Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Rabbit Soup.— Skin and empty a fine rabbit, and lay the liver aside. Cut it into joints, flour the pieces, and fry them lightly ; Put them in a stewpan with the liver and three pints of good stock made from bones, let them simmer as gently as possible for an hour, or until the rabbit is done enough, carefully removing the scum as it rises. Take out the rabbit, cut oif the best of the meat, lay it in a covered dish, and put it in a cool place. Bruise the bones, and put them back into the stock, and with them two onions, a shallot, a carrot, a small bunch of parsley, a pinch of thyme, three or four outer sticks of celery, and a little salt and cayenne. Simmer the broth two hours longer. Take out the liver, rub it till smooth with the back of a wooden spoon, moisten with a little of the liquor, and return it to the soup. Just before sending to table add half a glassful of port and a tea-spoonful of mushroom ketchup. Cut the pieces of meat into dice, let them get quite hot without boiling, and serve immediately. Time, three hours. Probable cost, 10d. per pint. Sufficient for five or six persons. Rabbit Soup (M. Tide's recipe).— Take the fillets of four rabbits to make an entree, and with the legs and shoulders make the soup as follows: — Put them into warm water to take out the blood ; when quite clean put them into a stewpan with a bundle of parsley and a ladleful of good broth ; put all this to simmer over a slow fire ; when done through, moisten with some good broth. Season to taste, and let it boil for an hour only : if you let it boil too long the soup will be brown. Next take the meat out of the broth, drain it, and let it cool. then pick all the meat from the bones, and put it into the mortar, with four yolks of eggs boiled hard, and the crumb of a roll soaked in a little broth ; pound all this very fine ; rub it through a tammy, moisten with the broth, and when done add a pint of double cream that has boiled; mix all together, and serve. Take particular notice that this soup must be very white ; sometimes you give it with vermicelli, sometimes with pearl barley, sometimes with rice : on all occasions, each of these articles must bo done separately in broth, and put into the soup afterwards. If you have abundance of rabbits, you may also use the fillets, as the soup will then be whiter and better. Rabbit Soup, Superior. — Skin and empty two rabbits, and let them lie in lukewarm water for an hour. Drain them, and put them into a stewpan with two quarts of white stock made from veal bones. Let them simmer gently until they are quite tender. Lift them out, and pick all the best meat from the bones. Bruise the latter, and put them back into the broth with two carrots, two onions, three or four sticks of celery, a bunch of parsley, a sprig of thyme, a bay-leaf, a blade of mace, a dozen peppercorns, and a little salt. Let all simmer gently for three hours. At the end of that time, strain the liquor, and let it stand to settle, so that it maybe poured off free from sediment. Meantime mince the meat, and pound it till it is perfectly smooth, cover it, and put it aside. When the broth is cold, pour off the clear liquor free from sediment, and boil it.