Recipe: Royal Hare

Name: Royal Hare
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 240 min
Total time: 300 min
Yield: 10 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: For the hare:1 large hare, about 6.5 lb (3 kg) (shot in the head); 14 oz (400 g) pork fillet, peeled and cut into small dice; 10.5 oz (300 g) fatback, cut into small dice; 7 oz (200 g) white bread, trimmed and cut into small dice; 0.7 oz (20 g) Mélanosporum truffle peelings; 2 garlic cloves, degerminated and finely chopped; Fines herbes; 1.1 oz (30 g) dried porcini mushrooms; 1 large goose liver, about 21 oz (600 g); 1 large black truffle (Mélanosporum), about 1.75 oz (50 g); 4 farm eggs; 0.8 cup (200 ml) Burgundy marc or Prune de Souillac; Fine salt and freshly ground pepper; 4 squares of dark chocolate; Goose fat; Aromatic garnish:2 carrots, diced; 2 onions, diced; 1 celery stalk, diced; 1 bouquet garni; 2.1 cups (500 ml) red wine; Guérande salt

By chef patrick Asfaux 4.9/5 (137 reviews) · 🍳 142 made it

Recipe Royal Hare - Chef Patrick Asfaux — Photo: Aftouch-cuisine

Prep 60 min

Cook 240 min

Total 5h

Servings 10 serv.

An emblematic recipe created after the war by chef Gaston Richard and his second Marc Soustelle, inspired by the traditions of Lucas Carton. A prestigious dish that celebrates French culinary expertise. The ballottine takes three days in total : plucking and boning the day before, marinating the farce and bones for 24 hours, then 3.5 hours of cooking at a very gentle simmer. The secret lies in three layers : a lean and fat farce well bound with eggs, deveined foie gras in long strips, black truffle cut into batons. Serve with sautéed porcini mushroom caps and turned potatoes.

Ingredients for 10 servings

Adjust for

servings

For the hare:

1 large hare, about 6.5 lb (3 kg) (shot in the head)
14 oz (400 g) pork fillet, peeled and cut into small dice
10.5 oz (300 g) fatback, cut into small dice
7 oz (200 g) white bread, trimmed and cut into small dice
0.7 oz (20 g) Mélanosporum truffle peelings
2 garlic cloves, degerminated and finely chopped
Fines herbes
1.1 oz (30 g) dried porcini mushrooms
1 large goose liver, about 21 oz (600 g)
1 large black truffle (Mélanosporum), about 1.75 oz (50 g)
4 farm eggs
0.8 cup (200 ml) Burgundy marc or Prune de Souillac
Fine salt and freshly ground pepper
4 squares of dark chocolate
Goose fat

Aromatic garnish:

2 carrots, diced
2 onions, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 bouquet garni
2.1 cups (500 ml) red wine
Guérande salt

Step-by-step directions

1 The day before, carefully pluck the hare.

2 Open the body in half, carefully preserving the liver, heart and blood.

3 Bone the hare flat without making holes.

4 Crush the hare bones and place them in a container.

5 Add the aromatic garnish, dried porcini, red wine, Guérande salt, cracked pepper and the bouquet garni.

6 Cover and let marinate for one day and one night.

7 Prepare the farce : in a large mixing bowl, thoroughly combine the diced pork fillet and fatback.

8 Add the mixture of heart and liver passed through a meat grinder, then the diced bread moistened with Burgundy marc.

9 Incorporate the truffle peelings, salt, pepper, fines herbes and garlic.

10 Bind with the 4 whole eggs.

11 Cover and let macerate in the cold for a full day.

12 On cooking day, lay the boned hare on the work surface and open up the hind legs.

13 Salt and pepper, then spread a layer of farce.

14 Place the deveined goose foie gras cut lengthwise, then the truffle cut into large batons.

15 Cover with a second layer of farce.

16 Roll up the hare like a ballottine and wrap it in oiled parchment paper.

17 Drain the bones and garnish on one side, the wine on the other.

18 In a large cocotte, sear the ballottine in goose fat on all sides.

19 Add the bones and garnish, cover and let sweat gently for 30 minutes.

20 Pour the red wine from the marinade and continue cooking for approximately 3.5 hours at a very gentle simmer.

21 Test with a trussing needle : it should pass through without resistance.

22 Carefully place the ballottine on a rack and prick it all over with a meat fork.

23 Reduce the sauce by one third.

24 Pass the blood and foie gras veins through a meat grinder and bind them into the sauce.

25 Pour into the sauce and keep warm without boiling.

26 Arrange the sliced ballottine on a serving platter, surrounded by sautéed porcini caps, fried croutons and turned potatoes.

27 Lightly drizzle with sauce and serve the rest in a sauceboat.

Chef Patrick's Comment

We served this recipe since 1965 in our Michelin-starred Parisian restaurant « À Sousceyrac » and every French president has tasted it : President Pompidou often, Jacques Chirac and François Mitterrand occasionally, as well as great chefs like Paul Bocuse, Joël Robuchon, Pierre Troisgros, and others. Now I pass the torch to you.

During the fantastic Hunt Dinner of the French Culinary Academy, organized by chef Nicolas Sale in the beautiful dining room of the Ritz in Paris, this wonderful dish was served at the heart of the meal with an exceptional wine, the Probus 2007 from Baldés, a marvel of Cahors that would have rivaled the greatest Bordeaux wines and which amazed more than a hundred prestigious guests.

Frequently asked questions

Can I replace goose liver with duck liver?

Yes, duck liver works. Use 450-500g to account for trimming losses. It will taste more robust, less sweet. Check the liver contains no bile (dark green), which would make everything bitter.

How do I tell if the ballotine is done without breaking it?

Use a trussing needle or toothpick. It should pass through the farce with light resistance, slightly elastic at the core. If it hits a bone, cook another 15 minutes. Always probe the same spot to track progress.

Can I prepare the farce and freeze it days ahead?

Yes, maximum three days cold, or frozen two weeks. Thaw in the fridge 12 hours before assembly. Never refreeze after cooking with foie gras: lipid oxidation degrades it. Roll the ballotine the morning of service.