Home › The Principles of Cookery › Rabbit, Roast, Plain

Rabbit, Roast, Plain

Skin, empty, and wash a plump young rabbit. Truss it firmly, the fore-legs backwards, the back-legs forwards, and the head fixed in an up-right position by means of a string passing across the shoulders. Tie one or two rashers of fat bacon over the back, put the rabbit down to a clear fire, and baste it well until done enough. Put it on a hot dish, remove the skewers, garnish with slices of fried bacon, and send to table with a sauce prepared as follows. Cut an ounce of lean ham or bacon into dice. Put these into a stewpan with a small slice of fresh butter, a table-spoonful of chopped carrot, a tea-spoonful of chopped onion, an inch or two of celery, a small sprig of thyme, a bay-leaf, half a tea-spoonful of peppercorns, and a pinch of powdered mace. Stir these ingredients with a wooden spoon over a gentle fire until they are well browned. Pour over them a tea-spoonful of ketchup, a table-spoonful of vinegar, and half a tea-spoonful of essence of anchovy. Simmer all gently together for ten minutes, add a quarter of a pint of stock, and a glass of sherry, and simmer again until the sauce is pleasantly flavoured. Add a dessert-spoonful of brown thickening, or failing this a table-spoonful of flour mixed smoothly with a little cold water, and a spoonful of sugar browning. Boil a few minutes longer, and serve very hot. Time to roast the rabbit, three-quarters of an hour to one hour; less if the rabbit be small. Probable cost of rabbit, 7d. to 9d. per pound. Sufficient for four or five persons.