Jugged Hare

Jugged Hare Recipe:

Jugged Hare

This popular classic British dish is surprisingly cheap
and not difficult to make. It is really only a
glorified stew enriched with port, and thickened with
a liaison - butter kneaded with flour - and the blood
of the hare to give a really smooth sauce.

Take care not to overcook the hare. Simmer it slowly.
A young hare, leveret, will take about 2 hours and
serve 6, whereas an older hare will take over 3 hours
and be enough for 8 to 10 people.

    1 hare cut into neat pieces
    2 oz bacon fat
    2 large onions (each stuck with two cloves)
    1 stick celery (cut in 1" pieces)
    6 peppercorns
1/2 lemon, the rind
    1 pinch cayenne pepper
    1 blade mace
    1 bouquet garni (sprig thyme, bay leaf,
             2 sprigs parsley tied together)
    1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
    2 pints water

For the liaison:
    2 oz butter
    2 oz flour
1/4 pint port wine
    1 Tbsp redcurrant jelly
    the blood of the hare

For the garnish:
      salad oil (for frying)
    4 slices bread
      chopped parsley

1. Divide the hare into neat joints, saving as much
of the blood as possible. Your butcher will do this
for you and more often than not, will put the blood in
a tin for you to carry it home.

2. Melt the bacon fat in a large frying pan and fry
the joints briskly until they are a good brown color;
then remove them from the pan.

3. Pack the joints into a heavy ovenproof casserole
with the onions, celery, peppercorns, lemon rind,
cayenne pepper, mace, bouquet garni, salt and pepper.

4. Pour the water over contents of casserole and cover
with a tightly fitting lid. Bake at 335 degrees F for
2 hours or until the hare is tender.

5. Pour the gravy through a sieve into a pan, remove
spices, lemon rind and herbs from the casserole and
keep meat and vegetables warm.

6. To make the liaison, work the butter on a plate
with a palette knife until it is soft. Then knead in
the flour a little at a time to form a smooth paste.

7. Reheat the gravy, but do not allow it to boil and
add the kneaded butter in small pieces, whisking it
until it has thickened, stirring all the time.

8. Add the port and redcurrant jelly to the gravy and
simmer gently until the jelly has dissolved.

9. Blend two or three tablespoons of the gravy with
the blood and then add the blood to the rest of the
gravy. The gravy must not be allowed to boil after
this stage. Adjust the seasoning with more salt and
pepper.

10. Strain the gravy of the hare. Cover bottom of a
frying pan with oil, heat, add the slices of bread and
fry until golden. Cut the fried bread into diamond
shapes and decorate with parsley and arrange on top of
the hare. Serve with redcurrant jelly and savoury
forcemeat balls.

Serves 6