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Belgian Hare, Stuffed and Roasted
First singe and wipe the hare carefully. Then put into it a chestnut stuffing which has been prepared beforehand. Sew it up and put into the roasting-pan. Add to it 1 teaspoonful of pepper and about 1/2 cupful of stock. Put it into a quick oven and baste every ten minutes. Time for baking, one hour and a half. The hare should frequently be turned while in the oven. Currant or guava jelly is nice to serve with this dish. The vegetables may be peas or asparagus tips.
A plain roast that assumes you already have a chestnut stuffing made and a butcher who sells you the animal whole. The main work is keeping very lean meat from drying out in a hot oven.
- Quick ovenRead this as roughly 400-425F. At that heat a dressed hare or rabbit of 3-4 lb is likely to be done well inside the stated hour and a half; start checking at 50-60 minutes.
- Doneness, not clock timeTake the thigh to about 160F and the centre of the chestnut stuffing to 165F. Because the stuffing is packed into the cavity, the stuffing is the slower of the two and is what decides when the roast comes out.
- Belgian Hare is a rabbitDespite the name it is a domestic rabbit breed, not wild hare. Farmed rabbit is milder and paler than hare; if you substitute true wild hare the meat is darker, stronger and tougher, and braising suits it better than a hot dry roast.
- SingeingOnly relevant to a bird or animal you have plucked or skinned yourself, to burn off remaining hair. A butchered rabbit needs nothing but a wipe and a check for stray shot or bone splinters.
- Fat is missingRabbit carries almost no fat, and half a cup of stock in a hot pan will be gone within twenty minutes. Bard the back and legs with bacon or salt pork, or brush with butter, and top up the pan liquid so there is always something to baste with.
- A teaspoon of pepperThat is a heavy hand by current taste and was likely meant for the pan juices as much as the meat. Half that, plus salt, which the recipe never mentions at all.
- Chestnut stuffingNot given here; look for it elsewhere in the book. In practice: cooked peeled chestnuts roughly broken, softened onion and celery, breadcrumbs, butter, thyme and enough stock to bind. Stuff loosely so heat can reach the middle.
- Yield and accompanimentsOne rabbit of this size serves three to four. The currant or guava jelly is doing the job of a sweet-sharp counterweight to lean roast meat, the same role cranberry plays with turkey.