flipJugged hare in Burgundy wine
Jugged hare in Burgundy wine
Why this dish? The forests of Montbard and Burgundy provided Buffon with abundant game. Jugged hare, stewed in the wine from his own hillsides, was the festive dish par excellence at seigneurial suppers where he received scholars and dignitaries.
A jointed hare, long marinated then stewed in red Burgundy wine with lardons and onions, the sauce bound with blood according to tradition: it is the great autumn game dish, dark, deep, and sumptuous.
When autumn brings the hunts back to my woods of Montbard, I have the hare prepared as a civet, in the fashion of our Burgundy. First it is left to steep in the wine from my vines for a night, then it simmers gently with lard and onions, and the sauce is bound with its own blood, which gives it that sought-after brown velvetiness. Serve it very hot, my friends, with a glass of the same wine: this is what rejoices a man after the fatigues of the mind.
- •Hare — one, with its blood (main piece)
- •Red Burgundy wine — one bottle (marinade and cooking)
- •Lard — a good piece (fat and flavor)
- •Onions — a few (aromatic)
- •Lard studded with a clove, thyme, bay leaf — one bouquet (bouquet garni)
- •Flour — a handful (roux)
Jugged hare in Burgundy wine
A jointed hare, long marinated then stewed in red Burgundy wine with lardons and onions, the sauce bound with blood according to tradition: it is the great autumn game dish, dark, deep, and sumptuous.
Why this dish? The forests of Montbard and Burgundy provided Buffon with abundant game. Jugged hare, stewed in the wine from his own hillsides, was the festive dish par excellence at seigneurial suppers where he received scholars and dignitaries.
When autumn brings the hunts back to my woods of Montbard, I have the hare prepared as a civet, in the fashion of our Burgundy. First it is left to steep in the wine from my vines for a night, then it simmers gently with lard and onions, and the sauce is bound with its own blood, which gives it that sought-after brown velvetiness. Serve it very hot, my friends, with a glass of the same wine: this is what rejoices a man after the fatigues of the mind.
Ingredients (period version)
- Hare — one, with its blood (main piece)
- Red Burgundy wine — one bottle (marinade and cooking)
- Lard — a good piece (fat and flavor)
- Onions — a few (aromatic)
- Lard studded with a clove, thyme, bay leaf — one bouquet (bouquet garni)
- Flour — a handful (roux)
Ingredients
- Hare (or saddle and legs of rabbit) — 1.5 kg (main piece)
- Red Burgundy wine — 75 cl (marinade and cooking)
- Smoked lardons — 200 g (fat and flavor)
- Pearl onions — 12 (aromatic)
- Bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf, clove) — 1 (aromatic)
- Flour — 2 tbsp (roux)
- Hare blood or 2 tbsp cream + egg yolk (substitute) — to choice (final binding)
Method
- The day before, marinate the hare pieces in the wine with onion, bouquet garni, and a little pepper.
- Drain the meat, dry it, brown it in the rendered lard fat, then set aside. Sweat the lardons and onions.
- Sprinkle with a handful of flour, moisten with the strained marinade, add the bouquet garni, and simmer covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.
- At the end of cooking, off the heat, bind the sauce with the blood (or the cream-egg yolk mixture) without letting it boil again. Adjust salt and serve.
How it was made : The civet — from the old word "cive", onion — is attested from the Middle Ages and codified by the great chefs of the 17th century. La Varenne (Le Cuisinier françois, 1651) and Massialot describe the blood binding, the mark of a true civet. It was a dish of rural nobility, dependent on seigneurial hunting.
The contemporary twist : Serve on a celeriac purée and sprinkle with crispy lardons; name it "Civet du Naturaliste" as a nod to Buffon's notebooks.
Sources : La Varenne, Le Cuisinier françois, 1651 · Massialot, Le Cuisinier roïal et bourgeois, 1691
Buffon · Charactorium
