Subj:	Christmas Bunny 
Date:	97-12-26 13:38:09 EST
From:	Allivoil
To:	Wivgary


Jugged Hare with Forcemeat Balls

This is one of the best, gamy, rich dishes there is.
Served traditionally with forcemeat balls, redcurrent jelly
creamed mashed potatoes and a green vegetable
like Brussels sprouts, this is a most satisfying
dish for chilly Scottish winter days.
Or, chilly Chicago winter days.

2 oven-ready hares
2 oz butter
3 tbsp sunflower oil
3 onions, peeled and each struck with a few cloves
3 carrots, peeled and cut in half
2-3 celery sticks, halved
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
paired rind of 1 lemon and 1 orange
4-5 juniper berries, bashed with the end of a rolling pin
small handful of black peppercorns
1 tsp rock salt (kosher salt)

For thickening the sauce

2-3 oz butter
2-3 oz plain (all-purpose flour)
1 tbsp redcurrent jelly
1/4 - 1/2 pint port wine
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut the hares into serving pieces.
If available, keep the blood in a bowl and add to the sauce before serving.
In a large flameproof casserole or heavy saucepan,
heat the butter and oil until very hot.
Pat dry each piece of hare with kitchen paper,
to absorb any excess moisture or blood,
and brown each piece of hare on both sides in the hot fat.
 As the pieces are browned,
remove them to a warmed dish;
Keep them warm in a low oven.  When all the pieces of hare are browned,
add the vegetables and garlic to the fat in the pan
and cook for a few minutes.

Replace the pieces of hare in the pan and add the pared lemon
and orange rinds, the juniper berries, peppercorns and salt.
Pour in enough water to cover the hare.
Cover the pan with a tightly fitting lid and cook gently on top of the stove
or in a preheated low oven (300 degrees F)
for about 3 hours, or until the meat is just beginning
to come away from the bones.

Remove the casserole from the oven and cool the hare in the stock.
When cool, take the pieces of hare out of the stock
and remove the meat from the bones.
Put it into an ovenproof dish
and set aside while you make the sauce.
Strain the stock.

Use larger quantities of butter, flour and port wine 
if you have no hare's blood to thicken the sauce.
Melt the butter in a sauce pan,
add the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Gradually add 1 1/2 pints of the hare stock
stirring all the time until the sauce boils.
Stir in the redcurrent jelly and port wine
stirring until the jelly has melted in the hot sauce.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Pour the sauce over the hare meat in the ovenproof dish.
Cover the dish and reheat in the low oven until the sauce
is bubbling gently and does so for 10-15 minutes.

If thickening the sauce with blood,
pour a little of the hot sauce into the bowl containing the blood.
Mix well, and stir this into the rest of the sauce and hare in the dish.
If necessary, keep in a warm oven until you are ready to serve,
but take care not to let the sauce boil again
once the blood has been added.
Serve the jugged hare with the forcemeat balls, (recipe to follow)

Forcemeat Balls

1 oz butter
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion, peeled and very finely chopped
6 oz day-old breadcrumbs
3 oz shredded beef suet
grated rind of 2 lemons
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 extra large egg, beaten
flour for coating
sunflower oil for fruing

Heat  the butter and oil in a saucepan, 
add the onion and cook for a few minutes.
Pour the onion into a mixing bowl and add the breadcrumbs.
Mix Well.
Then, mix in the suet, lemon rind, parsley and beaten egg.
Flour your hands and form the mixture into small balls
about the size of a walnut.
Coat each ball with flour and place on a baking sheet lined with
greaseproof (wax) paper.
Cover and keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook them.
(They can also be frozen)

To cook, heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan and cook
the balls until golden brown all over.
Drain them on several thicknesses of kitchen paper.
They will keep warm for up to an hour.


Enjoy!
3:53 PM 12/26/97