Recipe no. 283 from Jean-Baptiste Reboul's La Cuisinière provençale (1909), page 138.
Ingredients
- wild boar's head
- fine salt
- pepper
- spices
- tongue
- ham
- bacon
- lean flesh
- onions
- carrots
- thyme
- bay leaf
- parsley
- madeira
- cognac
- brandy
- white wine
- pork rinds
- bones
Preparation
- Preparing the headScald and carefully scrape the wild boar's head as for a pig's head, then bone it without piercing the skin and rub it firmly with a mixture of fine salt, pepper and spices.
- Preparing the fillingCut into strips or thick lardons the tongue, some ham, some bacon and part of the lean flesh from the head, put them in an earthenware dish and season strongly.
- Rolling and marinatingSpread the head on the table, put the filling in the middle, roll it up and place it tightly packed in an earthenware dish, sprinkle with a glass of madeira and as much good cognac, add rounds of onion and carrot, thyme, bay leaf and parsley, put a weight on top and leave 24 hours in a cool place.
- Assembling and cookingUnwrap, spread the head on a damp cloth, arrange the filling in the middle, sew the head to give it its natural shape, roll it in the cloth tying it with strips of fabric, place it in a braising pan with pork rinds, rounds of onion and carrot, thyme and bay leaf at the bottom, put crushed bones around, cover and let it sweat for about ten minutes.
- BraisingMoisten with a bottle of white wine and enough water for it to be fully covered, bring to a boil while skimming and let cook very gently for about 7 to 8 hours.
- Cooling and finishingTake off the heat and let cool three quarters of the way in its cooking liquid, drain and unwrap it from the cloth, tighten it firmly again, let it cool completely, unwrap and trim it properly.
Reboul's text
The wild boar's head must be carefully scalded and scraped as is done for a pig's head. Bone it, taking care not to pierce the skin, and rub it firmly with a mixture of fine salt, pepper and spices. Cut into strips or thick lardons the tongue, some ham, some bacon and part of the lean flesh from the head; put all this into an earthenware dish and season strongly. Spread the head on the table; put all this filling in the middle; roll it up and place it in an earthenware dish where it should sit tightly packed; sprinkle it with a glass of madeira and as much good cognac or good brandy. Add: rounds of onion and carrot, thyme, bay leaf and parsley, put a weight on top and leave it thus for 24 hours in a cool place. Then unwrap the whole, and with the head spread out well on a damp cloth, carefully arrange the filling
right in the middle. Sew up the head, giving it back roughly its natural shape; roll it in the cloth, tying it firmly with strips of fabric; place it in a braising pan or stockpot in the bottom of which you will have put pork rinds, rounds of onion and carrot, thyme and bay leaf. Put crushed bones all around; cover the braising pan; set it on the heat and let it sweat for about ten minutes. Then moisten with a bottle of white wine and enough water for it to be fully covered. Bring to a boil, skimming, and let cook very gently for about 7 to 8 hours.
Take the braising pan off the heat when the head is cooked, to let it cool three quarters of the way in its cooking liquid; drain it then to unwrap it from the cloth that envelops it and tighten it firmly again. Once well cooled, unwrap it to trim it properly.
From then on it is ready to serve.
Small Provençal glossary for this recipe
Reboul writes in French: no Provençal word appears in this recipe, apart from the dish's name itself. The table below gives the Provençal equivalents of the words used, in mistralian spelling, translated by Lingua Nostra. Each form is attested in our Provençal-English dictionary; click to open the entry.
| Provençal | English |
|---|---|
| desoussa | bone |
| fielet | strips |
| lardoun | lardons |
| brasiero | braising pan |
| coudeno | rinds |
| susa | sweat |
| bouie | boil |
| couire | cook |
| agouta | drain |
Source: Jean-Baptiste Reboul, La Cuisinière provençale, Marseille, 1909, recipe no. 283, page 138. Public domain. Transcription, formatting and Provençal glossary by Lingua Nostra.