Tame and even wild rabbits are extremely useful in cooking, though very little used for flancs; they may be served with propriety in the ways I have here described, particularly in the country, where they are so plentiful, and your resources frequently so limited.
Skin and truss two young rabbits as for roasting, then put two ounces of butter in a flat stewpan, (large enough to contain the rabbits,) cut half a pound of mild lean ham into large dice, put them into the stewpan, with the butter, and fry them gently ten minutes, then put in the rabbits, put the cover over the stewpan and place it over a slow fire, turn them round now and then until they take a light-brown colour, add fifty button onions, which also colour, take out the rabbits, add two ounces of flour to the ingredients in the stewpan (mix well) and a quart of white stock; place the stewpan over the fire, keep it stirred until boiling, put back the rabbits, with a good bunch of parsley, thyme, bay-leaf, and four cloves; let it simmer, skim off the fat, which will rise to the top, take out the rabbits, you have previously taken out the onions with a spoon and deposited them in a clean stewpan, with the pieces of ham; reduce the sauce to the thickness required, pass it through a tammie into the stewpan containing the onions and ham, add twenty heads of mushrooms, dress your rabbits on a dish slantingly, the heads pointing different ways, sauce over and serve. Finish the sauce with a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with half a gill of cream.
No. 613. Lapereaux à la Jardinière.
Procure two young rabbits and proceed as in the last, but at the time you add the onions also add the same quantity of pieces of carrot and turnip cut with a scoop of the same size as the onions, skim well, and when done take them out, put them as before in a clean stewpan, take up the rabbits, pass the sauce through a tammie upon them, add half a teaspoonful of sugar and a few heads of asparagus or peas, make it quite hot; sauce over the rabbits and serve.
No. 614. Lapereaux aux petits pois.
Dress the rabbits as directed for lapereaux à la tavernière, but putting only half the quantity of onions; when you take out the rabbits add a quart of fresh boiled young green peas, (you do not take out the onions as previously,) season with a little sugar and salt, dress the rabbits on a dish, and sauce over; the sauce requires to be rather thick, but yet not too thick; if too thin it would have a bad appearance, and if too thick it would be unpleasant eating.
No. 615. Lapereaux à la Villageoise.
Skin and truss two young rabbits, make a stuffing of the livers as directed in faisan à la corsaire (No. 544); stuff the rabbits and roast them, baste them well whilst roasting by throwing flour over them and moistening with butter, and when roasted have ready the following sauce: put two teaspoonfuls of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with a small piece of butter, pass them for five minutes over a slow fire, then add half a pint of melted butter (No. 71), keep it stirred over the fire, and when beginning to boil add two ounces of fresh butter, a little salt, pepper, and the juice of a lemon, shake the stewpan over the fire till the butter is melted; dress your rabbits upon a dish, sauce over and serve.
No. 616. Lapereaux à la Bourgmestre.
Truss and stuff two very fine young rabbits as above, lard the fillets and roast a nice colour; you have previously filleted three young rabbits, take off the skin of the fillets and lard them with very fine bacon, then put some thin slices of bacon and onions cut in slices in a sauté-pan, put your fillets upon them, cover with white stock, lay a sheet of buttered paper over and put them in the oven for half an hour, give your fillets a good colour, dress your rabbits in the centre, the fillets around upon a border of mashed potatoes, and serve with a sauce Soubise (No. 47) poured round.