Râble de Lièvre à l’Allemande

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Long nonreactive marinating dish with a lid, about 13 by 9 inches (33 by 23 cm)
• •Long shallow roasting dish, about 13 by 9 inches (33 by 23 cm)
• •Instant-read meat thermometer
• •Large basting spoon
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Small saucepan
• •Sharp carving knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate the râble

   Put the hare saddle in a long, narrow nonreactive container and pour over the fully chilled Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168). Reserve its strained cooked vegetables separately in the refrigerator, before the liquid touches the raw hare. Cover and refrigerate the râble for 12 to 18 hours, turning it once so the acid and aromatics work evenly. Do not exceed 24 hours; the vinegar will begin to make the loin's surface soft rather than tender.

   The referenced marinade is a finished preparation and keeps its own formula. This recipe reaches for one quart of it rather than reproducing its five-quart brigade batch.
2. 2

   Dry and arrange

   Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Lift the râble from the marinade, discard the raw-meat marinade, and dry every surface thoroughly with kitchen paper. Let the meat lose its refrigerator chill for 30 minutes while the oven heats. Spread the reserved vegetables from the Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) across the bottom of a long, shallow roasting dish and set the râble on them, bone-side down. Drying is the step that decides the roast: wet hare pales and stews, while a dry surface takes the bronze the sauce needs.

3. 3

   Roast over aromatics

   Roast the râble over the vegetables until its surface is deeply browned and the thickest part of a loin registers about 130°F (54°C), usually 15 to 20 minutes. Judge by the thermometer rather than the clock because hare saddles vary sharply in size. The vegetables protect the underside and perfume the roasting juices, but they have finished their work once the meat is nearly cooked.

4. 4

   Baste with cream

   Lower the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lift the râble briefly onto a warm plate, remove every piece of vegetable from the roasting dish, and return the meat. Pour the room-temperature cream around the râble, scraping it through the browned juices, then roast for another 8 to 12 minutes. Baste generously every 2 to 3 minutes until the cream is ivory-tan and glossy and the loin registers 155°F (68°C). Keep the cream at a lively murmur, never a violent boil. If it separates into curds and clear fat, finish the meat without panic, then strain the sauce and whisk in the optional cold cream off the heat. Ça se rattrape.

   Pour the cream around the meat, not cold across its browned surface. Basting gives the lean loin protection without washing away its crust.
5. 5

   Strain and sharpen

   Transfer the râble to a board and rest it loosely covered for 10 to 15 minutes; confirm that carryover heat brings the centre to 160°F (71°C). If it remains below that temperature, return it to a 350°F (175°C) oven for 3 to 5 minutes, then rest it again. Pour the cream and roasting juices through a fine-mesh strainer into a small saucepan. Warm gently until the sauce lightly coats a spoon, reducing it for only a minute or two if necessary. Take it off the heat and add the lemon juice drop by drop, tasting after six drops. Lemon should lift the cream, not announce itself. If the acid makes the sauce grainy, whisk in the optional cold cream off the heat until it smooths. Ça se rattrape.

6. 6

   Carve and sauce

   Run a sharp knife closely along each side of the backbone and lift away the two loins. Remove the small tenderloins from underneath, then slice the larger loins thickly across the grain. Arrange the hare on a warmed oval platter and spoon the strained cream roasting juices around it, leaving the browned surfaces visible. Serve immediately. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask a reputable game butcher for a cleaned, bone-in hare saddle of even thickness. Hare is darker, leaner, and more forceful than rabbit; rabbit saddle can follow the same method, but the gentler result is a substitution, not the same dish.
• •Use heavy cream containing at least 35% fat. Light cream is more likely to split against the acidic traces of the marinade and lacks the body to glaze the râble as it bastes.
• •If the hare was field-dressed, inspect it carefully and trim generously around any wound channel. Follow local wild-game handling guidance and use a thermometer; romance has no useful answer to careless butchery.
• •Pour an Alsace Pinot Noir with this. Its red-fruit freshness suits the hare and its acidity clears the cream without bullying the few drops of lemon.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) ahead and chill it completely. Reserve its strained cooked vegetables separately before the liquid is used on the raw hare.
• •Marinate the râble for 12 to 18 hours before dinner. The roasting, resting, sauce finish, and carving then fit comfortably into one evening.
• •The hare can be removed from the marinade and thoroughly dried up to 2 hours before roasting. Keep it covered in the refrigerator, then bring it out 30 minutes before it meets the oven.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 270g)