Évora-Style Pickled Hare

Pickled hare combines the flavor of game with the acidity of vinegar, along with onion, garlic, bay leaf, and parsley. After resting in the marinade, the meat is browned and returned to the sauce to cook slowly until tender.

A recipe collected in Évora

Carta Gastronómica do Alentejo recorded this preparation in Malagueira, Évora, based on an interview with relatives of Clotilde da Conceição Trindade in 2012. The sequence is simple and defines the recipe: leave the hare in the escabeche, fry the pieces “as if they were fish,” and return them to the sauce to intensify the flavor and cook.

Serves: 4 people
Advance preparation: about 2 hours of marinating
Cooking time: about 1 hour and 30 minutes, depending on the hare

Ingredients for 4 people

• 1 cleaned hare, cut into pieces, about 1 to 1.2 kg
• 2 medium onions
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 small bunch of parsley
• 10 black peppercorns
• 100 ml red wine vinegar, such as Figueirinha – Red Wine Vinegar – 250 ml
• 100 ml water for the marinade, plus about 200 ml for cooking
• 60 ml olive oil for browning the meat
• Salt, as needed

Preparation

1. Make the escabeche. Cut the onions into half-moons and chop the garlic. Mix them with the vinegar, 100 ml water, bay leaf, parsley, peppercorns, and a pinch of salt in a bowl or food container.
2. Marinate the hare. Coat the pieces of meat in the escabeche. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours, turning the meat halfway through so it absorbs the seasonings evenly.
3. Brown the meat. Remove the hare from the marinade and reserve all the sauce. Pat the pieces slightly dry with paper towels. Heat the olive oil in a wide pot and brown the hare in batches over medium-high heat, turning to color all sides. Do not overlap the pieces.
4. Let it cook down. Return all the meat to the pot, add the reserved marinade and about 200 ml of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and partially cover. Cook for about 60 to 90 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the hare is completely cooked and tender. If the sauce reduces before the meat softens, add a little hot water.
5. Adjust the sauce and serve. Taste the sauce only once the meat is cooked; adjust the salt and, if necessary, boil uncovered for a few minutes to concentrate the flavor. Serve the hare with the onion and escabeche sauce.

Tips for the escabeche

Hare can vary considerably in size and firmness, so the cooking time is a guideline, not a strict rule. The marinade that has touched raw meat must boil and cook with the dish; never use it uncooked. For a less vinegary sauce, start with the indicated amount and adjust only after the sauce has cooked down.

Wine pairing

Serve with EA Aragonez Tinto 2024 – Vinho Regional Alentejano, from Fundação Eugénio de Almeida.

Advance preparation and storage

You can leave the hare to marinate in the refrigerator before starting to cook. Once ready, cool it quickly and store it covered in the refrigerator; reheat thoroughly with the sauce before serving.

Frequently asked questions

Can I marinate it for longer?

The collected recipe suggests about two hours but allows for variation depending on the time available. In this version, two hours are enough to follow the steps; always keep the meat refrigerated.

Why fry it before returning it to the sauce?

This is the sequence described in the collected recipe. Browning the pieces adds color; the subsequent cooking in the escabeche finishes tenderizing the meat.

Bring Alentejo to the table

Prepare the escabeche with Figueirinha – Red Wine Vinegar – 250 ml and pair it with EA Aragonez Tinto 2024. For another game recipe, discover our rich red partridge soup.

Source

Confraria Gastronómica do Alentejo, Carta Gastronómica do Alentejo (2013), p. 486. Recipe collected in Malagueira, Évora, in an interview with relatives of Clotilde da Conceição Trindade.

Recipe collected in Évora and adapted by Herdade do Estacal for the “À Mesa com o Alentejo” blog. The source describes the ingredients, the approximately two-hour marinade, frying, and cooking in the sauce; the quantities, olive oil for frying, and cooking times were added for this version.

Illustrative image generated for this article.