hares and rabbits: at the market / to prepare
(The Housekeeper's Encyclopedia of Useful Information for the Housekeeper, by E. F. Haskell, 1861)
Hares and Rabbits at the Market:
To Prepare Hares and Rabbits:
Hares and Rabbits at the Market:
Examine the ears, if pointed and tender they are young, if the reverse old. A young hare may also be known by a narrow cleft in its lip. To distinguish one year old hare, examine the leg, and a small bone will be found near the foot.
To Prepare Hares and Rabbits:
Remove the entrails as soon as dead, and the skin just before cooking. Epicures keep them until the fibre begins to soften before dressing. The inside of the body must be kept dry, and it is well to dust it with pepper and salt. To skin them proceed in the following manner: Cut off the legs at the first joint, raise the skin on the back, draw it over the hind legs, and strip it from the tail, then slip it over the fore legs, and cut it away from the head and neck, leaving the ears on the head as perfect as possible. Wash them well, dry with a towel inside and out, and proceed to truss them. Cut the sinews of the hind legs, turn them towards the head, and fasten them to the sides of the hard or rabbit; then turn the fore legs to meet the hind legs, and fasten both with skewers. The head is crowded a little back, and fastened in place with skewers. The body is filled with dressing, the skin sewed up, and the whole bound firmly in shape with a string; the skewers and string must be removed after it is on the platter before sending the dish to the table.
Photo by Gareth Rasberry
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