Practical household cookery

In skinning a hare, draw the blood carefully through a fine strainer into a basin containing an ounce of melted butter, and keep it covered in a cool place till wanted. Throw away the whole of the intestines ; wipe the hare with a cloth and cut it into two-and-a-half-inch pieces ; put these in a jar or basin to marinade for one day if possible, with a bottle of claret and some aromatic herbs, such as bay-leaves, a few sprigs of parsley, thyme, and marjoram. When wanted, brown in a stewpan, with two ounces of butter, four ounces of streaky bacon cut in strips, two inches long by half an inch thick, two onions, two medium-sized carrots, one head of celery, and two leeks, all nicely shred, and a "bouquet garni." When properly browned, moisten with a gill of good vinegar, stir, and let this dry in the stewpan on the fire with the vegetables. Then moisten with the wine in which the hare has soaked ; add the pieces of hare and a quart of broth; salt and pepper to taste; boil, stir occasionally, and draw by the side of the stove to simmer very gently, with the lid on, and stir occasionally. Meanwhile fry in butter two dozen button onions to a nice golden colour all round ; glaze them in a pint of Espagnole sauce or some good veal stock till well done. When the pieces of hare are tender pass the liquor through a fine wire sieve ; put the pieces of meat and bacon into a bain-marie to keep hot; return the strained sauce into the stewpan and reduce it on a brisk fire if necessary. Draw it away from the fire; skim off the fat, and add gradually about half a pint of the sauce to the basin containing the preserved blood, taking care to stir quickly in order to mix the two well together ; return this to the stewpan, stirring the while ; after which, skim off the fat from the onions, and pour these with their glaze into the blood sauce. Add also two dozen forcemeat balls, made with sausage-meat and the yolks of two eggs well mixed together, rolled into small nuts and fried to a nice brown in boiling fat. Stir the whole over the fire till nearly boiling, pour it over the hare, and keep hot till wanted; dish up together, garnished with a dozen croutons. 590. CIVET OF HARE. Skin, preserve the blood, clean, and cut a hare in the same manner as described in No. 589. Cut half a pound of streaky bacon into one-inch dice, fry these in a stewpan to a yellow colour and put them on a plate ; fry afterwards, in the same pan, the pieces of hare to a brown colour ; sprinkle over them two tablespoonfuls of flour, and continue the frying for three minutes longer, tossing, meanwhile, the pieces of meat in the pan. Then add the fried bacon, a small carrot, a ** bouquet garni,*' an onion stuck with four cloves, salt and pepper to taste; moisten with a bottle of claret and a quart of broth ; stir till it boils, and remove to the side to simmer gently with the lid on. Meanwhile fry a dozen button onions in a stewpan, with an ounce of butter, for five minutes, add them, with a pint of champignons sliced in two, to the civet, after the latter has simmered for at least half an hour; then continue gently boiling till the hare is done. When the pieces of hare are tender skim off all the fat from the surface ; remove the bouquet, large onion, and carrots; dish up the meat and bacon ; pour half a pint of the hare sauce gradually into the basin containing the blood; stir this constantly ; pour it back with the civet sauce ; stir on the fire till it nearly boils ; pour it over the hare, garnish with fried croutons, and serve. 591. LEVERET A LA CHASSEUR.