Civet de Lièvre

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6-quart heavy cocotte or Dutch oven
• •12-inch heavy skillet
• •Close-fitting nonreactive marinating dish
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Whisk and slotted spoon
• •Deep heatproof serving dish

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate the hare

   Keep the blood and liver covered in the cold. Inspect the liver carefully and cut away the gall bladder and any portion stained by it; one trace of gall can make the whole liver bitter. Put the hare pieces in a close-fitting nonreactive dish with the Cognac, olive oil, half the salt, the pepper, and the onion roundels. Turn everything well, pour over the red wine, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 3 hours. For a notably strong wild hare, the book also points to Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168). Use that fully chilled preparation in place of the red wine during the rest, never in addition to it, then drain it away and reserve the fresh red wine for moistening the braise.

   Use only inspected hare and food-grade blood supplied cold by a butcher. If the blood isn't available, choose another hare braise. The liaison au sang is not decoration; it is what makes this a civet.
2. 2

   Drain and dry

   Lift the hare from the marinade and strain the liquid into a jug, pressing lightly on the onion roundels before discarding them. If you used the direct red-wine marinade, this liquid will become the braising liquor and must be boiled before the pot settles to its gentle simmer. Dry every piece of hare thoroughly with towels. Wet meat loosens the roux and steams against the pot; a dry surface lets the hare stiffen and take on the sauce properly.

3. 3

   Build the golden roux

   Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a broad, heavy cocotte over medium heat. Add the bacon and fry until browned at the edges, then lift it out with a slotted spoon. Brown the quartered onions in the same butter and bacon fat, turning until their cut faces are richly golden. Lower the heat, sprinkle in the flour, and stir for 3 to 5 minutes, until the roux takes a clear golden tinge and smells faintly of toasted wheat. Golden, not brown. If the flour begins catching, pull the pot from the heat and work in a spoonful of marinade; ça se rattrape. If it smells burnt, rebuild it, because bitterness has no rescue.

4. 4

   Stiffen the hare

   Set the dried hare pieces into the golden roux and turn them carefully for 5 to 7 minutes, coating every surface and letting the flesh stiffen without scorching the flour. Keep the heat moderate and move the pieces deliberately. The source does not call for a hard separate sear, so don't invent one; the roux, onions, and hare build their flavor together in this sequence.

5. 5

   Braise at a tremble

   Pour in the strained red-wine marinade a little at a time, stirring between additions so the roux loosens smoothly. If you used Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168), pour in the reserved fresh red wine instead. Scrape the pot floor clean, add the bouquet garni, and bring the liquid to a full boil for 2 minutes. Lower the heat immediately, cover, and hold the civet at the barest tremble for 1½ to 2 hours. Check the saddle pieces after an hour and remove them if already tender, letting the tougher legs continue. The hare is ready when a fork enters without force and every piece has reached at least 165°F (74°C). If the liquid falls below halfway up the meat, add a small splash of hot water.

6. 6

   Glaze the garnishes

   While the hare braises, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a wide skillet. Add the twenty pearl onions, ½ cup of the water, and a pinch of the remaining salt. Cover and cook gently until a knife enters them easily, then uncover and roll them through the reducing butter and water until glossy and lightly golden. Transfer them to a plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons of butter in the same skillet and sauté the twenty mushrooms over lively heat until cooked and browned, not grey and wet. Add them to the onions with the reserved bacon and keep the garnish covered.

7. 7

   Ready the sauce

   Discard the bouquet garni. The sauce should coat a spoon lightly before the blood goes in, because the liaison will thicken it further. If it is watery, lift the hare out and reduce the sauce briskly, then return the pieces. If it is already heavy, loosen it with a little hot water. Warm a deep serving dish now, and set the cut croûtons beside the stove with the remaining butter ready for their last-minute frying.

8. 8

   Make the blood liaison

   Pass the cold blood through a fine sieve into a bowl. Lift the cocotte completely off the heat and wait until all bubbling stops, ideally until the sauce falls to about 176°F (80°C). Whisk several spoonfuls of sauce into the blood one at a time, beginning with only a teaspoon, until the blood is hot and fluid. Pour this tempered mixture back into the cocotte while whisking constantly. Return the pot to the lowest heat and hold the sauce between 160 and 165°F (71 and 74°C) for 2 minutes without letting it simmer. It will darken, turn glossy, and coat the spoon. If the first tiny grains appear, remove the pot at once, whisk in 1 tablespoon of cold water, and strain promptly. Ça se rattrape. Once the sauce has boiled hard, however, its original silk cannot be restored, so trust the thermometer and never chase heat.

9. 9

   Strain and serve

   Transfer the hare pieces one by one to the warmed serving dish, arranging the bacon, glazed onions, and mushrooms around them. Strain the blood-bound sauce over everything through a fine sieve, then cover loosely while you fry the croûtons. Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in the skillet and fry the bread hearts until crisp and deep gold on both sides. Arrange them around the rim, where they can drink the sauce without disappearing into it. Serve immediately, and never return the finished civet to a boil. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Order the hare in advance from a game butcher and ask for three things plainly: the carcass skinned and jointed, the liver packed separately, and all available blood collected into a chilled, food-grade acidulated container. Informal blood collection is not an honest substitute.
• •Choose a dry red wine with color, acidity, and no sweetness. A sturdy red Burgundy suits the dish's table, but the technique matters more than the label. Thin wine makes thin sauce, while heavily oaked wine turns coarse as it reduces.
• •The source reserves the liver and carefully removes every gall-touched portion, but it does not direct the liver into the sauce. Keep faith with that sequence. Sauté the liver separately in butter for the cook, taking it fully past raw at the center, or reserve it for another preparation.
• •The roux should be golden and nutty, never mahogany. It supplies body without muddying the wine, and its starch supports the liaison so the blood need only finish the sauce rather than carry all its weight.
• •Serve the civet from a deep warmed dish with the same red wine used in the pot. It wants bread beyond the croûtons and little else. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.

Advance Preparation

• •Marinate the hare for 3 hours in the refrigerator. Longer is not automatically better; an extended soak in wine can tighten the exposed surfaces without making the meat more tender.
• •For a dinner party, braise the hare through tenderness a day ahead, cool it promptly, and refrigerate the meat in its sauce. Keep the blood separately chilled. Reheat the braise to a full safe temperature, then lower it below the simmer before making the liaison au sang at serving time.
• •The pearl onions, mushrooms, and bacon can be prepared several hours ahead and warmed in a spoonful of the braising sauce. Cut the croûtons ahead, but fry them in butter only after the liaison is complete.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 690g)