Dealing with the horny hare
The hare is a mysterious creature possess- ing swift-footedness, curiosity, fearful- ness and Aphrodisian lasciviousness, qual- ities which are conspicuous in any self- respecting satyr: hence it was much admired in the good old days of gods and heroes and was meant to keep you sexually attractive for nine days after eating it. So Why not have a go? I personally think it is one of the most delicious of meats what- ever the superstitions, jugged, roasted, Potted or what you will.
Get a young hare from your butcher or poulterer and be sure to take a suitable container with you for the blood (they never possess containers if you ask for one). The blood is important to the dish, the smell is filthy but the after-effects divine (ta, Noel). Have it jointed into eight Pieces and proceed as follows: Marinade the hare with its chopped liver and heart and its blood overnight in: 1 bottle of Burgundy 1/4 pint of olive oil 2 tablespoons of brandy 10 crushed garlic cloves (crushed with a spoon not a press) 5 powdered bay leaves 3 sliced onions and the grated rind of one lemon For the rest you need: 3 oz well-seasoned plain flour 1/4 lb unsmoked bacon diced
I/4 lb butter
31/2 oz or a bar of chocolate Meunier 2 tablespoons of tomato purée 10 crushed clove heads Vz lb button mushrooms
1/2 lb button onions Dry the pieces of hare, put the flour in a plastic bag and shake each piece of hare in it to coat evenly. Fry the diced bacon in the butter gently, remove with a slotted spoon. Pry the pieces of hare until browned all over, then place in a good iron casserole. Sprinkle the crushed clove heads and the bacon on top. If there is any flour left add it to the fat in the pan, cook gently until amalgamated with the fat, then pour in the Marinade, bring slowly to simmering point scraping all the bits in the pan into the sauce, add the tomato purée, the chocolate broken in pieces, stir until all is melted together, season, and pour over the hare. Cover casserole tightly with foil and the lid, place in a pre-heated oven Gas 2, 300F. 150C., and cook for three hours. Half an hour before serving add the sautéed mushrooms and button onions and some forcemeat balls.
To make the forcemeat balls, which are well worth the effort, mix 4oz dry white breadcrumbs with 2oz of suet or butter, add 1 teaspoon each of grated lemon peel, parsley, thyme and oregano. Chop finely one good slice of ham, add to the mixture. Pour in a little milk and one egg to bind all together but keep it firm, add a dash of tabasco or cayenne pepper. Flour your hands and form little walnut-size balls from the mixture. Fry them in olive oil for five minutes, turning them the while, and keep ready until time to drop into the casserole.
Serve the completed dish with a good redcurrant jelly, Brussels sprouts and a purée of celeriac and potatoes (twice as much celeriac as potatoes). Instead of jugging the whole hare you can jug the legs and keep the saddle for roasting, in which case tell your butcher to leave the saddle whole. The saddle will serve two people so perhaps you could save up until you had two saddles, or buy an extra one from Sainsbury's or whoever your local is. Roast saddle of hare: 2 methods 2 sa4dles of hare •
8 oz unsmoked streaky bacon 1/2 pint sour cream 4 oz butter
3 tablespoons redcurrant jelly — black pepper
Wrap each saddle in strips of bacon, place in a snug roasting dish and cover all over with the butter. Roast in a pre-heated oven for 40 minutes, Gas 7, 425F. 220C. Remove saddles, place on a warm serving dish while you make the sauce. Spoon the redcurrant jelly into the roasting dish set over a low heat, stir until melting, add the sour cream, continue stirring until all is smooth, grind a liberal amount of black pepper into the delectable mess, then pour over the awaiting. saddles. Carve the sad- dles lengthways in strips like duck. It is heavenly.
The other method starts off exactly the same until the saddles are cooked. At this point remove the bacon and pour off the fat in the pan. Keep the saddles warm on their dish and this time pour a half pint of thick cream into the roasting pan together with 6 oz of chestnut purée, stirring again until quite smooth. Pour over the saddles and serve with all the same things as for the jugged hare.
Jennifer Paterson
Previous page
