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Rabbit, Roast
Take a plump young rabbit; skin, empty, and wash it; fill the inside with good veal forcemeat, sew it up securely, and truss firmly with the forelegs back, the hind legs forward, and the head fastened in an upright position with a skewer. The flavour of the rabbit will be improved if the inside is lined with fat bacon before the forcemeat is put in, but this process may be omitted. Fasten a slice of fat bacon over the back of the rabbit, put it down to a clear fire, and baste liberally. When it is partially roasted, flour well, and baste again. When done enough, take it up, remove the skewers, and serve on a hot dish with a little gravy poured over it, and the rest in a tureen. Serve fried bacon on a separate dish.
A spit-roast written for an open fire, which is the source of nearly every difficulty in adapting it. Rabbit is extremely lean, so the barding and constant basting are not decoration but the whole method.
- The hinge: fat and moistureFarmed rabbit has almost no intramuscular fat and dries out very readily. The bacon over the back and the liberal basting are what keep it edible; if you skip them the loin goes to string. Butter under the bacon does no harm.
- Fire to oven"Down to a clear fire" means suspended or spitted before glowing coals with a dripping pan beneath. The recipe gives no oven setting; a moderate oven of around 375F is a reasonable modern substitute, on a rack over a tray so the drippings can be used for the gravy.
- Size and timingA "plump young rabbit" is roughly 2.5 to 3 lb dressed. Stuffed, it needs about an hour to an hour and a quarter; take it out when the thickest part of the thigh reads 160F. Wild rabbit of unknown age is better braised than roasted.
- FlouringDredging with flour partway through, then basting again, builds a browned crust as the fat sets in the flour. Do it once the surface has already coloured, not at the start, or the flour scorches.
- Veal forcemeatThe usual veal forcemeat of the period is minced veal or veal suet with breadcrumbs, herbs, lemon peel and egg to bind. Any breadcrumb-and-herb stuffing with a little fat pork or sausagemeat serves the same purpose. Stuffing inside the cavity will lag behind the meat, so check it reaches 165F.
- The headTrussing the head upright with a skewer was a presentation convention of the period. Rabbit sold today comes headless, and the instruction simply drops away; truss the legs close to the body so the thin parts do not overcook.
- GravyNo gravy recipe is given here. Deglaze the roasting tray with a little veal or chicken stock, skim the fat, and thicken lightly if wanted.
- YieldOne rabbit with forcemeat serves three, four at a stretch with the fried bacon and vegetables alongside.
Rabbit was cheap, plentiful and unglamorous in late Victorian Britain, sold by hawkers and warreners in quantity, which is why a book of Cassell's ambition treats it as an everyday joint rather than game. The distinction that mattered to the period cook was tame against wild: hutch-raised rabbits were pale, fat and tender enough to roast, while wild ones were darker and firmer and generally went into stews, pies or the jugged pot. Roasting before a clear fire with a bard of fat bacon is the same treatment given to any lean bird, and the fried bacon served separately acknowledges that the meat needs help from outside. Rabbit consumption in Britain fell sharply after the middle of the twentieth century, so a dish that once needed no explanation now reads as unfamiliar.