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Rabbit, Turban Of

Skin, empty, and wash two or three plump young rabbits. Pass a sharp knife down each side of the backbone, put the point underneath and raise the flesh in neat fillets. Cut off the legs, take out the bones, and divide the flesh in halves lengthwise. Lard all these fillets thickly and evenly with strips of fat bacon. Pick the rest of the meat from the bones, and make it into forcemeat by mincing it finely and mixing with it a third of its weight in fat and lean bacon, a few bread-crumbs, and a little pepper and salt. Bind the mixture together with the yolks of one or two eggs. Make a case of pastry, such as is used for raised pies. To do this, put a pound of flour into a bowl, make a hollow in the centre, and stir into this half a pint of boiling water in which has been dissolved four ounces of lard and a pinch of salt. Work this first with a spoon, and afterwards with the hand, to a smooth stiff paste. Mould it into a circular case, from two to three inches high, brush it over with yolk of egg, fill it with flour, and bake in a well-heated oven till it is firmly set. Let it cool, turn out the flour, and spread the forcemeat all over the inside. Fill the vacant space evenly and compactly with the meat from the legs. Place the fillets from the back over the top to show the larding, and put a slice of ham between each piece to give the dish a pretty appearance. Wrap the whole meat and case together in a thick fold of oiled paper, and bake in a moderate oven. Remove the paper. Hold a salamander or red-hot shovel over the top of the turban for three or four minutes to crisp the lardoons, make a little hole in the centre and pour into this a little gravy, place the case on a neatly-folded napkin, garnish the dish with parsley, etc., and serve very hot. If liked, a few mushrooms may be stewed in gravy, and laid upon and around the turban. The gravy may be made as follows. Put the bones of the rabbits into a stewpan with as much stock or water as will cover them, and add an onion stuck with two cloves, three or four outer sticks of celery, a dozen peppercorns, and a little salt. Let all simmer gently together till the gravy is strong and pleasantly flavoured. Strain it, and put it back into the saucepan, stir into it a slice of butter rolled in flour, and boil it till it is smooth and thick. Add a quarter of a pint of cream. A spoonful or two of this sauce may be poured into the turban, and the rest sent to table in a tureen. Time to bake, about an hour. Sufficient for a luncheon or supper dish. Probable cost of rabbits, 7d. to 9d. per pound.