Good Hare

Name: Good Hare
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 6 cloves; 2 tablespoons redcurrant jelly; 5 medium carrots, chopped; an enthusiastic grating of nutmeg; 1 × 75 cl bottle red wine (Bordeaux or Côtes du Rhône) or 2 × 500ml cans good brown ale; peeled rind and juice of ½ small lemon; 3 big fresh bay leaves; 8 rashers of rindless smoked streaky bacon; a fistful of finely chopped fresh parley; 1 capful red wine vinegar; 2 celery sticks, de-stringed and chopped; 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder; 2 medium white onions, peeled and chopped; 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed; large-flaked sea salt and black pepper; 1 heaped teaspoon ground ginger; 1 large hare, hung (preferably not frozen), cleaned, jointed, blood reserved; 1 heaped tablespoon plain flour; duck fat

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Complex

Appears in

What to Eat Now (Autumn & Winter)

By Valentine Warner

Published 2008

About

This is one of my favourite dishes in late autumn/winter; the meat tastes at its best from September to February. It’s simple but must be cooked with care.

Ingredients

1 large hare, hung (preferably not frozen), cleaned, jointed, blood reserved
duck fat
1 heaped tablespoon plain flour

Stew
Winter
Autumn
February
September

Method

Have your butcher chop the hare into nine pieces. Both back legs should be cut into two, the saddle into two, the front legs left whole. The ninth piece is above the saddle but includes the ribcage. Have the ribs cut away, leaving one more meaty back piece, avoiding these ribs falling into the stew later.

Preheat the oven to