Consommé Saint Hubert

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-quart (2.8 L) heavy saucepan
• •Three straight-sided 6-ounce (180 ml) ramekins
• •Deep roasting tin for the bain-marie
• •Fine-mesh strainer and muslin or lint-free cloth
• •1¼-inch (3 cm) cross cutter or paper template and paring knife
• •3-quart (2.8 L) soup tureen

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the components

   Set the cold game consommé prepared with venison fumet in a clean 3-quart saucepan. If fine sediment has settled at the bottom, ladle the clear broth away from it and pass the broth once through damp muslin or a damp lint-free cloth; don't whisk, squeeze, or scrape. Clarification has already been done in the finished component, and your task now is to preserve it. Keep the Marsala covered at room temperature and the three royale components cold.

2. 2

   Mix the royale

   Brush three straight-sided 6-ounce ramekins with the thinnest possible film of softened butter. Stir the cold venison purée, lentil purée, and reduced game Espagnole together until perfectly uniform, using a spatula rather than a whisk so you don't beat in bubbles. The thirds must remain equal; that balance of game, earthiness, and sauce is the royale. Divide ½ cup of the mixture into each ramekin, tap each once against a folded towel to settle hidden pockets, and cover loosely with foil.

   The mixture should hold a soft mound when cold. If it runs like soup, stop and chill it for fifteen minutes; if it remains loose, the game Espagnole was not reduced far enough and must be corrected before the moulds are filled.
3. 3

   Poach the royale

   Set the ramekins on a folded cloth in a deep roasting tin and add hot water to reach halfway up their sides. Poach in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 25 to 35 minutes, until the surface is set and the centre no longer ripples when a ramekin is nudged. The water should barely quiver. If it begins bubbling hard, lower the heat and replace a cup of hot water with cool water; if the centres remain loose, give them another five minutes. Pinholes around an overheated edge can be trimmed away later, so don't discard the royale. Ça se rattrape.

4. 4

   Cut the crosses

   Cool the ramekins in their water for fifteen minutes, then lift them out and chill for at least one hour. Run a thin knife around each edge, dip the base briefly in hot water, and unmould. Slice the cylinders crosswise into pieces about ⅜ inch (8 mm) thick, then stamp out crosses with a 1¼-inch (3 cm) cutter. Without a cutter, lay a clean paper cross on each slice and follow it carefully with the tip of a paring knife. If a slice tears, chill it for another twenty minutes; a broken cross can be fitted together in the tureen, where the clear broth will hide the seam.

5. 5

   Prepare the garnish

   Cut the fully cooked, thoroughly chilled hare fillet julienne-fashion into fine match-shaped rods about 1¼ inches (3 cm) long, then measure ¼ cup. Warm a 3-quart soup tureen and the serving bowls with hot water, then dry them completely. Arrange the royale crosses in the warm tureen with the hare julienne. Handle the crosses with a small spoon, not tongs, which mark their clean edges.

6. 6

   Finish with Marsala

   Heat the game consommé uncovered over medium heat until it reaches a clean, lively simmer, skimming away any stray bubbles without stirring the broth. If sediment rises and clouds it, remove the pan from the heat, let it settle for two minutes, and pass the liquid once through fresh damp muslin into a clean pan. Ça se rattrape, provided you don't press the cloth. At the moment of serving, add the Marsala and return the consommé just to its first full rise, about thirty seconds. Don't prolong the boil; the wine belongs in the aroma as well as the broth.

7. 7

   Pour and serve

   Pour the hot consommé slowly down the inner wall of the tureen so the crosses remain intact and the hare julienne disperses without tangling. Cover the tureen and carry it straight to the table. Ladle each bowl with several strands of hare and at least two crosses of royale, keeping the broth clear enough that every garnish remains visible. À table!

Chef Tips

• •This entry begins with finished components, exactly as the classical kitchen did. Preparing game consommé with venison fumet, three purées, and a reduced game Espagnole from raw bones on the same evening would be another menu entirely; make them ahead, freeze them separately, and let service remain precise.
• •Choose a dry Marsala with a nutty, clean finish, not a syrupy dessert bottling. The source's ratio is exact: one measure of Marsala to eight measures of consommé. More wine blunts the venison; less disappears.
• •A small cross cutter gives the neatest royale, but the shape doesn't require specialist equipment. Make a sturdy paper template and use a sharp paring knife. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.
• •Hare has a darker, more mineral flavour than rabbit. If hare cannot be sourced, wild rabbit is the nearest honest cousin, but the finished consommé will be gentler and should be described as an adaptation rather than passed off unnoticed.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the finished game consommé with venison fumet, venison purée, lentil purée, and reduced game Espagnole ahead and freeze them separately. Thaw them in the cold before beginning this assembly.
• •The royale can be poached one day ahead and kept covered in its ramekins. Unmould and cut the crosses one to two hours before serving, then keep them covered and chilled.
• •The hare fillet can be cooked a day ahead and cut julienne-fashion up to four hours before service. Keep it tightly covered in the cold so its fine edges don't dry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)