Braised Hare leg

Braised Hare leg

 (It can be any part or even a whole one, but as I was just cooking for myself a leg was quite ample)

You shall require:

1 hare hind leg (about 350g is a decent portion)

For the marinade

200ml red wine (don’t throw the remainder of the bottle away as you shall be drinking it with the meal)

Shot glass of sherry vinegar

2 garlic cloves (crushed)

1 medium onion (diced)

Bouquet garni  (Bunch of herbs consisting of bay leaf, sage, rosemary, oregano and thyme)

Game spices (see my game spice mixture)

Pepper from the mill

Put the hare into a container, (it can be from Tupperware but this was from Ikea, the container that is not the hare), add the onion and garlic place the hare leg on top and give it a very good grinding of Game spices, rub it in, it can take a good seasoning.

Pour in the wine and vinegar, add the bunch of herbs give it another  grinding of spices for luck,

lid on and up onto the balcony, at this time of the year it is ample cold enough, in fact it is colder than in the refrigerator and I don’t have space in it in any case , marinade 24 hours.

For  the braised hare:

1 bunch of Suppengrün (a piece of leek, a carrot, a piece of celeriac) diced

1 onion

50g speck

6 crushed juniper berries

10 pepper corns

2 pimento corns

2 pieces of lemon zest

300ml chicken stock (I had no game stock left)

1 tbsp. mixed dried herbs (Herbs d’ Provence)

3 table spoons of olive oil

Heat the oil in a blue heavy oven proof cast iron casserole (it doesn’t have to be, but I have a one) put in the speck, onions and lemon zest, add the diced carrots, celeriac and soften.

Take the hare out of the marinade pat dry and brown all over in the casserole.

Sprinkle with the dried herbs and pour over the marinade including the bouquet garni, add the stock. Bring to the boil,

lid on and into the preheated oven at 160°C for 4 hours. When you return from the pub, it is ready. I had this with braised chicory in a béchamel sauce, red cabbage, wild mushroom ragout and a potato cake.

All together a very nice Sunday Lunch (all be it a little late)