=Rabbit Cookery.=--In selecting a rabbit the principal thing is to find
out the age and also how long hung. A rabbit should be ripe but not
gamy. Unless in cold storage, they should not be kept for more than two
or three days. The age of a rabbit may be determined by testing the paw.
If there is a little nut there and the paw may be broken readily between
the thumb and finger the rabbit is young. If the nut has disappeared and
the paw resists pressure, the rabbit is too venerable for anything but a
stew. In dressing a rabbit there is a little secret that enables the
cook to dispose of the gamy odor that so many object to. If the thin,
muscular membrane that extends from the flank over the intestines is
carefully removed before cooking, the strong flavor will go with it,
leaving the flesh delightfully sweet. The gall bladder in the liver must
also be removed with extreme care, so as not to break it.
=Barbecued Rabbit.=--Open plump young rabbits all the way down the under
side, wash and clean thoroughly. Lay out flat in a pan of salt and water
for an hour, with a weighted plate or saucer on top to hold under the
water. Wipe dry and gash across the backbone in eight or ten places and
having brushed it over with olive oil or melted butter, bag and bake in
a hot oven forty-five minutes.
Lay on a hot dish, season with salt, pepper and plenty of melted butter,
then set in the oven for the butter to soak in. Heat in a small cup two
tablespoonfuls vinegar with one of made mustard and brush over the
rabbit while boiling hot. Garnish with parsley and watercress and serve
alone or with a currant jelly sauce.
=Roast Rabbit.=--Stuff, truss, dredge with flour and rub all over with
vegetable oil, soft butter or good drippings. Season lightly with salt
and paprika or black pepper, place in wood cookery dish in well-greased
bag, seal and place in hot oven. Allow fifty minutes, reducing the heat
at the end of the first twenty minutes.
=Roast Rabbit No. 2.=--For an older rabbit, put into a stew kettle whole
without dividing the pieces from the body. Pour in one quart of water,
add a little pinch of soda when it starts to boil, and stew gently until
tender. When tender take from the broth. Meantime mix together three
large cupfuls dried bread crumbs, butter the size of a walnut and salt,
pepper and sage to taste. Pour enough of the broth over this to mix
rather soft. Stuff the rabbit, spread with butter, sprinkle with salt
and pepper, lay in a buttered bag and bake to a rich brown in a moderate
oven. It will not take more than a few moments. Make a good brown gravy,
adding onion browned in butter if desired. A little onion may also be
added to the dressing, according to preference.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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