Civé de lièvre. Premièrement, […] le mettez harler sur le greil, id est roidir sur bon feu de charbon ou en la broche; puis aiez des oignons cuis et du sain en un pot, et mettez vos oignons avec le sain et vostre lièvre par morceaulx, et les friolez au feu en hochant le pot très souvent, ou le friolez au fer de la paelle. Puis harlez et brûlez du pain et trempez en l’eaue de la char avec vinaigre et vin: et aiez avant broyé gingembre, graine, giroffle, poivre long, noix muguettes et canelle, et soient broyés et destrempés de vertjus et vinaigre ou boullon de char; requeilliez, et mettez d’une part. Puis broyez vostre pain, deffaites du boullon, et coulez le pain et non les espices par l’estamine, et mettez le boullon, les oignons et sain, espices et pain brûlé, tout cuire ensemble, et le lièvre aussi; et gardez que le civé soit brun, aguisé de vinaigre, attrempé de sel et d’espices.
Le Ménagier de paris, 116
Hare civet. First […] set it to toast on the grill – id est to grill over a hot coal fire – or on the spit. Cook some onions in fat, and add the hare to the pot piece by piece, frying the pieces on the fire, stirring the pot often, or fry them in a frying pan. Then toast some bread well and soak it in meat broth with vinegar and wine. Prepare ground ginger, grain of paradise, clove, long pepper, nutmeg, and cinnamon to which are added verjuice and vinegar or meat broth; drain the liquid from this mixture and set it aside. Then grind the toast, mix in some broth, and strain the bread, but not the spices, through the strainer. Combine the broth, onions and fat, spcies, and toasted bread and cook together with the hare. Take care that the civet is brown, sharpened with vinegar, adjusted with salt and spices.
Le Ménagier de paris, 180
Civet of Rabbit or Hare
Description
Le Ménagier gives us relatively specific directions on this preparation, and we get corroboration in general from Le Viandier, while Chiquart only mentions it in his menu in Du Fait de Cuisine without giving instructions on how to prepare it. As is common, the LM version has a wider variety of spices and a few more ingredients than the LV recipe. LV is consistently more reserved than LM, but in this case I find LM's additions to make the dish more delicious and unique because of its more complex flavors. This is primarily due to his much more liberal use of the "minor spices."
Because there is little to no distinction between the use of types of fats for frying, I have chosen bacon fat in this recipe to add depth of flavor. You could use rendered lard, fatback, or even a non-pork fat if you do not eat pork. As a vegan alternative, I have served this stew made with Seitan instead of Rabbit, and fried in Olive Oil as the period-appropriate replacement. It would likewise be delicious with mushrooms as a replacement for the meat. Like similar preparations thickened with strained bread, we will use a refined starch to make our dish more accessible and less wasteful. LM does instruct us to par-roast the rabbit first, and it is important to be gentle in this process or the rabbit may become tough and difficult to use.
Ingredients
1/4 lb. Fatty bacon, diced small
Instructions
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Roast the rabbit at 325°F until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, being careful to avoid overcooking. Bone the rabbit, and cut into bite-sized pieces.
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Put about 1/2 c of Water and your Bacon in a cold frying pan over medium-low heat
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Once the water has fully evaporated and the bacon fat has rendered, add the onions.
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Cook the onions until they are translucent, then add the Rabbit.
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Add the Beef Broth, Red Wine, and Red Verjus to the pan and deglace it.If you are inclined, you could make Rabbit Broth with your carcass as I did for the original event where this was served.
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Turn the heat to low and mix the Vinegar, Spices, and Cornstarch together
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Stream in the Vinegar slurry while stirring constantly and simmer on low until the rabbit is just fully cooked and the sauce has thickened.
