Lièvre à la Royale
The grand ballotine of hare, braised then rolled with pork, saddle and foie gras, in a blood-and-chocolate sauce
The hare & ballotine
- 1 hare (~2.5–3 kg), with its blood, liver, heart and lungs
- 400 g pork belly
- 180 g raw foie gras
- 1 pig's caul (crépine)
- smoked sweet paprika (piment doux fumé)
Marinade & braise
- 1 bottle full-bodied red wine
- 2 onions
- 2 carrots
- 6 shallots
- 1 head garlic
- bouquet garni, 6 juniper berries, 4 cloves, 10 peppercorns
- hare stock (from the carcass and trimmings)
The sauce
- the reserved hare's blood
- 60 g cold butter
- 25 g dark chocolate (70%)
Celeriac purée
- 2 celeriac (céleri-rave)
- whole milk (to cover)
- 60 g butter
This is the grand ballotine style of lièvre à la royale, after Jean-François Piège. The hare is braised for hours until it falls apart, shredded, then rolled with a pork farce, strips of saddle and foie gras, and cooked gently as a roll. The sauce is bound with the blood and deepened with a little dark chocolate. It is a Christmas showpiece and a two-day project. Rest the rolled ballotine overnight before serving.
Method
Marinate (24h ahead)
- Joint the hare into legs, shoulders and saddle (râble). Reserve the blood, stirring in a little vinegar so it does not clot, and chill the liver, heart and lungs.
- Marinate all the meat for 24 hours in the red wine with the onions, carrots, shallots, garlic, bouquet garni, juniper, cloves and peppercorns.
Hare stock
- Brown the carcass and trimmings, cover with water, add aromatics and simmer gently for 5 to 6 hours. Strain and reserve.
Braise (8h)
- Cook all the meat except the saddle, covered, in the strained marinade and the hare stock, very gently for about 8 hours, until it falls from the bone.
Shred & make the farce
- Shred the braised meat in a pan with a little butter and some cooking juice, keeping it on the dry side so the roll holds together.
- Mince the pork belly together with the hare offal to make the farce.
Roll the ballotine
- Lay the caul out flat. Build it up in layers, seasoning each one: the shredded hare (salt and pepper), then the pork farce, then strips of raw saddle (lèche, salt and pepper), then the foie gras (salt and smoked sweet paprika). Roll tightly in the caul into an even cylinder.
Steam & rest overnight
- Cook in a steam oven for 45 min at 80°C (or in a bain-marie) to a gentle core. Cool, then rest overnight in the fridge to set.
The sauce
- Combine the cooking juice and the blood. Mount with the cold butter off the heat, then blend in the chocolate with an immersion blender or a whisk. Keep it below a simmer so the blood does not curdle.
Celeriac purée
- Cook the celeriac in cubes in milk until tender, then blend smooth. On the day, dry it a little in a pan, mount with butter and season.
Reheat & serve
- Warm the ballotine gently to 60°C, slice, and nap with the sauce. Serve with the celeriac purée.
Background
The dish is a great classic of French game cookery. This is the ballotine version, after Jean-François Piège, rather than the older pieces-in-sauce style. The hare is braised until meltingly tender, shredded and rebuilt as a roll around a pork farce, saddle and foie gras.
The sauce is the point. Blood binds and enriches it, butter gives it gloss, and a little dark chocolate deepens the game flavour without reading as sweet.
Give it time. A 5 to 6 hour stock, an 8 hour braise and an overnight rest are what make it.
Mistakes I've Made
- Boiling the sauce. Once the blood goes in, keep the sauce below a simmer and bind it off the heat. Boiling curdles it.
- A too-wet shred. Shred the braised meat with only a little cooking juice. Too wet and the ballotine will not hold its shape.
- Rushing it. The long stock, the 8 hour braise and the overnight rest are not optional. This is a two-day dish.
Sources
- Lièvre à la royale (after Jean-François Piège) —