Hare and Leveret (Lièvre et Levraut)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6 quart heavy cocotte or Dutch oven
• •10 inch heavy skillet
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Small blender or sturdy mortar and pestle
• •Poultry shears or heavy chef's knife if jointing at home

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose and joint

   Buy a young hare weighing 5 to 6 pounds from a reliable game dealer. If it is offered fur-on, the book's test is direct: hold one ear near its tip and pull in opposite directions. An ear that tears readily indicates a leveret; an ear that resists belongs to an older hare, better kept for soup, forcemeat, or fumet than forced through this shorter braise. Ask the butcher to remove the forelegs and hind legs, cut the saddle across the bone into 4 portions, and return the chopped bones, heart, and liver. Pat the meat very dry, then season it with the salt and pepper.

   When handling an undressed wild hare, wear disposable gloves and inspect the liver. Do not cook an animal with an enlarged or pale-spotted liver, and buy only from a source that follows local game-inspection rules.
2. 2

   Build the fumet

   Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the cocotte over medium-high heat. Add the chopped bones and heart, then brown them for 8 to 10 minutes until every cut face is deep bronze. Add the roughly chopped carrot and shallot, cook for 3 minutes, then pour in the stock and scrape up the fond, the brown glaze clinging to the pot. Simmer uncovered at the gentlest tremble for 30 minutes, skimming only if a heavy froth gathers. Strain through a fine sieve and press lightly on the solids. You now have the small, concentrated hare fumet that replaces the brigade stockpot.

3. 3

   Brown the garnish

   Wipe the cocotte clean and render the lardons over medium heat until their edges are crisp and bronze. Lift them out with a slotted spoon. Add the pearl onions and mushrooms to the rendered fat, working in batches if necessary, and cook until the onions color in patches and the mushrooms have surrendered their water and browned. Add 1/4 cup of the fumet, cover for 6 to 8 minutes so the onions soften, then uncover and let the liquid cook away. Reserve the garnish with the lardons.

4. 4

   Brown the hare

   Measure half the flour into a shallow dish and coat the hare lightly, shaking off every excess. Heat the oil with 2 tablespoons of butter in the cocotte until the butter's foam subsides. Brown the hare in uncrowded batches, beginning with the legs and ending with the saddle, until the surfaces are a dark hazelnut color. Move each piece only after it releases easily. If the fond begins turning black, lower the heat and deglaze that patch with a spoonful of wine before continuing; brown gives depth, black gives bitterness. Set the meat aside.

5. 5

   Build the wine sauce

   Lower the heat to medium. Add the finely diced carrot and shallot to the cocotte and cook for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and tomato paste and cook until the paste darkens. Stir in the remaining flour and cook for 2 minutes to make a roux, the cooked flour-and-fat base that will give the sauce body. Add the Cognac and let it boil almost dry. Pour in the red wine gradually, scraping up every trace of fond, then reduce it by half. Add the fumet and bouquet garni and bring the sauce only to a bare simmer.

6. 6

   Braise at a tremble

   Return the hind legs and forelegs to the sauce, cover, and hold the liquid at the faintest tremble for 50 minutes. Add the saddle portions and continue gently for 30 to 40 minutes, until each portion reaches at least 160°F (71°C) at its thickest point and the leg meat yields when pressed with a fork. Never let the sauce boil. If the saddle is ready while the hind legs still resist, lift the saddle out and cover it loosely, then give the legs another 15 to 25 minutes with a splash of fumet. Ça se rattrape: different muscles are allowed to finish at different times.

7. 7

   Finish with liver

   Lift the cooked hare to a warm dish and discard the bouquet garni. Simmer the sauce uncovered until it coats the back of a spoon. Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a small skillet and cook the liver gently until browned outside and at least 160°F (71°C) within. Blend or mash the liver with the redcurrant jelly, vinegar, and a ladleful of sauce, then press the mixture through a fine sieve into the cocotte. Stir over low heat for 2 minutes without boiling. If the sauce looks grainy, strain it once more and whisk in a spoonful of cool fumet. Ça se rattrape.

8. 8

   Mount and serve

   Remove the cocotte from the heat. Monter au beurre, whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of cold butter a little at a time to make a glossy emulsion. If the mounted sauce splits, place 1 tablespoon of cool fumet in a clean warm bowl and whisk the sauce back into it gradually. Taste for salt, pepper, and enough vinegar to keep the wine lively. Return the hare, lardons, pearl onions, and mushrooms, warming them gently without another boil. Scatter with parsley and bring the cocotte straight to the table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The ear test belongs to a fur-on animal. Most home cooks will buy a dressed hare, so ask the dealer directly for a leveret or young hare weighing 5 to 6 pounds. If the animal is older, change the plan, not the standard: its stronger flesh belongs in soup, forcemeat, or a deeply extracted fumet.
• •Hare is darker, leaner, and more assertive than rabbit. Rabbit can follow the method, but it cooks more quickly and gives a milder sauce; begin checking its legs and saddle about 20 minutes sooner.
• •If the hare arrives without its liver, one chicken liver gives the sauce the necessary body and mineral depth, though the flavor will be gentler. Cook it fully before blending it into the sauce.
• •Use a dry, medium-bodied red wine with enough acidity to survive reduction. A straightforward red Burgundy works beautifully, both in the cocotte and at the table.
• •Leftovers keep for up to 3 days under refrigeration. Reheat them over low heat with a spoonful of stock, never at a boil, or the lean saddle will tighten and the butter-mounted sauce may separate.

Advance Preparation

• •Have the butcher joint the hare a day ahead, keeping the bones, heart, and liver with the order. Hold everything covered in the cold until cooking.
• •The hare fumet can be prepared up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated after cooling promptly. Bring it back to a simmer before building the wine sauce.
• •For a dinner party, complete the braise through the cooking of the hare earlier in the day. Rewarm it gently, then reduce the sauce and add the liver, vinegar, and cold butter shortly before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 520g)