Tag Archives: hare

Spit-roasted Rabbit

“Serving men were carrying off baskets of Hot Pie’s bread and tarts, the chief cook was carving cold slices off a ham, spit boys were turning rabbits while the pot girls basted them with honey, women were chopping onions and carrots.” -A Clash of Kings
Spit-Roasted Hare

Our Thoughts:

This is about as rustic as our recipes get. Limited by our current residency in the city, we roasted our rabbit over our porch grill, rather than a proper fire. The result, as you can see, is a picturesquely charred rabbit suspended over glowing coals.  The pairing of the char on the rabbit and honey produces a taste reminiscent of barbecue sauce, smoky and sweet together. Although rabbit is prone to turning dry as it cooks, ours stayed juicy and tender, in part, no doubt, to the honey basting.

We tried eating the rabbit with forks and knives, but in the end stooped to tearing at the meat with hands and teeth. Much more effective, and somehow even more flavorful. Not to mention perfectly in keeping with the book, given how the rabbit is eaten a few pages later…

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Potted Hare

“Littlefinger turned away. ‘Boy, are you fond of potted hare?’ he asked Podrick Payne.” (II:199)

Elizabethan Potted Hare

Our Thoughts:

This quirky dish, still found in the UK, might be one of our new weekend staples.  The Elizabethan version is quite basic in flavor as it contains only a few spices, but this allows the taste of the rabbit to come through.  Ours didn’t hold together too well, and so ended up more a confit than a pate, which was still very good.  

The modern potted hare is fantastic. The thyme gives the rabbit a wonderful savory flavor, and the reduced fat adds a creamy texture that is awesome spread over crackers. The rabbit sets very well, and should be molded into any shape for a fun, interesting presentation.

Bottom line?  Well worth the effort, and tasty.  We served ours as part of a ploughman’s platter, with pickle, chutney, apples, cheese, and hunky bread.


 

 

Elizabethan Potted Hare

A Hare Hashed.

Cut it out in quarters, chine it, and lay it in Clarret, mixed with three parts of water, and parboyl it, then slice the flesh in thin pieces, and lay it on your stew pan, let this be off the Body, but the legs wings, and head whole, almost cover it with some of the liquor it was boyled in, add some Butter, sliced Nutmeg, the juce of Lemon, and a little beaten Ginger, serve it upon sippets, Garnish it with Lemon, and sliced Onion.

–The Whole Duty of a Woman: Or a Guide to the Female Sex, 1696

Our changes: *NOTE* This dish is best prepared a day in advance.  Potted meats are basically stewed meat and herb that are ground after stewing and packed into a terrine. So we’ve used the basic recipe for hashed hare and finished it as you would a potted recipe.  Also, can we please just take a moment to appreciate the title of the original source?  Hilarious.

Ingredients:

  • 1 rabbit, cleaned
  • 1 part red wine
  • 3 parts water
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • stick butter, clarified

Cut the rabbit into manageable pieces and place into a large pot.   Add one part red wine to three parts water until the meat is covered and simmer until flesh is falling off the bone (several hours).

Strain off liquid and pull all meat from the bone, discarding the bones (what broth is left can be made into a soup — waste not!). Grind down by hand or in a food processor, adding spices, and lemon juice. Pack loosely into a terrine, add a bit of the broth, then pour over with clarified butter to completely seal and coat. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least one day before eating.

Modern Potted Hare

Ingredients:

  • 1 rabbit, cleaned
  • 1/3 lb. smoked slab bacon, cut into lardons
  • 1 pigs trotter, washed
  • 1 onion, peeled and quatered
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 5 thyme sprigs, 1 Tablespoon thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 glass white wine
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil
Preheat oven to 350F.
Cut rabbit into manageable pieces. Warm a glug of olive oil in a large sauce pan on medium-high heat, and brown rabbit pieces on all sides. Remove rabbit and brown the bacon. Put meat in a casserole dish with the trotter, veg, thyme, bay leaves, wine, and enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer and cover, transfer to the oven and cook for about two hours.
Place sieve over a saucepan, and strain off the liquid. Boil and reduce to a little over one cup. While boiling, pull rabbit meat off the bones and shred into a bowl. Finely chop the bacon, add it to the rabbit as well as the mustard and tablespoon of fresh thyme. Season with salt and pepper and and loosely pack into a terrine.
Pour over the reduced cooking liquid, cool, cover and refrigerate until solid.
Remove from fridge 20 minutes before serving.