Civet of Hare, Rabbit or Fowl
This “civet” has nothing to do with wild cats but is
a French preparation which formerly used an onion called cive as one of
the main ingredients. It is usually made with game and especially with
hare. Hares are not native to tropical Southeast Asia and so we have to
make it with either rabbit, goose, chicken, wild boar or even lamb. The
main thing about civet is that the sauce is thickened with the blood of
the animal, if available, or if not, with a substitute blood like pork
blood which is sold in the Thai markets either coagulated or still
runny. The sauce will be chocolate coloured and less stodgy than when
flour is used for thickening. I warn the readers in advance that which
follows is my own version based on my mother’s cooking and not the idea
of Auguste Escoffier the “King of Cooks” and vica versa, who uses brandy
instead of red wine for instance.
Cut the hare, rabbit - or what do you have? - into joints or pieces.
Place them in a earthenware casserole or another suitable basin and
cover with a marinade made by briefly cooking half a bottle of a dry
white wine, two or three bay leaves, four cloves, one onion cut in
pieces and teaspoon of dried thyme, a few peppercorns and two cloves of
garlic. Cool this and pour it over the meat. Leave this to steep over
night.
The next day, dry and brown the pieces in butter, a few at the time. Add
two rashers of smoked bacon as well. Remove the bacon and the pieces of
meat when brown and set them apart in a braising pan or a large sauce
pan. Add one chopped onion to the butter and juices and sauté until it
starts to become transparent yellow. Add this with the juices to the
meat, plus the marinade with the herbs. Cook over a low fire until the
meat is done. Remove the pieces again. Discard the cloves and bay leaves
from the sauce and add either a cup of fresh blood or a piece of
coagulated blood. Put all this in a blender and when smooth strain it
through a sieve. Add this sauce to the meat. Heat and when it starts to
boil add a teaspoon of sugar and salt to taste. When the sauce is too
thick add a little water or wine. At the last moment add some mushrooms
and a few glazed small red onions to the dish.
