Civé de connins

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. – LM 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.
Ingredients

Bacon; Rabbit; Onions; Beef Broth; Red Wine; Verjus; Red Wine Vinegar; Ginger; Cinnamon; Grains of Paradise; Long Pepper; Nutmeg; Galangal; Mace; Cloves; Cornstarch

Contains Wheat

Vegetarian Option: Olive Oil; Seitan (Wheat Gluten); Onions; Vegetable Broth; Red Wine; Verjus; Red Wine Vinegar; Ginger; Cinnamon; Grains of Paradise; Long Pepper; Nutmeg; Galangal; Mace; Cloves; Cornstarch

We are again fortunate to have decently helpful directions from LM on this preparation, and corroboration in general from LV, while DF only mentions it in his menu. 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. 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, but I found that in doing so it’s merely harder to butcher and less tender. I omit this step intentionally.

LM 116, LV 30, DF 6

Modern Redaction
1/4 lb.Fatty bacon, diced small
2 lbsRabbit, fryer, in pieces
2 lbsOnions, sliced vertically
1 c.Beef Broth
1/4 c.Red Wine
1/4 c.Verjus
1/2 t.LM Major Spices Blend
1/2 t.LM Minor Spices Blend
1.5 T.Cornstarch
Yield: 8 servings
  • Put about 1/2 c of Water and your Bacon in a cold frying pan over medium-low heat
  • Once the water has fully evaporated and the bacon fat has rendered, add the onions.
  • Cook the onions until they are translucent, then add the Rabbit and brown it lightly. You may, if you strongly prefer, spit roast the rabbit first instead.
  • Add the Beef Broth, Red Wine, and Red Verjus to the pan and deglace it.
  • Turn the heat to low and mix the Vinegar, Spices, and Cornstarch together
  • Stream in the Vinegar slurry while stirring constantly and simmer on low until the rabbit is just fully cooked and the sauce has thickened.
Process Photos