Hare legs braised in red wine sauce

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. Prepare the legs

   Trim the silverskin from the hare legs and season with salt and pepper. Dice the bacon and cut the carrots, parsley root, celery root, and onions into small pieces.

2. Brown the meat

   Melt the lard in a heavy-bottomed pot, fry the bacon in it, and brown the legs on all sides. Remove the meat and bacon.

3. Caramelize the vegetables

   Add the sugar to the drippings and let it caramelize until golden. Immediately add the root vegetables and onions and sauté, stirring constantly. Add the juniper berries, bay leaves, and allspice.

4. Braise

   Return the legs and bacon to the pot, pour in the wine and broth, and add the crumbled bread. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1.5 to 2 hours, until the meat pulls away easily from the bone. Add more liquid as needed.

5. Finish the sauce

   Remove the legs, fish out the bay leaves and whole spices, and blend the vegetables and cooking liquid until smooth. Season with salt, vinegar, and a little sugar to taste so the sauce is sweet-and-sour. Return the legs to the sauce and heat briefly until warmed through.

6. Serve

   Serve the braised hare with steamed yeast dumplings or lokše, thin Slovak potato flatbreads, and spoon the sauce over the meat.

Tip: To mellow the strong flavor of hare, soak the legs in milk overnight in the refrigerator, then dry them thoroughly before browning.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Zajac na divoko s červeným vínom