The encyclopaedia of practical cookery

Braised Fillets of Hare a la Soyer. — Cut some fillets of Hare into halves, beat them lightly, trim to a neat shape, lard them, and put into a braising-pan lined with slices of fat bacon ; add a few sliced onions, a bunch of parsley, a small quantity of mace, and two or three cloves, and moisten with a little broth ; then put the lid on the pan, with some live ashes on the top, and set it over a slow fire. Peel about 1 lb. of button-onions. Put in a saucepan 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of moist sugar, and stir about over the fire till it browns slightly ; then put in 1 oz. of butter and the onions, and toss them about over a slow fire till browned. Pour in 1 pint of brown sauce and barely -j- pint of broth, and simmer by the side of the fire till the onions are tender ; then take them out, and boil the sauce till reduced to a thick cream. Cut some bacon into small squares, and cook them. Strain the reduced sauce through a fine hair sieve, return it to the saucepan, add the onions and bacon, and keep it hot. The sauce should not boil again. When cooked, glaze, brown the fillets under a salamander, arrange them in circular order on a hot dish, pour the sauce in the centre, and serve. Broiled Hare. — Rub the shoulders and legs of a Hare with butter, lay them in a deep dish with one large sliced onion, a small quantity of chopped thyme and parsley, a bay-leaf, a moderate quantity of salt and pepper, 1 breakfast-cupful of vinegar, and half that quantity of water. Cover the Hare with another dish, and let it macerate for two days. Drain the pieces of Hare, rub again with butter, lay them on a gridiron, and broil over a clear fire, turning when done on one side. When cooked, lay the pieces on a hot dish covered with an ornamental dish-paper, garnish with fried parsley (see Fig. 926), and serve. Civet of Hare. — Skin and clean a Hare, taking care to keep all the blood ; chop off the hind-legs, and cut them up into two or three pieces ; divide the body also into equal parts. Cut ½ lb. of bacon into small pieces about 1 in. in thickness, and blanch in boiling water. Take them out, drain, and fry For details respecting Culinary Processes, Utensils, Sauces, etc., referred, to, see under their special heads. Hares — continued. in a stewpan witli a little butter until quite brown ; remove them from the pan, put in the pieces of Hare, and cook until they are quite firm. Lift them out, and mix in a little flour to thicken the gravy ; then add 1 qt. of broth and 1 pint of red wine. Place the pieces of Hare back again, also the bacon, and add a bunch of parsley, a few onions, spices, pepper and salt to taste, and a little trimmings of mushrooms. Place the pan on the fire again, and boil for an hour. Skim off the fat, and put the pieces of Hare and bacon (one at a time) into a clean saucepan. Skim again, place it on the fire, and reduce until it is quite thick and will adhere to the Hare after having been passed through a fine sieve. Put a few onions fried in butter to a light brown in a saucepan with a little broth, and stew them ; add a few mushrooms also fried in butter, and the blood and liver to thicken. Warm up, and let it remain on the side of the fire, taking care not to boil it, or the blood would be likely to curdle, when the sauce would not be of the required dark colour.