Pine Marten
Well-Known Member
Hello everyone and Happy New Year!
Last Sunday, on the contrived occasion of a family New Year's lunch, I attempted an Italian recipe for hare that I'd found, translated and adapted to my tastes, abilities and available ingredients. I think hare is hugely underrated as a game species and especially in the kitchen, and I'm convinced we're all missing out, and this dish proves that point. What's more, it's a lot easier, less time consuming than the traditional Hasepfeffer/Civet and doesn't require every single horizontal surface, pot and pan in your kitchen.
Ingredients:
- one hare, jointed (shoulders, haunches, rib-cage end, loin, pelvis/tail end)
- 150-200g diced bacon or pancetta
- Large glass of red wine (and another for you while you cook)
- Juice of a lemon
- A few bay leaves
- Fresh or dried thyme
- Half a litre of chicken or game stock
- Olive oil (a fair bit thereof)
- Salt
- Pepper
- Celery salt (important, this one, make sure you have it! Magic ingredient!)
- Fresh mushrooms
- Parsley for garnish
Method:
1. Marinade the jointed hare for at least six hours or overnight in some olive oil, the glass of wine, the lemon juice, the thyme, a little salt and pepper. I turned the pieces in an oven dish a couple of times over that time to make sure all the meat was marinated.
2. Take a big cast iron, enameled, lidded dish (Le Creuset style), add some olive oil and fry the diced bacon in it until the fat has rendered a little. Then brown all the meat on all sides in the dish. Unless you have a gigantic cauldron, you'll have to do this in batches. Hares are actually quite big beasts.
3. Pour the marinade over the meat into the pan, and add up to half a litre of stock. You're not looking to cover all the meat, maybe half to two thirds covered. Then place the covered dish in the oven at about 160 degrees for 2-2.5 hours. Check once in a while it's not going dry and add stock if needed.
4. When it's cooked (you should be able to remove the meat from the bones with a fork and spoon), remove the hare, place the dish on the hob reduce and season the sauce to taste. THIS is where your magic ingredient comes in: the umami in the celery salt balanced out the sourness of the lemon juice.
5. Then place the meat in a dish, pour the sauce over the top, garnish with chopped parsley and sauteed mushrooms, serve with tagliatelle.
I only have one measure of whether a dish is a success, which is how much of it five year olds leave in their place. The approximate quantity of leftovers was none whatsoever.
Other diners' feedback:
"That's the best thing I've eaten for weeks. It's a lot better than the hare my father made" (PM's mum)
"The hare you hunted is super nice! Do we have to wait until the baby is five also to eat one again?" (YPM; and I hope not!)
Last Sunday, on the contrived occasion of a family New Year's lunch, I attempted an Italian recipe for hare that I'd found, translated and adapted to my tastes, abilities and available ingredients. I think hare is hugely underrated as a game species and especially in the kitchen, and I'm convinced we're all missing out, and this dish proves that point. What's more, it's a lot easier, less time consuming than the traditional Hasepfeffer/Civet and doesn't require every single horizontal surface, pot and pan in your kitchen.
Ingredients:
- one hare, jointed (shoulders, haunches, rib-cage end, loin, pelvis/tail end)
- 150-200g diced bacon or pancetta
- Large glass of red wine (and another for you while you cook)
- Juice of a lemon
- A few bay leaves
- Fresh or dried thyme
- Half a litre of chicken or game stock
- Olive oil (a fair bit thereof)
- Salt
- Pepper
- Celery salt (important, this one, make sure you have it! Magic ingredient!)
- Fresh mushrooms
- Parsley for garnish
Method:
1. Marinade the jointed hare for at least six hours or overnight in some olive oil, the glass of wine, the lemon juice, the thyme, a little salt and pepper. I turned the pieces in an oven dish a couple of times over that time to make sure all the meat was marinated.
2. Take a big cast iron, enameled, lidded dish (Le Creuset style), add some olive oil and fry the diced bacon in it until the fat has rendered a little. Then brown all the meat on all sides in the dish. Unless you have a gigantic cauldron, you'll have to do this in batches. Hares are actually quite big beasts.
3. Pour the marinade over the meat into the pan, and add up to half a litre of stock. You're not looking to cover all the meat, maybe half to two thirds covered. Then place the covered dish in the oven at about 160 degrees for 2-2.5 hours. Check once in a while it's not going dry and add stock if needed.
4. When it's cooked (you should be able to remove the meat from the bones with a fork and spoon), remove the hare, place the dish on the hob reduce and season the sauce to taste. THIS is where your magic ingredient comes in: the umami in the celery salt balanced out the sourness of the lemon juice.
5. Then place the meat in a dish, pour the sauce over the top, garnish with chopped parsley and sauteed mushrooms, serve with tagliatelle.
I only have one measure of whether a dish is a success, which is how much of it five year olds leave in their place. The approximate quantity of leftovers was none whatsoever.
Other diners' feedback:
"That's the best thing I've eaten for weeks. It's a lot better than the hare my father made" (PM's mum)
"The hare you hunted is super nice! Do we have to wait until the baby is five also to eat one again?" (YPM; and I hope not!)
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