Air Fryer Forloren Hare (Danish Mock Hare Meatloaf)
Air Fryer Forloren Hare (Danish Mock Hare Meatloaf)
Forloren hare means mock hare. It isn’t game at all, but a shaped meatloaf of minced meat wrapped in bacon so that it resembles a roasted hare. The dish is a Danish classic for Sunday dinner and celebrations, and the name teases a little: you serve something that looks like game without ever having been out hunting.
The classic version is an oven dish, but it works well in the air fryer. The circulating heat crisps the bacon wrapping without any extra fat, and the cooking time is shorter. The air-fryer basket is smaller than a roasting pan, so the loaf is shaped a little shorter and more compact than in the oven.
The meat mixture is a plain Danish one: minced meat bound with egg, breadcrumbs, milk and grated onion. Diced bacon in the mixture itself adds salt and richness, and a full wrapping of bacon slices around the outside holds in the juices and turns crisp. Water in the bottom of the drawer adds moisture in the strong hot air and creates pan juices that later become the sauce.
The hare is served with a brown sauce made from the pan juices and stock, enriched with cream and seasoned with redcurrant jelly. The sweet redcurrant jelly against the salty bacon is the heart of the flavor. Serve with boiled potatoes, extra redcurrant jelly and a classic Waldorf salad.
Ingredients
Serves 4
The mock hare
- 500 g minced meat (pork + veal, or pork + beef), 8-12% fat
- 100 g diced bacon, for the mixture
- 125 g bacon slices (about 10-12 slices), for wrapping
- 1 onion (about 100 g), finely grated
- 1 egg
- 1 dl breadcrumbs
- 1 dl milk (or ¾ dl cream)
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1 tsp mustard (optional)
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 tbsp redcurrant jelly, stirred into the mixture (optional)
- 5 dl water, for the drawer (or 2 dl milk + 2 dl stock)
The brown sauce
- pan juices from the air-fryer drawer
- 5 dl game stock (or beef stock)
- 2 dl whipping cream
- 1-2 tbsp redcurrant jelly
- 1½-2 tbsp cornstarch, for thickening
- a few drops of gravy browning
- ½ tsp vinegar (optional)
- salt
- freshly ground pepper
To serve
- boiled potatoes
- redcurrant jelly
- 2 apples, for the Waldorf salad
- 3 stalks celery, for the Waldorf salad
- 150 g green grapes, for the Waldorf salad
- 75 g walnuts, for the Waldorf salad
- 1 dl crème fraîche 18%, for the dressing
- ½ dl whipping cream, for the dressing
- 1 tsp sugar, for the dressing
- 1 tsp vinegar, for the dressing
- salt, for the dressing
- freshly ground pepper, for the dressing
Directions
The mock hare
Fry the diced bacon briefly in a dry pan, so it releases a little fat without becoming crisp or brown. Let it cool.
Work the minced meat with the salt and pepper for about 1 minute, until the mixture becomes sticky. Add the egg, milk, breadcrumbs, grated onion and the cooled diced bacon, and stir in the mustard, cayenne or redcurrant jelly if using. Mix the meat mixture well, until it is firm and even.
Shape the mixture into an oblong, compact loaf that fits the air-fryer basket. Shape it a little shorter and taller than a loaf for the oven. Wrap the bacon slices all the way around the loaf, and tuck the ends well underneath. Do not use parchment paper.
Pour about 5 dl water into the bottom of the air-fryer drawer, and place the hare on the rack. Cook at 355-365°F (180-185°C) for 35-45 minutes. Turn the hare after about 30 minutes if needed, so the bacon crisps all the way around. The hare is done when the internal temperature reaches 165°F (75°C) and the bacon is crisp.
Take the hare out and let it rest for at least 10 minutes under foil while you make the sauce.
The brown sauce
Strain the pan juices from the drawer into a saucepan, and top up with game or beef stock to about 5 dl of liquid. Add the cream and bring to a boil.
Thicken the sauce with the cornstarch stirred into a little cold water, and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Color it with a few drops of gravy browning.
Season the sauce with redcurrant jelly for sweetness, a little vinegar for acidity if you like, and salt and pepper.
To serve
Boil the potatoes until tender in lightly salted water.
Make the Waldorf salad: dice the apples and celery, halve the grapes, and coarsely chop the walnuts. Stir together a dressing of crème fraîche, whipping cream, sugar and vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Toss everything together.
Slice the hare and serve it with boiled potatoes, brown sauce, redcurrant jelly and Waldorf salad.
Notes
- Air-fryer basket size: if the basket is small, shape a shorter, more compact loaf, or divide the mixture into two smaller loaves and cook them one after the other. It is the internal temperature, not the clock, that decides when the hare is done.
- Moisture: the water or stock in the drawer keeps the loaf from drying out in the strong hot air, and at the same time provides pan juices for the sauce.
- Crisp bacon: turn the hare partway through for even crispness all the way around.
- Internal temperature: 165°F (75°C) is the safe target. Below 160°F (70°C) the mixture is not cooked through, and above 175°F (80°C) it turns dry.
- Game stock in the sauce gives the classic game note that suits the name. Ordinary beef stock also works fine.
See Also
American Meatloaf
