The Book of Household Management Part 116

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOILED RABBIT.]

977. INGREDIENTS.--Rabbit; water.

_Mode_.--For boiling, choose rabbits with smooth and sharp claws, as that denotes they are young: should these be blunt and rugged, the ears dry and tough, the animal is old. After emptying and skinning it, wash it well in cold water, and let it soak for about 1/4 hour in warm water, to draw out the blood. Bring the head round to the side, and fasten it there by means of a skewer run through that and the body. Put the rabbit into sufficient hot water to cover it, let it boil very gently until tender, which will be in from 1/2 to 3/4 hour, according to its size and age. Dish it, and smother it either with onion, mushroom, or liver sauce, or parsley-and-b.u.t.ter; the former is, however, generally preferred to any of the last-named sauces. When liver-sauce is preferred, the liver should be boiled for a few minutes, and minced very finely, or rubbed through a sieve before it is added to the sauce.

_Time_.--A very young rabbit, 1/2 hour; a large one, 3/4 hour; an old one, 1 hour or longer.

_Average cost_, from 1s. to 1s. 6d. each.

_Sufficient_ for 4 persons.

_Seasonable_ from September to February.

THE RABBIT.--Though this animal is an inhabitant of most temperate climates, it does not reach so far north as the hare.

The wild rabbit is a native of Great Britain, and is found in large numbers in the sandy districts of Norfolk and Cambridges.h.i.+re. Its flesh is, by some, considered to have a higher flavour than that of the tame rabbit, although it is neither so white nor so delicate. The animal, however, becomes larger and fatter in the tame than in the wild state; but it is not desirable to have it so fat as it can be made.

CURRIED RABBIT.

978. INGREDIENTS.--1 rabbit, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 3 onions, 1 pint of stock No. 104, 1 tablespoonful of curry powder, 1 tablespoonful of flour, 1 teaspoonful of mushroom powder, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/2 lb. of rice.

_Mode_.--Empty, skin, and wash the rabbit thoroughly, and cut it neatly into joints. Put it into a stewpan with the b.u.t.ter and sliced onions, and let them acquire a nice brown colour, but do not allow them to blacken. Pour in the stock, which should be boiling; mix the curry powder and flour smoothly with a little water, add it to the stock, with the mushroom powder, and simmer gently for rather more than 1/2 hour; squeeze in the lemon-juice, and serve in the centre of a dish, with an edging of boiled rice all round. Where economy is studied, water may be subst.i.tuted for the stock; in this case, the meat and onions must be very nicely browned. A little sour apple and rasped cocoa-nut stewed with the curry will be found a great improvement.

_Time_.--Altogether 3/4 hour.

_Average cost_, from 1s. to 1s. 6d. each.

_Sufficient_ for 4 persons.

_Seasonable_ in winter.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WILD RABBITS.]

THE COMMON OR WILD RABBIT.--Warrens, or inclosures, are frequently made in favourable localities, and some of them are so large as to comprise 2,000 acres. The common wild rabbit is of a grey colour, and is esteemed the best for the purposes of food. Its skin is valuable as an article of commerce, being used for the making of hats. Another variety of the rabbit, however, called the "silver-grey," has been lately introduced to this country, and is still more valuable. Its colour is a black ground, thickly interspersed with grey hairs; and its powers as a destroyer and consumer of vegetable food are well known to be enormous, especially by those who have gardens in the vicinity of a rabbit-warren.

FRIED RABBIT.

979. INGREDIENTS.--1 rabbit, flour, dripping, 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 1 teaspoonful of minced shalot, 2 tablespoonfuls of mushroom ketchup.

_Mode_.--Cut the rabbit into neat joints, and flour them well; make the dripping boiling in a fryingpan, put in the rabbit, and fry it a nice brown. Have ready a very hot dish, put in the b.u.t.ter, shalot, and ketchup; arrange the rabbit pyramidically on this, and serve as quickly as possible.

_Time_.--10 minutes. _Average cost_, from 1s. to 1s. 6d. each.

_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons.

_Seasonable_ from September to February.

_Note_.--The rabbit may be brushed over with egg, and sprinkled with bread crumbs, and fried as above. When cooked in this manner, make a gravy in the pan by recipe No. 866, and pour it round, but not over, the pieces of rabbit.

VARIETIES IN RABBITS.--Almost everybody knows that a rabbit is a furry animal, that lives on plants, and burrows in the ground; that it has its varieties as well as other animals, and that it is frequently an especial favourite with boys. Among its varieties, the short-legged, with width and substance of loin, is the most hardy, and fattens the most expeditiously. It has, besides, the soundest liver, rabbits generally being subject to defects of that part. It is also the smallest variety. There is a very large species of the hare-colour, having much bone, length and depth of carcase, large and long ears, with full eyes, resembling those of the hare: it might readily be taken for a hybrid or mule, but for the objection to its breeding. Its flesh is high-coloured, substantial, and more savoury than that of the common rabbit; and, cooked like the hare, it makes a good dish. The large white, and yellow and white species, have whiter and more delicate flesh, and, cooked in the same way, will rival the turkey. Rabbits are divided into four kinds, distinguished as warreners, parkers, hedgehogs, and sweethearts. The warrener, as his name implies, is a member of a subterranean community, and is less effeminate than his kindred who dwell _upon_ the earth and have "the world at their will," and his fur is the most esteemed. After him, comes the parker, whose favourite resort is a gentleman's pleasure-ground, where he usually breeds in great numbers, and from which he frequently drives away the hares. The hedgehog is a sort of vagabond rabbit, that, tinker like, roams about the country, and would have a much better coat on his back if he was more settled in his habits, and remained more at home. The sweetheart is a tame rabbit, with its fur so sleek, soft, and silky, that it is also used to some extent in the important branch of hat-making.

RABBIT A LA MINUTE.

980. INGREDIENTS.--1 rabbit, 1/4 lb. of b.u.t.ter, salt and pepper to taste, 2 blades of pounded mace, 3 dried mushrooms, 2 tablespoonfuls of minced parsley, 2 teaspoonfuls of flour, 2 gla.s.ses of sherry, 1 pint of water.

_Mode_.--Empty, skin, and wash the rabbit thoroughly, and cut it into joints. Put the b.u.t.ter into a stewpan with the pieces of rabbit; add salt, pepper, and pounded mace, and let it cook until three parts done; then put in the remaining ingredients, and boil for about 10 minutes: it will then be ready to serve. Fowls or hare may be dressed in the same manner.

_Time_.--Altogether, 35 minutes. _Average cost_, from 1s. to 1s. 6d.

each.

_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons.

_Seasonable_ from September to February.

RABBIT PIE.

981. INGREDIENTS.--1 rabbit, a few slices of ham, salt and white pepper to taste, 2 blades of pounded mace, 1/2 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, a few forcemeat b.a.l.l.s, 3 hard-boiled eggs, 1/2 pint of gravy, puff crust.

_Mode_.--Cut up the rabbit (which should be young), remove the breastbone, and bone the legs. Put the rabbit, slices of ham, forcemeat b.a.l.l.s, and hard eggs, by turns, in layers, and season each layer with pepper, salt, pounded mace, and grated nutmeg. Pour in about 1/2 pint of water, cover with crust, and bake in a well-heated oven for about 1-1/2 hour. Should the crust acquire too much colour, place a piece of paper over it to prevent its burning. When done, pour in at the top, by means of the hole in the middle of the crust, a little good gravy, which may be made of the breast- and leg-bones of the rabbit and 2 or 3 shank-bones, flavoured with onion, herbs, and spices.

_Time_.--1-1/2 hour. _Average cost_, from 1s. to 1s. 6d. each.

_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

_Seasonable_ from September to February.

Note.--The liver of the rabbit may be boiled, minced, and mixed with the forcemeat b.a.l.l.s, when the flavour is liked.

FECUNDITY OF THE RABBIT.--The fruitfulness of this animal has been the subject of wonder to all naturalists. It breeds seven times in the year, and generally begets seven or eight young ones at a time. If we suppose this to happen regularly for a period of four years, the progeny that would spring from a single pair would amount to more than a million. As the rabbit, however, has many enemies, it can never be permitted to increase in numbers to such an extent as to prove injurious to mankind; for it not only furnishes man with an article of food, but is, by carnivorous animals of every description, mercilessly sacrificed. Notwithstanding this, however, in the time of the Roman power, they once infested the Balearic islands to such an extent, that the inhabitants were obliged to implore the a.s.sistance of a military force from Augustus to exterminate them.

RAGOUT OF RABBIT OR HARE.

982. INGREDIENTS.--1 rabbit, 3 teaspoonfuls of flour, 3 sliced onions, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, a few thin slices of bacon, pepper and salt to taste, 2 slices of lemon, 1 bay-leaf, 1 gla.s.s of port wine.

_Mode_.--Slice the onions, and put them into a stewpan with the flour and b.u.t.ter; place the pan near the fire, stir well as the b.u.t.ter melts, till the onions become a rich brown colour, and add, by degrees, a little water or gravy till the mixture is of the consistency of cream.

Cut some thin slices of bacon; lay in these with the rabbit, cut into neat joints; add a seasoning of pepper and salt, the lemon and bay-leaf, and let the whole simmer until tender. Pour in the port wine, give one boil, and serve.

_Time_.--About 1/2 hour to simmer the rabbit.

_Average cost_, from 1s. to 1s. 6d. each. _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons.

_Seasonable_ from September to February.

THE RABBIT-HOUSE.--Rabbit-keeping is generally practised by a few individuals in almost every town, and by a few in almost every part of the country. Forty years ago, there were in the metropolis one or two considerable feeders, who, according to report, kept from 1,600 to 2,000 breeding does. These large establishments, however, have ceased to exist, and London receives the supply of tame as well as wild rabbits chiefly from the country. Where they are kept, however, the rabbit-house should be placed upon a dry foundation, and be well ventilated.

Exposure to rain, whether externally or internally, is fatal to rabbits, which, like sheep, are liable to the rot, springing from the same causes. Thorough ventilation and good air are indispensable where many rabbits are kept, or they will neither prosper nor remain healthy for any length of time. A thorough draught or pa.s.sage for the air is, therefore, absolutely necessary, and should be so contrived as to be checked in cold or wet weather by the closing or shutting of opposite doors or windows.

ROAST OR BAKED RABBIT.

983. INGREDIENTS.--1 rabbit, forcemeat No. 417, b.u.t.tered paper, sausage-meat.