Autumn game on (hare) menu

The weather has taken a turn for the worse, so prior to the hunting season getting into full swing, I decided it was time to reduce last years bag that is in my freezer, so it was to be Herr hare coming to dinner this weekend. (little did we know it was to take a turn for the better)

Hare in a red wine sauce.

For 4-5 portions you shall require

Either 2 hare rear legs cut into 4 portions or as in this case the (Hasenrücken) hare back cut into 3 and the front legs.

1 bottle of red wine (full bodied)

2 tbsp sherry vinegar

2 tsp game spices (home made)

2 bay leaves

1 large onion (diced)

2 cloves of garlic (crushed)

75g schinken speck (lean)

1 tsp of marigold veg stock

1 tbsp dried soup vegetables

Salt and pepper

1tbs of olive oil

Defrost the hare, disgard the liquid, wash and pat dry on kitchen paper. Prepare your hare, by removing the silver skin and cutting into serving portions.

 

Put the hare portions into a container or a zip loc bag, make a marinade out of the wine, vinegar, spices, bay leaves, garlic and half the onions. Pour this over the legs , and marinate in the fridge overnight.

 

Before going to bed I got the cepes (steinpilze) out of the freezer so that they would be completely defrosted.

Next day

Remove the hare portions from the container, drain and pat dry with kitchen paper.

 

Heat half of the oil in a frying pan fry the onions and speck, add the rest and brown the hare, remove, drain, set aside.

Add the dried soup veg (you can use fresh, but I always have the dried handy) along with a sprig each of rosemary, thyme and a few sage leaves to the base of the slow cooker, add the hare portions.

Heat up some of the marinade with the speck and onions, add the marigold stock and pour over the hare in the slow cooker.

 



 

Add another 250 ml of the marinade

 

Turn it on low for 3-4 hours (this depends on the age of the hare that gratefully donated its legs to this wonderful meal).

In the mean time as it was such a wonderful day we went for a walk in the Rheda Schloß Park, it was a warm morning and the the trees just starting to put their Autumn frocks on.

 

 

 

A solitary heron was waiting for his breakfast on the the Schloßwiese.

 

We took a little detour on the way home and went to a smashing little lake, besides a couple of carp anglers and some canadian geese no one was about.

 

Even Clemens Tonnies the local meat baron, business manager of Schalke and one of the richest men in Germany, who has his home on one of the lakes shores, must have still been asleep, but then Schalke had won on Saturday and more than likely he was still celebrating down in the Ruhr-Pot.

 

When we got home it was time to get the vegetables and the pilz ragu prepared and cooked, first off was the cleaning of the fresh chanterelles (Pfefferling), cut the mushrooms into quarters.

After cleaning the mushrooms, next it's the turn of the vegetables

Roast Autumn Vegetables

2 beetroots scrubbed and par boiled

1 kohlrabi peeled

1 small hokkiado pumpkin cut into chunks

1 sweet potato peeled and cut into chunks

2 red onions peeled and quartered (don't cut the root end off as this will hold them together)

 

1 sweet potato peeled and cut into chunks

2 red onions peeled and quartered (don't cut the root end off as this will hold them together)

1 pre-cooked corn on the cob cut in 4 pieces (this only goes in for the last 10 minutes)

1 tbsp of olive oil

1 tbsp of chopped mixed herbs (I used sage, oregano, margorum, rosemary, thyme and lemon thyme)

 

Salt and Pepper
 

Scrub the beetroots under running water, par boil (10minutes), peel sweet potato and kohlrabi, cut into chunks, cut the pumpkin into chunks. Put all of the vegetables into a deep roasting tin. Pour over the olive oil and mix so that all is coated, sprinkle the herbs on top, give the lot a good salting and peppering, more of the later than the former, give it another mix, cover with foil (or in a covered casserole) pop into the oven at 190°C and roast until all the vegetables are soft and tender.

15 minutes before the vegetables are ready make the:

Wild mushroom ragu - Waldpilz Ragu

100g cepes (frozen Aldi)

100g chanterelles fresh or frozen

200g button mushrooms

25g speck

 

1 shallot or small red onion (finely diced)

1 dsp of olive oil

100ml crème fine

2 tsp of Italian herbs in oil

S&P

 

 

 

 

Heat the oil in a pan, add the shallot and speck, before the shallot takes on colour, add the mushrooms, allow them to give off their liquid over a low heat . Add the crème fine and allow to cook for a few minutes, add the Italian herbs. ready to serve.

 

 

 

 

Just need to make the red wine sauce.

 

Remove the hare pieces from the slow cooker, put into a serving dish and keep warm.

 

Strain the cooking juices through a sieve into a small sauce pan (what ever else), boil up and reduce, thicken with 100ml of  crème fine (this is a cream that is made on a vegetable basis, will not split and has very little fat compared with double cream).

 

Strain the sauce once again, taste and adjust as needed, pour some over the hare to keep moist and the rest into a sauce boat for those that like a lot of sauce (ME).

 

Put the Vegetables and Pilz Ragu into serving dishes

 

 

 

Mushroom ragu at the top and the hare in red wine sauce below (but I think you guessed that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That was it! All that was needed was to plate up

 

 and eat it!