Braised Hare
Stuff the hare with a suitable force-meat. Sew it up securely, and lay slices of bacon on it, put it into a braising-pan, with 2 finely minced shallots, a scraped carrot, 4 button mushrooms, or, in place of these, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom catsup, and 1 pint of good stock. Place 3 ounces of butter on the hare, put the lid on the pan, and simmer gently for three hours or more. Strain the gravy, thicken it with a dessertspoonful of flour, mixed smoothly with a little cold water; add1 glassful of sherry, madeira, or claret; simmer a few minutes longer, and serve. Send red currant jelly to table with the hare. Sufficient for six or eight persons.
A whole braise in the old English manner, written for a cook who already had a forcemeat recipe to hand and a heavy lidded pan on the stove. The hinge is temperature: hare is lean, dark and sinewy, and it wants a bare simmer for hours, never a rolling boil.
- Sourcing the hareA dressed hare of 5-7 lb is a game-dealer or online order in most places, not a supermarket item. Wild rabbit is the nearest substitute but cooks in half the time; farmed rabbit is milder and paler and will be dry after three hours.
- The forcemeatThe original assumes the cook already has a forcemeat to hand. Period stuffings for hare were commonly built from breadcrumbs, suet or butter, the hare's liver, chopped bacon, herbs and egg to bind. Pack it loosely so it can swell.
- Braising-pan and heatAny heavy lidded pot that holds the hare will do. On the stovetop keep it at the barest tremble; in the oven, 300F for the full three hours gives steadier results and less risk of scorching the bottom.
- Three hours or moreThis is not exaggeration for a mature hare, whose hind legs are solid connective tissue. Test the thigh with a skewer: it should slide in without resistance. A young hare or a wild rabbit may be done in 90 minutes.
- Mushroom catsupA bottled condiment of salted, spiced mushroom liquor, in use well before the Victorian period and still sold in Britain. Mushroom soy, or a spoonful of dried-mushroom soaking liquid with a dash of Worcestershire, gives a comparable savoury depth.
- Old measuresA dessertspoonful is about 2 teaspoons, so the sauce is only lightly bound. The recipe asks for 'a glassful'; in books of this period a wineglass is reckoned anywhere from roughly 2 fl oz up to a quarter-pint. The pint of stock is a British pint, 20 fl oz.
- Finishing the gravySkim the strained liquid before thickening; 3 oz of butter plus bacon renders a good deal of fat. Add the wine at the end as written and give it a few minutes only, so it loses its rawness without cooking away.
- ServingSix to eight, as stated, with the red currant jelly on the table rather than stirred into the sauce. Carve the saddle in slices and separate the legs; serve the forcemeat alongside.