Hang the animal up by its hind legs on two nails, rip the rabbit from tail to throat, lengthwise. Take out the insides, cut the bile carefully from the liver, retain the latter and the heart and lungs, and throw away the rest of the intestines. Now separate the fur skin from the inner skin, make a cut through the fur around each ankle, pull the legs through, cut off the ears and pull the whole fur skin down from the hind legs over the head.
No. 15—RABBIT ROAST.
Quantity for 4 Persons.
- 1 rabbit
- ⅛ lb. bacon for larding
- Salt
- 1 pinch of pepper
- ½ pt. sour or sweet cream
- 1 tsp. of lemon juice
- 1½ tbsps. of flour
- 1 cup of water
- Scant ½ lb. of butter
Preparation: The dressed rabbit is washed and dried, head, throat and the skin from the belly and its fore paws are cut off and the joints of its hind paws are chopped. The back and legs are larded with thin slices of bacon. The butter is heated and the larded hare is placed into it to roast for 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and baste frequently with cream. If it is an old hare, it will require 1¼ hours for roasting. Ten minutes before the hare is done, add the lemon juice and the flour and stew 5 minutes, then pour in the water, leave the hare in this gravy 5 minutes longer, then serve it with the strained gravy.
No. 16—STEWED RABBIT.
Quantity for 4 Persons.
- 1 rabbit
- ¼ lb. of butter
- ⅛ lb. of bacon
- 2 cloves
- 2 cups of rye bread crumbs
- ½ bottle of red wine
- Salt, pepper
Preparation: The rabbit is prepared as described in [No. 15], well larded, cut into pieces large enough for each person. The forelegs may be larded too. These pieces are fried in ¼ lb. of butter until they are light brown. Now pour the drippings into a deep roasting pot, add the bacon slices and make a layer of hare meat, season with salt, pepper, cloves and put on 1 cup of rye bread crumbs. Over this pour the red wine. After making another layer of meat and bread crumbs, cover the pot well and stew slowly 2 to 2½ hours. Serve the meat on a hot platter, strain the gravy, flavor and pour it over the meat. If the pot cannot be closed tightly, paste a strip of paper or cloth around the rim and cover.
Remarks: Potato dumplings are good with this meat.