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Hare, Ragout of

A stew of hare marinated in claret, vinegar, spices, then simmered with gravy, black currant jelly, and port.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and black currant share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 40 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Hare, Ragout of

Ingredients

Directions

Marinate

  1. Place the best parts of the hare in an earthen vessel.

  2. Add the chopped onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, cloves, claret, and vinegar.

  3. Turn the pieces to coat and marinate for 12 hours.

Make the gravy

  1. Make gravy from the remaining hare parts, seasoning it well until thick as cream.

  2. Remove the joints from the marinate, dry them, and add to the gravy.

  3. Boil down the marinate in a saucepan until reduced by half, then add to the gravy.

  4. Rub some meat through the gravy for thickening, if needed.

  5. Season the gravy, ensuring the vinegar flavor is not overpowering.

Finish and serve

  1. Stir in the black currant jelly and port, cover, and serve hot.

  2. Garnish with croutons or quenelles.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Clove + black curranttop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together40 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Tomato + black curranttop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  4. Clove + tomatotop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  5. Onion + clovetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together16,901 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

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 and flavorful after marinating and simmering in gravy.
Claret
Its acidity and tannins help tenderize the meat during marinating and add depth to the sauce.
Vinegar
Its acidity helps break down the meat during marinating and adds a sharp tang to the gravy.
Black currant jelly
Adds sweetness and fruity acidity that balances the sharpness of the vinegar and wine.
Port
Adds sweetness and rich aroma to the finished gravy.

The step that matters

Season the gravy, ensuring the vinegar flavor is not overpowering. Vinegar concentrates as the marinade reduces, so its sharpness can dominate the sauce. Tasting and balancing with the sweet jelly and port keeps the flavors harmonious.

Swap the black currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, clove, vinegar, tomato):

  1. Avocadofits better
  2. Cherryfits better
  3. Plumfits better
  4. Black currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, clove, vinegar, tomato. 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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