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Hare, Jugged

A hare nicely jugged is to be preferred to one cooked in any other way. Cut the hare into pieces, not one of which is larger than an egg Fry these in a little butter till they are lightly browned, drain them, and put them at once into a wide-mouthed stone jar, and pour upon them a large glassful of port or good claret or Burgundy. The dregs of one or two bottles, if taken care of, will answer excellently for the purpose. Tie a cloth securely over the mouth of the jar, and leave the pieces of meat in the wine for about twenty minutes. Untie the jar, and pour over the meat a little good brown gravy, strongly flavoured with onion. Add an inch of stick cinnamon, six cloves, two bay leaves, the juice of half a lemon, and a tablespoonful of the forcemeat sprinkled lightly over all. Cover the jar again, and very closely put it up to its neck in a saucepan of boiling water, and keep the water boiling round it for about an hour and a half. If more convenient the jar can be placed in the oven, in a shallow dripping-tin, filled with boiling water. When this is done, it will need to be baked from two hours and a half to three hours, and care must be taken to keep up the supply of boiling water round it. Make up some good hare forcemeat (see HARE, FORCEMEAT FOR) into small balls the size of marbles, fry these in hot fat, and put them into the jar a minute or two before it is taken out of the oven. This dish will be much improved, and will go further if a pound of steak is added, cut into very thin slices, two inches long by an inch and a half broad. These slices should have a little forcemeat spread upon each one, then be rolled up, fastened with a small skewer, and fried and stewed with the hare. The gravy which is used for jugged hare will be better if thickened with arrowroot rather than with brown thickening. Serve red currant jelly with this dish. Excellent hare soup may be made of the remains of jugged hare prepared in this way (see HARE, ROAST, COLD). Probable cost, supposing the hare to cost 3s. 6d., and with one pound of beef, 6s.