Hare - any good?
Discussion
snuffy said:
Equus said:
snuffy said:
It was the texture more than the flavour that I did not like.
OK. So we've gone from 'it's crap', to 'I don't like the texture'.What, pray tell, was your problem with the texture?
Equus said:
snuffy said:
I shall inform my wife that she is throughly incompetent.
You do that.Tell her she can't cook, either.
dunkind said:
oddman said:
Perfect wine to go with the dish. I must confess, given the time of year and the fact that controlling hare is only recommended where there is actual damage being caused to crops, I did wonder if the OP might have been offered frozen hare?
Very hard to find hare round where I live, irrespective of the time of year. Population is small and nobody who has any on their land will let on for fear of oppressed minorities deciding they fancy a bit of coursing.
Edited by LooneyTunes on Sunday 21st April 17:23
Most likely leg meat. If there are any obvious pieces of saddle - A bit like a tiny whole fillet steak you might want to keep these separate. I would treat this as if it's been frozen and thawed so get it cooked. If you cook it today it'll improve in the fridge for a few days. Any further than Friday I'd be inclined to freeze it - won't do it any harm. Might be a bit whiffy and bloody so a rinse in cold water and pat dry with a cloth. If it smells OK you might just need to pat it dry.
Cut the pieces of leg into even size pieces erring on the big side. Toss in seasoned flour and brown. I like to use bacon fat from preparing garnish.
Chopped stock vegetables onion carrot celery colour these after the meat and retrun the lot to the pan.
Glass of brandy - flame. Then add red wine I'd say about half a bottle for every pound of meat. Bouquet garni. If it's heading for a pasta sauce I'd add half a tin of tomatoes for every pound. Can let it gently stew for at least 3 hours. Might need to adjust the thickening of the sauce at the end by separating it and reducing it or adding in a thickener like cornflour.
You've got a nice hare in red wine stew that you can either have with mash or use as the basis for a pie or a pasta sauce. I like to use pappardelle and add a good quantity of cream to get a sauce which will coat the pasta.
It really deserves a good red wine. Think Aussie Shiraz, Côtes du Rhône or Barolo.
Report back - tell us if it's crap
Cut the pieces of leg into even size pieces erring on the big side. Toss in seasoned flour and brown. I like to use bacon fat from preparing garnish.
Chopped stock vegetables onion carrot celery colour these after the meat and retrun the lot to the pan.
Glass of brandy - flame. Then add red wine I'd say about half a bottle for every pound of meat. Bouquet garni. If it's heading for a pasta sauce I'd add half a tin of tomatoes for every pound. Can let it gently stew for at least 3 hours. Might need to adjust the thickening of the sauce at the end by separating it and reducing it or adding in a thickener like cornflour.
You've got a nice hare in red wine stew that you can either have with mash or use as the basis for a pie or a pasta sauce. I like to use pappardelle and add a good quantity of cream to get a sauce which will coat the pasta.
It really deserves a good red wine. Think Aussie Shiraz, Côtes du Rhône or Barolo.
Report back - tell us if it's crap
Edited by oddman on Monday 22 April 08:08
jugged hare is horrible. other forms much nice imo/e.
however i wouldn't be eating hare this time of year unless frozen as others have said. there's no close season but shouldn't be shooting hare from the end of march, unless its causing a real problem, which it wont be (the miniscule impact hares cause on arable farmland is not an excuse for trigger happy and un-wildlife friendly farmers to pretend their having a significant detrimental impact)
Given the decline nationally despite recent uptick debatable if should be eaten at all.
however i wouldn't be eating hare this time of year unless frozen as others have said. there's no close season but shouldn't be shooting hare from the end of march, unless its causing a real problem, which it wont be (the miniscule impact hares cause on arable farmland is not an excuse for trigger happy and un-wildlife friendly farmers to pretend their having a significant detrimental impact)
Given the decline nationally despite recent uptick debatable if should be eaten at all.
I asked my mother if she'd ever eaten hare, and got that look back, as if I'd said something daft.
She's 93, and 70 odd years ago she worked in the big house of a local farm, the one where Aberdeen Angus cattle were developed as a breed. Queen Victoria famously visited to inspect the herd, and they drove them past several times as if to make the herd appear bigger
Anyway, hare was one of the local game she had to prepare for the Laird and his cronies. Never heard this one before, but she had to keep the blood from the hare, and it was used in making a broth like soup, which she said tasted much nicer than it sounds.
She's 93, and 70 odd years ago she worked in the big house of a local farm, the one where Aberdeen Angus cattle were developed as a breed. Queen Victoria famously visited to inspect the herd, and they drove them past several times as if to make the herd appear bigger
Anyway, hare was one of the local game she had to prepare for the Laird and his cronies. Never heard this one before, but she had to keep the blood from the hare, and it was used in making a broth like soup, which she said tasted much nicer than it sounds.
mikeswagon said:
Anyway, hare was one of the local game she had to prepare for the Laird and his cronies. Never heard this one before, but she had to keep the blood from the hare, and it was used in making a broth like soup, which she said tasted much nicer than it sounds.
Bawd Bree soup it’s called. oddman said:
Most likely leg meat. If there are any obvious pieces of saddle - A bit like a tiny whole fillet steak you might want to keep these separate. I would treat this as if it's been frozen and thawed so get it cooked. If you cook it today it'll improve in the fridge for a few days. Any further than Friday I'd be inclined to freeze it - won't do it any harm. Might be a bit whiffy and bloody so a rinse in cold water and pat dry with a cloth. If it smells OK you might just need to pat it dry.
Cut the pieces of leg into even size pieces erring on the big side. Toss in seasoned flour and brown. I like to use bacon fat from preparing garnish.
Chopped stock vegetables onion carrot celery colour these after the meat and retrun the lot to the pan.
Glass of brandy - flame. Then add red wine I'd say about half a bottle for every pound of meat. Bouquet garni. If it's heading for a pasta sauce I'd add half a tin of tomatoes for every pound. Can let it gently stew for at least 3 hours.
Cut the pieces of leg into even size pieces erring on the big side. Toss in seasoned flour and brown. I like to use bacon fat from preparing garnish.
Chopped stock vegetables onion carrot celery colour these after the meat and retrun the lot to the pan.
Glass of brandy - flame. Then add red wine I'd say about half a bottle for every pound of meat. Bouquet garni. If it's heading for a pasta sauce I'd add half a tin of tomatoes for every pound. Can let it gently stew for at least 3 hours.
With minor modifications done for my convenience I have as far as the above now, stewing overnight in slow cooker with the ragu plan the ultimate goal for around Friday. I didn't see anything I'd consider haunches from your description in the meat, did I miss anything?
dunkind said:
mikeswagon said:
Anyway, hare was one of the local game she had to prepare for the Laird and his cronies. Never heard this one before, but she had to keep the blood from the hare, and it was used in making a broth like soup, which she said tasted much nicer than it sounds.
Bawd Bree soup it’s called. Somewhatfoolish said:
With minor modifications done for my convenience I have as far as the above now, stewing overnight in slow cooker with the ragu plan the ultimate goal for around Friday. I didn't see anything I'd consider haunches from your description in the meat, did I miss anything?
Plenty of parmesan and likely to need more salt (or crispy bacon pieces as a garnish) and pepper than a standard stew.
Not all supermarkets sell pappardelle. It's nice to have the 'right' pasta for the sauce.
It's tradition to collect the blood whilst the animal was hanging and return it to the sauce as a thickener to finish. Not surprisingly this adds another dimension of strong flavour to an already strong dish an for any one who doesn't like liver this would taint the dish. I don't do this because I don't hang hare with guts in I deal with it straight away; it's a pretty gruesome carcase to deal with an I like to have running water to wash away blood, fur and other undesirables and I know the flavour of blood would take it over the edge for most of my family/guests.
Just after lunch, my wife and I dropped my daughter off with my parents with instructions for them to continue the slow cook and 20 mins or so before we came back to add a little herb mix I'd prepared. Then once we were back this evening, I'd quickly do the pappardelle and meanwhile pull it apart while thickening it.
And I'm sorry to say that either my initial cooking or my parents had somehow overcooked it. Don't get me wrong, it was perfectly edible. And the sauce was pleasant. So the meal was nice enough in a school dinner/office canteen way. We all finished it. But it was so overdone that it wasn't distinguishable as hare, it could have been any red meat really.
Feel like I've let oddman in particular down
So all I've learned is I don't dislike hare. And maybe don't go mental about cooking it for hours upon hours upon hours.
Thanks anyway - will definitely be giving it another go in the future. It had potential for sure, I just wasted it. Onwards and upwards!
And I'm sorry to say that either my initial cooking or my parents had somehow overcooked it. Don't get me wrong, it was perfectly edible. And the sauce was pleasant. So the meal was nice enough in a school dinner/office canteen way. We all finished it. But it was so overdone that it wasn't distinguishable as hare, it could have been any red meat really.
Feel like I've let oddman in particular down
So all I've learned is I don't dislike hare. And maybe don't go mental about cooking it for hours upon hours upon hours.
Thanks anyway - will definitely be giving it another go in the future. It had potential for sure, I just wasted it. Onwards and upwards!
Edited by Somewhatfoolish on Sunday 28th April 01:23
I personally think hare is a tricky meat to cook. Lean, tough, and gamey.
Needs 'lube' I'd say.
Now I know the traditional method is to 'jug' it in red wine to break down the toughness of the meat, however I wonder if this reaches back to a time when 'fat' was very highly prized, and expensive.
I'd have a go at a slow confit in duck fat with garlic, then shred for further use. A pastilla might be be nice - a common Middle Eastern treatment for pigeon - likewise in a game pie to pimp up less flavourful meats.
Needs 'lube' I'd say.
Now I know the traditional method is to 'jug' it in red wine to break down the toughness of the meat, however I wonder if this reaches back to a time when 'fat' was very highly prized, and expensive.
I'd have a go at a slow confit in duck fat with garlic, then shred for further use. A pastilla might be be nice - a common Middle Eastern treatment for pigeon - likewise in a game pie to pimp up less flavourful meats.
Mobile Chicane said:
I personally think hare is a tricky meat to cook. Lean, tough, and gamey.
Needs 'lube' I'd say.
Now I know the traditional method is to 'jug' it in red wine to break down the toughness of the meat, however I wonder if this reaches back to a time when 'fat' was very highly prized, and expensive.
I'd have a go at a slow confit in duck fat with garlic, then shred for further use. A pastilla might be be nice - a common Middle Eastern treatment for pigeon - likewise in a game pie to pimp up less flavourful meats.
Your right about fat. The fillets wrapped in bacon and served pink are very tasty. Like all game game there's always a bit of game roulette at play, as you often don't know the age of the animal or how long it's been hung. Needs 'lube' I'd say.
Now I know the traditional method is to 'jug' it in red wine to break down the toughness of the meat, however I wonder if this reaches back to a time when 'fat' was very highly prized, and expensive.
I'd have a go at a slow confit in duck fat with garlic, then shred for further use. A pastilla might be be nice - a common Middle Eastern treatment for pigeon - likewise in a game pie to pimp up less flavourful meats.
I have done confit rabbit in lard a few times, never thought about doing hare.
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