Hare, to Roast

Ingredients. —Hare, forcemeat, a little milk, and butter. To be eaten in perfection, the hare must hang for some time. After it is skinned wash it well, and soak it for an hour in warm water to draw out the blood. Make a forcemeat, wipe the hare dry, fill the belly with it, and sew it up. Bring the hind and fore legs close to the body towards the head, run a skewer through each, fix the head between the shoulders by means of another skewer, and be careful to leave the ears on. Put a string round the body from skewer to skewer and tie it above the back. Mode. —The hare should be kept at a distance from the fire when it is first laid down. Baste it well with milk for a short time, and afterwards with butter; and particular attention must be paid to the basting, so as to preserve the meat on the back juicy and nutritive. When it is almost roasted enough, flour the hare, and baste well with butter. When nicely frothed dish it, remove the skewers, and send it to table with a little gravy in the dish, and a tureen of the same. Red-currant jelly must be served with it. If the liver is good it may be parboiled, minced, and mixed with the stuffing; but it should not be used unle quite fresh. Time. A middling-sized hare an hour and a quarter; a large hare one and a half to two hours. (Mrs Beeton.)