)
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1809, Boar and Young Boar (Sanglier et Marcassin), from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Sanglier et Marcassin teaches restraint: choose a truly young animal, preserve its natural fat, and let the prepared Provençal cold daube set the saddle into clean slices with glossy gravy and aspic.
Main Dishes
French
Holiday
Special Occasion
Dinner Party
20 min
Active Time
0 min cook•20 min total
Yield4 servings
Sanglier et Marcassin (boar and young boar) teaches one truth before you touch a pan: age decides the dish. For this preparation, choose marcassin under twelve months, with a tender saddle and its own even covering of fat. Leave that fat where nature put it. Larding adds nothing here and distorts the clean flavor of the young animal.
The original entry assumed a hunting larder able to judge whole game, roebuck formulas already in service, a saucier with gravy at hand, a stockpot never off the fire, and a cold pantry for setting a terrine. At home, the honest equivalents are an inspected saddle from a licensed game supplier, a 1½-quart loaf pan or terrine, and the separately prepared Daube à la Provençale Froide (No. 1173), the cold Provençal daube. The brigade quantity becomes one 2½-pound saddle for four. One cook, one stove, one evening of work, then the cold does the waiting.
The brigade scale is scaffolding and can go. The age limit, the natural fat cover, and the linked cold-daube finish are the dish and must stay. Chill the prepared daube until its gravy is completely firm before attempting to turn it out. That full cold set is the step that matters most.
Sanglier et marcassin belong to the cuisine de chasse of France's forested regions, particularly the Ardennes, Alsace, and Burgundy, where age and cut determine preparation more than any single regional sauce. Classical kitchens draw a firm culinary line between mature boar and marcassin: the young animal's tender saddle and natural fat allow it to follow roebuck methods without larding. The cold treatment is Provençal by method, not a claim that wild boar belongs only to Provence; Daube à la Provençale Froide (No. 1173) carries a hot daube into the cold pantry by setting its meat, vegetables, bacon rind, and strained gravy together, then surrounding it with aspic.
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Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Daube à la Provençale Froide (No. 1173), prepared from the fat-covered saddle of young boar under twelve months
Quantity
1 chilled terrine, about 5 cups (1.2 L / 1.5 kg), based on a 2½ lb (1.13 kg) saddle
fully set, with its chopped aspic reserved separately
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Daube à la Provençale Froide (No. 1173), prepared from the fat-covered saddle of young boar under twelve monthsfully set, with its chopped aspic reserved separately | 1 chilled terrine, about 5 cups (1.2 L / 1.5 kg), based on a 2½ lb (1.13 kg) saddle |
Equipment Needed
- •1½-quart (1.4 L) terrine or straight-sided loaf pan for the referenced preparation
- •Chilled oval serving dish
- •Long sharp slicing knife
- •Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
- 1
Choose the marcassin
Order a saddle from a young boar confirmed to be under twelve months old. Buy only inspected wild game from a licensed supplier, and ask that any required parasite testing be documented. The meat should smell clean and mild, with firm flesh and an even ivory fat cover, never a heavy, rank aroma.
If the animal's age or inspection cannot be confirmed, change the plan. This entry depends on genuinely young, properly handled game. - 2
Protect the natural fat
Have the saddle neatly trimmed without stripping away its natural fat cover. Do not lard it. The marcassin already carries the moisture and richness that larding supplied to leaner game, and piercing the meat only creates channels through which its juices escape.
- 3
Prepare the cold daube
Prepare the saddle as Daube à la Provençale Froide (No. 1173), following that finished preparation in its own entry rather than rebuilding its carrots, onions, bacon rind, gravy, and aspic here. Scale it to the 2½ lb (1.13 kg) saddle and a 1½-quart (1.4 L) terrine. The meat must reach at least 160°F (71°C) during its hot preparation, then be cooled promptly before chilling.
The separate daube formula is deliberate, not evasive. Classical kitchens kept component preparations whole, and the home cook benefits from the same clear grammar. - 4
Check the cold set
Keep the finished Daube à la Provençale Froide (No. 1173) refrigerated at or below 40°F (4°C) until its gravy is firm from edge to center. Press the surface lightly through its covering; it should feel close and resilient, not liquid beneath a thin skin. If the center still shifts, give it several more hours in the cold. Patience, not a freezer, preserves the aspic's clear texture.
- 5
Turn out the terrine
Set a thoroughly chilled serving dish over the terrine and invert both together. Lift the mold straight upward. If the daube clings, don't pull or shake it apart. Ça se rattrape: wrap the outside of the mold with a towel dipped in warm water for ten seconds, dry it, and try again. Too much warmth melts the gravy, so work in brief intervals.
- 6
Finish and carve
Surround the turned-out daube with the chopped aspic reserved from its preparation. Cut four generous portions with a long sharp knife, wiping the blade between cuts so the saddle, vegetables, and set gravy remain distinct. Serve immediately while everything is properly cold and firm. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Young boar is the ingredient, not merely the label. Ask the supplier for marcassin under twelve months, the cut's provenance, and confirmation that the meat has received the inspection or parasite testing required for wild game.
- •Keep the saddle's natural fat cover. The source is explicit that marcassin needs no larding, and adding strips of pork fat would mask its mild game flavor while puncturing the meat.
- •Cook wild boar thoroughly in the linked preparation, reaching at least 160°F (71°C) at the center. Chilling does not correct undercooking.
- •A loaf pan is the honest home equivalent of the terrine à pâté, provided it holds about 1½ quarts (1.4 L) and has straight enough sides for clean unmolding.
- •Pour a structured Provençal red with the cold daube. Its dark fruit and savory edge suit the game and aspic without confusing this Provençal treatment with the larders of Burgundy or Alsace.
Advance Preparation
- •Complete the Daube à la Provençale Froide (No. 1173) at least one day before serving so its gravy can set completely. The preparation and chilling time for that separate component are not included in this page's twenty-minute serving time.
- •The finished daube can remain covered in its mold for up to two days at or below 40°F (4°C). Turn it out shortly before serving, and return leftovers to the cold within two hours.
- •Chill the serving dish and carving knife for thirty minutes before unmolding. Cold tools protect the clean set and keep the aspic bright.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 375g)
Calories
390 calories
Total Fat
19 g
Saturated Fat
7 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
10 g
Cholesterol
145 mg
Sodium
780 mg
Total Carbohydrates
6 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
49 g
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