I have a new obsession and its name is Wild Boar. Ever since my trip to Vancouver and eating at Wild Rice, I have been dreaming about Wild Boar. I was jokingly telling a friend that we should roast a Wild Boar, but he was so enthusiastic that I decided to look online and see what was available. I found a listing for Exotic Meats and just about died when I realized that they were located in Bellevue, which is a 15 minute drive away. I practically fell out of my chair when I saw that they sell Wild Boar Bacon.

Needless to say, I found myself at Exotic Meats that very next weekend. The store had just been relocated from the Shoreline area and now shares space with an Indian grocery store. Their section of the store was decorated with Astroturf and white lattice fencing. Very odd, but I was too enthralled with what was in the freezers to give it much thought. I started pulling one of everything out the cases and then realized I needed to exercise some restraint. I gave myself a budget of $80 and purchased the following:

A slab of Wild Boar Bacon
Caribou Sausages
Yak Patties
Goat Meat, in chunks for stewing
Ostrich Sausages
Elk Medallions
Antelope Sausages
Smoked Duck Sausages

By the time Zach and I got home it was past lunch time and we were hungry. We decided the caribou sausages sounded good and I pan fried them in a bit of olive oil. They didn’t appear to have much fat on their own so I was a little worried that they would be dry. I found an assortment of mustards in the fridge: hot English mustard, bourbon molasses mustard from Stonewall Kitchen, Mostarda di Cremona, horseradish mustard and a plain French Dijon. We had also just been to PFI, so to go with our sausages, I opened up a can of giant baked giant beans in light tomato-dill sauce, fried eggplant in rich tomato sauce and sprats. I tossed together a quick spinach salad and we were ready to eat.

I sliced off a bite of sausage and ate it plain so I could fully taste the flavor. It was incredible. The absolute best sausage I have ever eaten. Despite not being very fatty, the sausage was juicy and very tender, with a texture similar to veal. I can’t really describe the taste because I’ve never tasted anything else like it. I tried some of the condiments and the best ones were the mustards with a touch of sweetness to them; the bourbon molasses mustard and the Mostarda di Cremona. The Mostarda di Cremona tasted like a superb marmalade with a hint of mustard—sweet, tart and hot. As good as the mustards were, I had to eat most of my sausage plain; it was so amazing that I didn’t want to adulterate the taste.

Zach and I both agreed that this was one of the best lunches we’ve had in a long time.