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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.
- 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.
