Common-sense papers on cookery

been sufficiently basted. In cooking hare, and, in fact, in cooking any kind of meat, the nature of that meat should be borne in mind. The specialty about hare is that it has a tendency to taste what we may call dry ; and also, it possesses very little natural fat. Consequently the cook’s great object should be to keep the hare as moist as possible, and to prevent it from getting dry. In all high-class works on cooking, entrees made from hare are invariably spoken of as larded fillets, which are finished by the addition of various sauces, &c. ; but I do not think it would be very practical to describe the process of larding fillets of hare. Larding requires practice, and one practical lesson of seeing it done would be worth a volume of bulk— indeed I might as well attempt to explain how to shoot the hare ; I fear the cook who depended upon “ reading ” for her knowledge of larding would miss her mark, as surely as the sportsman whose sole experience consisted of a similar kind would miss his. There is an old saying, “ A disease once known is half-cured;” the disease, so to speak, against which we have to contend is dryness. In roasting a hare, therefore, bear in mind the importance of basting, and also of not letting the hare be too close to the fire in the early stage of roasting. But to begin at the beginning : We will suppose the hare caught and hung up, head downwards, in his fur jacket. Now the first [illustration: Common-sense Cooker] thing to be thought of is the length of time that a hare should be kept before it is cooked. This entirely depends upon the weather; a perfectly fresh hare should never be cooked unless the whole of it is intended for hare-soup, which is rarely the case save in small private houses. Some persons prefer the hare absolutely high ; the best course is a happy medium between being too high and too fresh, and cooks should bear in mind that what often appears very high and offensive when raw, becomes perfectly right when cooked. We will not dwell upon that not very agreeable but still necessary process of skinning the hare, but will at once commence to make the stuffing, which must be tied up inside it. Ordinary veal stuffing, as it is generally called, is best for the purpose, and, as I think I have before pointed out, the most common fault is too much lemon. The following recipe will, I think, be found well adapted to improve, and not destroy or overcome, the flavour of the hare : — Take | lb. of beef suet, and chop it very finely, with 2 oz. of raw lean ham ; add a teaspoonful of chopped fresh parsley and 2 tea-spoonfuls of dried mixed savoury herbs, or 1, if these savoury herbs are fresh. These herbs are sold ready mixed, in bottles, which is the simplest method, and are composed principally of marjoram, basil, thyme, &c. As How to Cook Hare. 75 the herbs get drier, more must be used, but, as I have said, if quite fresh, 1 tea-spoonful ; if very dry, 2 ; the cook consequently must use her judgment for intermediate stages. Add to this, to continue the stuffing, \ of the rind of a lemon (this latter should be chopped very fine) ; arid a little cayenne pepper and salt, about 5 oz. of bread-crumbs, and 2 whole eggs. The whole quantity should be well pounded in a mortar.