Why it works: Pepper and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Roast Hare
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the hare
Wipe the inside of the hare.
Season the hare well with salt and pepper.
Hang the hare until ready to dress it.
Skin the hare.
Truss the hare for roasting.
Half-roast the hare in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 30 to 60 minutes, basting constantly.
Cut the hare into small pieces.
Make the stew
Place the pieces in an earthen jar.
Pour enough stock over the hare pieces to nearly cover them.
Add onion, lemon peel, pepper, and salt.
Place the jar in a 300°F (150°C) oven.
Simmer for 2.5 to 3 hours.
Finish the gravy
Remove the hare pieces.
Pour the gravy into a clean saucepan.
Add more stock if necessary and the port wine.
Season the gravy to taste.
Heat the gravy until just about to boil.
Pour the gravy over the hare pieces in a hot dish.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Liver + port winetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together108 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Liver + oniontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,420 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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Onion + port winetop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,148 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Hare
- Provides the main meat, which becomes tender through roasting and slow simmering.
- Stock
- Supplies the liquid that gently cooks the hare and forms the base of the gravy.
- Onion
- Adds savory sweetness and aromatic flavor to the stock as it simmers.
- Port wine
- Adds depth, sweetness and color to the finished gravy.
The step that matters
Half-roast the hare, basting constantly. Basting keeps the surface moist so it does not dry out or scorch before the hare is cut and simmered. Roasting only partly cooks it, so the slow stew finishes the texture without drying the meat.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (liver, pepper, lemon, port wine):
- Capsicumfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against liver, pepper, lemon, port wine. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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