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INGREDIENTS
- 4 hare thighs
- 100 ml red wine
- 300 g peeled onion
- 200 g peeled carrots
- 160 g peeled celeriac
- 120 g peeled parsley root
- 100 g bacon
- 60 g butter
- 50 g peeled almonds
- 40 g granulated sugar
- 1 handful dried plums
- 5 tablespoons plum jam Brewster
- 2 tablespoons Tuzemák
- 2 tablespoons lard
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 3 tablespoons roux 100%
- 4 bay leaves
- 10 allspice berries
- 10 whole black peppercorns
- 5 juniper berries
- 5 sprigs thyme
- rosemary sprig (6 cm)
- ground pepper
- salt
YOU WILL ALSO NEED
- kitchen twine
WINE PAIRING
- An ideal accompaniment to game is a dry red wine with a full body and firm tannins.
METHOD
- 1Place bay leaves, allspice, black pepper, juniper, and sprigs of thyme and rosemary on a piece of clean white cloth. Tie the cloth into a sachet and secure it tightly with kitchen twine.
- 2Soak the plums in Tuzemák. Cut celery, carrots, and parsley into 1 cm cubes. Roughly chop the onion. Cut the bacon lengthwise into 8 pieces.
- 3Remove membranes and sinews from the hare thighs and debone them. Do not discard the bones, you will need them later. Insert 2 pieces of bacon into the meat where the bone was, and tie the thighs back into their original shape with kitchen twine. Season the rolls with salt and pepper on all sides.
- 4In a pot, heat 30 g of butter and 1 tablespoon of lard over high heat. Add the meat and sear it on all sides until golden brown. Remove and set aside. Add the remaining lard and root vegetables. Reduce the heat to below medium and sauté until golden brown, stirring frequently. Add the onion, reduce the heat to one-third, and sauté until browned. Add the sachet with spices and herbs to the base, add plum jam and sugar, mix, and let caramelize. Pour in the vinegar and let it reduce.
- 5Return the seared meat to the pot with the base. Add the bones as well, to strengthen the sauce, and pour in the red wine. Mix and add enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid, reduce heat to minimum, and simmer gently until tender. Remove the tender meat and bones from the pot and set aside. Discard the bones.
- 6Stir the roux into the sauce and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. If the sauce is too thick, add a little boiling water, cook for 1 minute, and remove the sauce from the heat. Add the remaining butter, blend until smooth, and strain through a fine sieve into a clean pot.
- 7Squeeze the plums, finely chop them, and add them to the sauce along with the almonds. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Return the meat and briefly heat through.
Tip
Serve, for example, with potato pancakes. They pair wonderfully with this hare preparation. You can find them on Rohlík Chef in the side dishes category.
Wrap the spices and herbs in a cloth so you don't have to fish out the berries from the sauce later.
You can lightly crush the spices in the cloth with your hand to better release their flavor.
Why the combination of lard and butter? Lard is best suited for Czech cuisine, and butter gives the sauce a great flavor.
A piece of bacon will beautifully scent the meat and add juiciness.
For preparation, you will need a clean white cloth or gauze, an immersion blender, and a fine sieve.
Roman Vaněk
Together with Rohlik, we've put together a selection of the most popular recipes from my cookbooks and paired them with the right ingredients. Let us know how your meal turned out #rohlikchef