Hare

[Sky]

We managed to shoot one and it's in the pot as I type.

It was huge!!!

The hubby gutted it, skinned it and cut into six pieces and I put in the crock pot with onions, carrots, bit of seasoning and some red wine ... does that sound right, smells lovely anyways and can't wait to taste hare as never have!

[Sky]

Tell you what, hare has loads more meat on than a chicken .... couldn't believe the size of it's thighs.

And does anyone know how to tan it's skin, I've just put it in the freezer for now.

[johnhcrf]

Are hares as big a pest as rabbits? I remember a rabbit plague in Australia many years ago but I have never heard of a hare plague!

[Sky]

There's loads around us john, they have little parties on our land and snip all our newly planted trees and shrubs to the ground.
As land owners we are responsible for controlling them so we thought the best control was to eat them but we're not great shots with the gun.
Husband was this afty though

[johnhcrf]

Fair point. I am a town dweller and have seen a few hares around town edges. A few are worth a look but where they impact on country dwellers my opinion does not apply.

[Sky]

Well I just had a taste and it is tastey but dry, hubby says gamey, I thought it had and irony aftertaste with a bit of earth thrown in.
Would be lovely with richer gravy and some nice pastry or dumplings or something.
It'll all get eaten but maybe will cook differently next time?

[Stonehead]

Hare, especially older hare, needs to be cooked long and slow with plenty of liquid. I'd cook a hare in ale, cider, wine or water with a couple of onions and some herbs until the meat was falling off the bones, then remove the meat and add diced celery, carrots, tatties and leeks to the liquid. Thicken the liquid with a roux (or the hare's blood), return the boned meat to the pan, and cook for a further 20-30 minutes with dumplings floating on the top. Serve accompanied by pints and pints of cider. Won't be at all dry. Slurp.

[Sky]

Hare, especially older hare, needs to be cooked long and slow with plenty of liquid. I'd cook a hare in ale, cider, wine or water with a couple of onions and some herbs until the meat was falling off the bones, then remove the meat and add diced celery, carrots, tatties and leeks to the liquid. Thicken the liquid with a roux (or the hare's blood), return the boned meat to the pan, and cook for a further 20-30 minutes with dumplings floating on the top. Serve accompanied by pints and pints of cider. Won't be at all dry. Slurp.

Yummm ... will do it that way next time!

[Ellendra]

And does anyone know how to tan it's skin, I've just put it in the freezer for now.

I posted instructions for that here: http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/ ... hlight=tan

Just skip the step that talks about removing the hair.

[Ellendra]

PS: Those instructions were originally for a deer hide. Just be careful with the hare hide as it tears more easily, but the technique is pretty much the same.

[theabsinthefairy]

Ellendra - excellent instructions and very concise, thanks.

For rabbit and hare furs in the past if it is just the odd one - I have air dried them, and once dry - approx 7 to 10 days depending on the weather - just manipulate the hide to soften it.

Just stitch them to a frame as per the one described in Ellendra's link after de-fleshing them, and I hang my frames high in a tall tree.

I don't treat them with anything.

I use them for panels in cushions and sofa throws, and line my slippers with them.

[Sky]

Thank you both for your advice.

[QuakerBear]

Oh my goodness Stonehead, now I'm hungry. It was bad timing to read that right now....

[Russian Doll]

being a sad cow and loving history another way of cooking hare..

dig a large enough pit to put the hare in and cover it with red coals...leave over night and in the morning the skin will be blackened but when you remove the skin the hare will be really tender due to the long cooking

stone age proccess

[Thurston Garden]

This is the story of the hare who lost his spectacles....