Jugged Hare with Yorkshire pudding by Michael Bedford

INGREDIENTS
(Serves eight)

For the jugged hare 1 hare (not hung)
150g bacon trimmings
2-4 English onions, finely sliced
100g smoked bacon lardons
2 bay leaves
Sprig of thyme
50g salt
1 pig's trotter
2.4 litres beef stock
125g butter
4 carrots, finely diced
1kg Maris Piper potatoes, diced and cooked
100ml crème de mûres

For the Yorkshire pudding 3 eggs
100g flour
450ml milk
Pinch salt
100g dripping

METHOD Skin hare in the normal manner. Take out intestines and reserve the liver. Take off the haunches, the shoulders and the saddle. Put in a pan of cold water, heat gently to simmering point and drain. Rinse in cold water, rubbing the hare to remove any coagulated blood.

In a heavy-bottomed pot, sweat the sliced onions in oil until soft and sweet. Add some smoked bacon trimmings, bay leaves, thyme and salt. Then add the hare pieces, pig's trotter and beef stock. Cover with a lid and bake in the oven for eight hours at 125°C. Dry-cook the liver at a low temperature until completely dry. Cool, and blend to a fine powder.

Flake the meat off the bone. Discard the bones. Strain the cooking liquor through a fine sieve and reserve. Melt the butter in a separate pot, add the carrots and sweat until soft. Do the same with the sliced onion and the bacon lardons. When sticky and soft, add hare, cooking liquor, potatoes and reserved powdered liver, which will thicken the sauce and give it a silky finish.

To make the Yorkshire pudding, whisk the eggs and whisk in flour to form a thick batter. Slowly beat in the milk and salt. Leave for one hour to rest. Heat dripping in eight Yorkshire pudding tins in the oven at 230°C. When very hot, add Yorkshire pudding mix to tins. Cook for 20-25 minutes.

To serve, heat the hare until hot. Place hare in the hot Yorkshire pudding. Finish with a little crème de mûres splashed over the hare.

By Michael Bedford, Trouble House, Tetbury, Gloucestershire