hares

I love the flavors of Sardinia: saffron, capers, lusty sauces, stews and game meats. This stew has it all. The recipe has its origins with a rabbit recipe I found in Giuliano Bugialli’s Foods of Sicily and Sardinia. It is traditionally done with rabbit or chicken, but I had some jackrabbits — really hares – I wanted to cook, so here it is. The dominant flavors here are the gamey hare, vinegar, saffron and capers. Use the best saffron you can afford here; it matters. It is a heady mix that needs a strong red wine, crusty bread, couscous or our favorite, a soft polenta with butter and cheese.

Sardinian Hare Stew

olive oil

chopped parsley, (plus another 1/4 cup for garnish)

garlic, chopped

onion,

capers

saffron

warm water, (to bloom saffron)

red wine vinegar

Salt

Salt the hare or rabbit pieces well and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Get the olive oil hot over medium-high heat in a large pot or Dutch oven. Pat the hare pieces dry and brown well in the pot. You might need to turn the heat down to medium. Do it in batches and take your time. Place the browned pieces in a bowl while you do the others. This could take 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop half the capers. Get your tap water running as hot as it will go and fill a cup measure. Crush the saffron in your palm and sprinkle it into the hot water. Get every bit, and let this soak as the hare is browning.

Once the meat is all browned, remove it to a bowl. Add the onion and saute until browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add everything into the pot except the extra 1/4 cup parsley, nestling the hare pieces in tight. If the liquid does not come at least halfway up the sides of the hare pieces, add some more water. Do not add wine or stock — the point is to have pure flavors here. Cover tightly and simmer gently over low heat for at least 90 minutes. Hare needs longer, but chicken and domestic rabbit should be done by then. Check the hare after 2 1/2 hours; it should be close to falling off the bone. When it is, pull the meat out and strip it from the bone.

Return it to the pot with the extra parsley and mix well. Turn off the heat and cover for five minutes. Serve over polenta, couscous, Sardinian fregula pasta or with crusty bread. Don’t forget the wine: You will want a big, heavy red here.

I came to find the link to this for a post on raising meat rabbits for my own site. I have made this recipe I don't know how many times now. My husband used to request it almost weekly. We are a hunting family, but life gets in the way a lot of the time. These days I make it with chicken thighs more often than rabbit, but it is still extremely flavorful and absolutely amazing. We lost him last year, but I still go to this recipe when I need a bowl of goodness. It's a nice reminder of him. :)

Made this last night and it was DELICIOUS!
Used a 3ish lb rabbit, which was juuust enough for 4 of us. I might add more liquid next time to stretch it a bit farther. Might try it with stock - I don't think homemade veg or rabbit stock as some (not all) the liquid would upset the flavor balance.

Made this with European Brown Hare in England last week....came out amazing, and was so simple too ...not like most of your recipes! :)

We make this with rabbits that we raise and serve it over quinoa  The whole family, 1.5 years old to 44, LOVE it every time. Thanks for sharing this special one Mr. Shaw.

I made this recipe to introduce my wife to jackrabbit. She loved the simplicity of the flavors, and how the meat was tender and juicy. She now wants to go jack hunting with me so we can make more! Thanks for another fabulous recipe, Hank!

This recipe has been a huge success for me. One of my favorites with: lamb shanks &amp; leg, venison shanks, squirrel, and cottontail. I've made twice with jackrabbit, one came out decent but not as good as the other proteins above, the other came out looking beautiful, but with the meat chalky and gamey.

Have been wanting to try this recipe for a long time. Finally got around to shooting a jack rabbit and trying it. 
It is a good but did not blow my socks off like many of your other recipes. 
In your book it calls for 8 table spoons of capers yet did not say what to do with them. I put half in along with water and then the other half when I turned the heat off along with rest of parsley. 

Final dish came out tart and seeing here you only call for 1/4 cup of capers may explain that.  Rabbit was tender and earthy and despite the tartness it stood up good in the stew. 

I will not be killing jackrabbits just to make this dish.

Great recipe. After this, I won’t pass up on shots anymore!  In terms of texture, the meat is a lot like beef stew in a crockpot. In terms of taste, it’s more like a strong mutton.  Make no mistake, it’s a strong red meat!  Definitely nothing like the “tastes like chicken” that I was expecting.  With the recipe, I’d save some capers to splash on at the very end.  Also, my attempt cooked more like a stew with little broth left.  As the recipe owner stated, it’s best to plan on pouring over something rather than plan to eat like a soup.  Finally, I have to agree: it goes best with a strong red wine: Malbec, Zin, etc!  Google luck out there and stay safe!

Jugged hare, or venison, or duck or whatever, is a dish for a special occasion. It takes time to make and must be done precisely. Your reward? A dish with a 500-year pedigree that turns the lowly jackrabbit into kingly fare.

Civet of Hare

hare

Blood from the critters, (mixed with vinegar

carrots, (grated)

celery sticks, (minced)

onion, (grated)

bay leaves

thyme

rosemary

brandy

red wine

flour

bacon

duck fat

mushrooms

sugar

quatre epices

stock

onion, (sliced)

heavy cream

parsley

Salt and black pepper

Pour the brandy and the wine into a pot and bring to a boil. Let it boil for a few minutes to burn off most of the alcohol. Turn off the heat.

Cut the hare into large pieces: back legs, front legs, saddle into several sections — feel between vertebrae for places to chop with a cleaver or heavy knife. Salt it lightly.

While the wine-brandy mixture is still warm, pour it into a container large enough to hold the hares or rabbits. Add the grated onion, carrot and the minced celery, plus the rosemary, bay leaves and thyme. Mix well.

When the wine mixture is room temperature, add the hare pieces. Cover and let it marinate in the fridge for a day, or even two.

MARINADE

Take the hare from the marinade and pat it dry.

Strain the marinade through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl. Set aside the veggies.

Pour the marinade into a pot and bring to a boil. A raft of scum will form on top. Skim it off carefully. Bring the heat to a simmer, and skim the liquid several times until it is clear, then turn off the heat.

Heat half the goose fat or lard in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Dust the pieces of hare in the rye flour — using something other than white flour adds a subtle earthy note to the civet — and brown them in the pot. Take your time with this; you may need to do it in batches. Once the hare is nicely browned, set it aside.

Meanwhile (you need to multi-task here), heat another tablespoon or two of the goose fat or lard in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When it is good and hot, turn the heat down to medium-low and add the pancetta. If you are using bacon, only use enough goose fat to lubricate the bottom of the pan, as the bacon should be fatty enough.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Slowly cook the pancetta or bacon until crispy. Remove and set aside.

Add the veggies to the frying pan you cooked the pancetta in, and turn the heat all the way up. It will sputter. Toss and cook the veggies, adding more goose fat or lard as needed. Once they are coated and much of the liquid has steamed off, turn the heat down to medium and cook until they caramelize, about 10-12 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Return the hare to the Dutch oven and add the pancetta or bacon. Pour over the wine-brandy mixture, then add the veggies. Add the dried chanterelles, the quatre epices and the sugar. Make sure everything is evenly distributed.

If you think you need more liquid, add the game, veggie or beef stock. Bring this to a simmer and taste for salt — add some if needed.

Cover and put in the oven and leave it undisturbed for 2 1/2 to 3 hours for a hare, 90 minutes for rabbits.

MAKE THE STEW

Once the hare is tender, almost falling off the bone, carefully remove it from the pot and set aside to cool.

While the meat is cooling, run everything left in the pot through a food mill with a medium plate. If you don’t have a food mill, run it through a food processor or use an immersion blender. If you are doing this you really should push the blended mix through a sieve or chinois to catch any lumpy bits.

Clean the Dutch oven, or get another large, lidded pot.

Pick the meat from the bones of the hare. Try to keep the meat in large pieces and be careful to find any little ribs and such. Discard the bones.

Return the strained, blended stew to the pot, and add the chile paste, the onion that you have sliced into half-moons as well as the fresh chanterelles. Bring this to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until the onions are nice and soft.

Return the pieces of hare to the pot and retest for salt. Add generous amounts of freshly ground black pepper.

Blend the liver, the blood and the heavy cream together in a food processor or blender. Revel in its pink gory glory.

When the hare is warm again, turn off the heat. Wait until you see no movement of the stew from simmering or boiling, then add a ladleful of the stew to the blood-liver-heavy cream mix. Stir well. Do this again. Now pour the mixture into the stewpot and gently stir it in to combine. Marvel at how well the stew just thickened. DO NOT LET THIS BOIL. Trust me. You can still eat it if it does, but your civet will look nasty and you will be pissed off.

Serve at once, topped with parsley and accompanied by crusty bread, a green salad, and a really kick-ass red wine. I’d recommend a Mourvedre.

MAKING A STEW A CIVET

Hank,

Loved the recipe. Made it with snowshoe hare. Used 1 1/2 hare instead of one. Used beef broth, chantrelles, and a small piece of beef liver because I didn't know at the time to save the livers. It's an intimidating recipe but once done, it's not so bad. I ve never had a bad recipe from you. Keep up the great work.

Mushroom curious:
In preparation for cooking this, I see the need for both 1/4 lb fresh mushroom and 1/2 Oz. dried mushrooms (presumably these are the chanterelles?  Is this correct?).

I also see that chanterelles in step 10 and step 5 in making the civet.  Would you be so kind as to clarify which is which and when?
Thank you very much,
TF

South Dakota State is going to get their Jackrabbit Jugged by Ohio State on March 14.

A hare sacrificed itself to me a couple of weeks ago in California by running headlong under the back wheel of my truck. Fortunately that was the only part crushed. 
I'm not one to waste good wild game and hare is a favorite, (though I've only had it rarely) and being 2 minutes from home I stopped and picked it up. Cleaned and dressed, and in the fridge I began searching for recipes and found this one. 
I let it age a couple of days, while I assembled the required ingredients. I marinated it for literally only an hour for time constraints, and then cooked it pretty much as stated. I used chicken livers instead of the hare liver, and no blood as I'd discarded these during dressing.
7 of us ate it, and the result was a  resounding Fantastic! I think everyone, myself included were really surprised just how good this recipe is. It's definitely on my list to repeat - and interestingly, this recipe doesn't use garlic! That's something I noticed is common to a lot of German recipes where onion is commonly the only allium used.

My dad died a few days ago. I was going through his papers &amp; I found a recipe for Jugged Rabbit. But it's completely different from yours. According to the one I found you need a rabbit cut into small pieces, salt &amp; pepper, thyme, savory salt, celery seed, parsley flakes, ground cloves, bay leaves &amp; bacon. You layer the rabbit &amp; the spices &amp; the bacon in a baking dish, add one cup water, cover &amp; bake 2 hours at 350 or until tender. I haven't tried this recipe (yet). What's your opinion of it?

Blooming great recipe.
I have a hare coming in the post from Suffolk
Looking forward to this....
Hywel

Great recipe, Hank and very well written.
I just made made it yesterday but with a few changes which make the dish less complicated and healthier. I'm reporting just in case someone wants to try it and/or improve it.
First, I bought the whole hare but asked the butcher to de-bone it.  I'll use the bones with whatever meat left on them to make a sauce which will go very well with some large noodles ( two pidgeons with one stone...)
I cut the meat in chunks, washed it carefully then covered with red wine ( nothing special , a Sangiovese relatively young) and let it stay for one day ( could be two days). Then washed the meat, dried it and added to a Le. Creuset pot  where I had already started browning  in olive oil the cut pieces of carrots, celery, garlic and onion.  After 5/10 minutes I added the full decanted content of two bottles of my own 1986 Chianti ( pure Sangiovese) and let everything cook (simmering) for about 8 hours. No blood, no liver, no thickening flour, etc.
After about 4 hours  I took the lid off ( otherwise there would be no evaporation) added bay leaves, cognac, peppercorns ( plenty) cloves and cinnamon.
One could do any number of changes the basic idea being use good wine, not young,  and cook slowly in a pot adding whatever seasonings and herbs one likes.
Forgot to say that the hare should be dry-aged for 4/7 days.

are you shittin me  what a perfect recipe for a swamp rabbit from east of hathaway.thank you dwdoherty,jennings pls reply

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