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Civet of Hare

Skin and clean a hare, using care to save all the blood; chop off the hind legs, and cut them up into two or three pieces; also divide the body into equal parts. Cut one-half pound of bacon into small pieces about one inch in thickness, and blanch in boiling water. Remove, drain and fry in a stewpan with a little butter until quite brown; take them from the pan, throw in the pieces of hare and cook until they are quite firm. Lift them out, and mix in a little flour to thicken the gravy; then add one quart of broth, and one pint of red wine. Put the pieces of hare back again, also the bacon, and add a bunch of parsley, a few species, onions, pepper and salt to taste, and a little trimmings of mushrooms. Put the pan on the fire again and boil for an hour. Skim off the fat and place the pieces of hare and bacon (one at a time) in a clean saucepan. Skim the sauce again, put it on the fire and reduce until it is quite thick and will stick to the hare after having been passed through a fine sieve. Put a few onions fried in butter to a light brown in a saucepan with a little broth, and stew them; add a few mushrooms also fried in butter, and the blood and liver to thicken. Warm up and let it remain on the side of the fire, taking care not to boil it, or the blood will be likely to curdle, when the sauce would not be dark enough in color. Place the pieces of meat on a dish, and serve with onion broth poured over the hare. Civet of Hare, Bourgeoise Clean a hare and cut into small pieces, saving the blood. Put two ounces of butter and two tablespoonfuls of flour into a stewpan, and stir them over the fire until well mixed; then put in the pieces of hare, with a few slices of fat bacon, a bunch of sweet herbs, some mushrooms and artichoke bottoms, a few small onions fried in butter and pepper and salt, moistening with one-half pint of white wine and enough stock to cover. Stew the hare until tender, and then put the pieces on a dish. Skim the sauce, remove the bunch of herbs, add the crushed liver of the hare, also the blood, and boil again. Pour the sauce over the hare, and serve.

Civet of Hare, French Style Skin a good-sized hare, draw it, and preserve the blood should there be any, and also the liver, with the gall carefully removed. Place the blood and the liver on the same dish, and cut the hare into a dozen pieces; put these into a stone jar, seasoning with salt, pepper and nutmeg, adding also one sliced onion, one sprig of thyme, two bay leaves and half a wineglassful of white wine; stir all together well, and steep for six hours. Remove the pieces of hare, put them in a saucepan with one ounce of butter, adding twelve glazed small onions, and one ounce of salted pork cut into small pieces, and cook on a sharp fire for ten minutes; then add three tablespoonfuls of flour; stir thoroughly and moisten with one wineglassful of red wine and one pint of white broth, and stir until it boils, seasoning again with pepper and salt. Cook for one hour longer, and fifteen minutes before it is done put in the blood, also the heart and liver, both finely chopped and mixed together. Serve with croutons of fried bread for a garnish.

Fried Fillets of Hare with Quenelles Take two fillets of hare, trim, cut them slantwise across into five pieces each, moisten and beat a little, then sprinkle them over with salt and pepper. Pour a little melted butter into a flat stewpan, and put in the fillets, arranging them side by side. Prepare a little game gravy with the bones and remaining parts of the hare, adding a small quantity of thickened brown sauce. Prepare a forcemeat with the trimmings of the fillets, shape them into quenelles with a small spoon, and poach them in salted water. Place the pan with the fillets on the fire and fry briskly, turning them in order to cook both sides. Take out and drain; pour on four tablespoonfuls of sauce, put them on a dish and pour the remainder of the sauce over. Place the quenelles around the dish, and serve.

Larded Fillets of Hare, Minute Style Skin and clean a hare, cut off the fillets, lard and put them into a basin, season with ground mixed spice, pour over enough oil to moisten, and let them soak for one hour. In the meantime pour some stock in a saucepan, and reduce it nearly to a glaze; then add a slice of fat bacon and the larded fillets, cover with a piece of buttered paper, and simmer for twelve minutes, by which time the fillets should be well cooked and browned. Great care should be taken not to let the fillets burn. Put them onto a dish, add a little rich stock to the glaze, stir well, pour it over, and serve.

Fillets of Hare with Poivrade Sauce Clean two hares, cut off the fillets, remove the skin, and lard them well, using a small needle. Place them in a deep dish, and season with salt and pepper, adding one onion and one carrot cut in small pieces, and half a dozen tablespoonfuls of white wine. Let all soak together for two hours, then transfer all to a baking-pan, with some scraps of pork rind placed at the bottom of the pan, and put this in the oven to cook. Place the fillets on a dish, pour in the pan one gill of hot broth, allow it to come to the boil, strain it over the fillets and serve with poivrade sauce separately.