Hare à la D. Carlos of Vila Viçosa

The hare is roasted in the oven with white wine and lard; the sauce is prepared separately with bacon, red wine, liver and a small glass of fortified wine. Once strained, it coats the meat with a fine texture and an intense flavour, with the vinegar’s acidity balancing the richness of the dish.

This version of Hare à Rei D. Carlos was recorded in São Bartolomeu, Vila Viçosa, in the Alentejo Gastronomic Guide. The entry refers to an interview with Joaquim Espiga’s family and the archive of the Alentejo Gastronomic Brotherhood, in 2012.

Estimated servings: 4 people.
Preparation: about 30 minutes.
Cooking and finishing: about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes, preparing the sauce while the hare roasts.
Estimated total time: 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes; a tougher hare may need longer.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 1 cleaned hare, about 1.2–1.5 kg bone-in, cut into eight pieces, plus the cleaned head and liver, reserved for the sauce
• 250 ml dry white wine
• 250 ml red wine
• 50 ml fortified wine
• 40 g lard
• 100 g bacon, cut into strips
• 1 medium onion, about 150 g, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 30 ml olive oil, half for the sauté and half for the liver
• 15 ml of Figueirinha — Red Wine Vinegar
• 6 black peppercorns, lightly crushed
• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• About 400 ml hot water: 200 ml to start cooking the sauce and the rest to adjust the sauce or pan liquid, if needed

Step-by-step preparation

1. Prepare the hare and preheat the oven.
   Ask the supplier for a hare that has been properly cleaned, jointed and with the liver separated. The head should be cleaned and quartered by the butcher, with no loose bone fragments. If the meat is frozen, thaw it in the refrigerator beforehand. Preheat the oven to 180 °C, without the fan. Arrange the eight pieces in a baking dish in a single layer, season with salt and ground pepper, pour over the 250 ml of white wine and spread the lard on top. Keep the head and liver in the refrigerator until needed.
2. Roast the meat without letting it dry out.
   Cover the roasting pan with aluminium foil and place it in the oven. Allow about 60–90 minutes in total, starting to check after 45 minutes. Baste the meat with the liquid in the bottom of the pan and, if it is almost dry, add a little of the reserved hot water, about 50 ml at a time. Uncover towards the end to brown the meat, keeping the bottom of the pan moist. The smaller pieces may be ready before the legs: remove them individually and keep them covered. In this adaptation, the hare is served fully cooked, not pink; check that the centre of the thickest part, without touching the bone, reaches 70 °C for 2 minutes. The meat should also be tender; if it still feels firm, continue cooking, covered and with liquid in the bottom of the pan, checking every 15 minutes.
3. Prepare the sauce base while the hare roasts.
   Heat 15 ml of olive oil in a small saucepan. Sweat the onion over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, add the garlic and bacon, and cook for another 3–4 minutes. Add the prepared head and peppercorns; let them brown slightly, turning carefully. Add the vinegar and 250 ml of red wine, simmer gently for 5 minutes, then add 200 ml of hot water. Partially cover and simmer for about 60–90 minutes, until the meat from the head is fully cooked and comes away from the bones. Stir occasionally and add a little of the reserved water if the liquid reduces too much. The bottom of the pan should retain some sauce, not fry dry.
4. Cook the liver and stir it into the sauce.
   When the base is nearly ready, cut the liver into pieces about 1 cm in size. Heat the remaining 15 ml of olive oil in a small frying pan and cook over medium heat, turning, for about 5–8 minutes, until fully cooked. Also check that the centre of the thickest pieces reaches 70 °C for 2 minutes; the time given is only an estimate. Mash the cooked liver with a fork and add it to the pot with the 50 ml of reduced wine. Simmer gently for another 5 minutes, stirring.
5. Strain the sauce and serve.
   Remove the pieces from the head and let them cool just enough to handle. Carefully separate the meat from the bones, discarding all bones and fragments; do not blend them. Return only the clean meat to the sauce, blend, then pass everything through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean saucepan, pressing with a spoon. Bring back to a simmer and taste to adjust the salt. If it is too thick, add a little hot water; if it is too thin, let it reduce for a few minutes over low heat, stirring. Arrange the roasted hare on a warmed serving platter, pour over the hot sauce and serve immediately, warning everyone that the hare pieces still contain bones.

How to get the meat and sauce right

The hare’s age and size greatly affect the cooking time. Protect the loin, which may be ready before the legs, and do not confuse cooked meat with tender meat: you may need to continue roasting with the pan covered. For the sauce, a fine-mesh sieve catches fibres and small scraps; removing the bones before blending is essential.

Wine pairing

Serve with Vidigueira Reserve Red DOC. Its full-bodied profile, with ripe black fruit and a balsamic note, complements the intensity of the game and the sauce. Save this wine for the table; the white, red and fortified wines on the list are used in the preparation.

Preparing ahead and storage

Prepare the ingredients before turning on the oven and leave the liver in the fridge until you are ready to cook it. If making the dish ahead of time, cool the meat and sauce quickly in shallow containers and store them covered in the fridge. Reheat only the amount you plan to serve, keeping the meat covered so it does not dry out, until piping hot in the centre; heat the sauce separately and pour it over the hare just before serving.

Frequently asked questions

The loin is ready, but the legs are still tough. What should I do?

Remove the pieces that are already fully cooked and keep them covered. Continue roasting the legs with liquid in the bottom of the pan and the pan covered, checking the texture every 15 minutes. Do not leave the loin in the oven just to wait for the remaining pieces.

Can I blend the whole head to make the sauce?

No. After cooking, carefully remove the bones and return only the clean meat to the sauce. Only then blend and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Straining does not replace deboning.

The sauce became too thick after adding the liver. How can I adjust it?

Gradually add hot water, one tablespoon at a time, stirring over low heat until the sauce becomes fluid again and coats the meat. Adjust the salt only after correcting the consistency.

Does this version serve the hare pink, as the source describes?

No. In this adaptation, both the hare and the liver are cooked thoroughly. Thermometer checks and the recommended combination of temperature and time are given in the steps; colour alone does not confirm that the food is cooked through.

More game recipes

For another oven-roasted dish, discover Wood-Fired Oven-Roasted Wild Boar, with roast potatoes served on the side.

Source and adaptations

Recipe «Hare à Rei D. Carlos», collected in São Bartolomeu, Vila Viçosa, in Carta Gastronómica do Alentejo (2013), page 630. The record identifies an interview with relatives of Joaquim Espiga, by Francisco Sabino, and the archive of Confraria Gastronómica do Alentejo, in 2012. Adapted by Herdade do Estacal for the blog «À Mesa com o Alentejo».

The source describes roasting the hare for 30 minutes, keeping the meat pink, and frying the liver in olive oil for 3 minutes. This version extends the cooking time for both and checks the centre with a thermometer. The head and liver are retained in the strained sauce; quantities have been added for ingredients without specified amounts, along with water to control reduction, tray protection, and deboning guidance. The timings and yield are estimates and have not been kitchen-tested.

The full cooking guidance and the recommendation of 70 °C for 2 minutes were consulted from the Food Standards Agency.

Illustrative image generated.