Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Babbit, Fricasseed, White (another and a superior way). — Prepare a rabbit as in the last recipe. Dissolve two ounces of butter in a stewpan, sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the pieces of rabbit, put them into the saucepan, and with them a dozen button onions and half a pint of blanched mushrooms. Let all simmer gently in the butter for three or four minutes, shaking the saucepan frequently, in order to keep the pieces of rabbit from acquiring any colour. Dredge two ounces of flour over them, pour on them half a pint of stock or water, and add a glassful of sherry or madeira, if liked. Let the fricassee boil, then draw it to the side of the fire, and let it simmer gently for half an hour, or longer if the rabbit is large. Carefully remove the scum and the fat as they rise to the surface. Season the gravy with a little salt and pepper, if required, and add a little grated nutmeg, a pinch of cayenne, and a lump of sugar the size of a marble. Beat the yolks of two eggs with a quarter of a pint of cream, take the fricassee from the fire for one minute, then stir a small portion of the gravy into the cream, and afterwards mix it with the rest. Stir over the fire till it is quite hot, but on no account allow it to boil after the eggs are added. At the last moment stir in a table-spoonful of lemon-juice. Arrange the pieces of rabbit on a hot dish, place the mushrooms and onions round them, and pour the sauce over all. Garnish with cut lemon. Serve very hot. Time, one hour or more. Probable cost, 4s. Sufficient for four or five persons. BAB (687) RAB Rabbit, Pried. — Skin, empty, wash, and soak a young rabbit, and cut it into neat pieces the size of an egg. Flour these well, and fry in plenty of boiling dripping till they are brightly browned, moving them about constantly that they may be equally dressed. Lay a slice of butter on a hot dish, and stir into this a small shallot finely minced, and a table-spoonful of good sauce, with a tea-spoonful of lemon-juice, if this is liked. Arrange the pieces of rabbit neatly on a dish, and serve very hot. Fried bacon is a suitable accompaniment to this dish. If there is any suspicion that the rabbit is stale, it should be thrown into boiling water, and kept boiling quickly for five or six minutes, then drained, cooled, and cut up as above. Time to fry, ten to fifteen minutes. Probable cost, rabbit, 7d. to 9d. per pound. Sufficient for three or four persons. Rabbit, Fried (another way).— Prepare the rabbit as in the preceding recipe. Put three table- spoonfuls of Lucca oil into a saucepan with an ounce of butter, and a little pepper, salt, and powdered spice. Let the butter melt, and put in the pieces of rabbit, place the saucepan upon a brisk fire, and stir its contents frequently till they are sufficiently dressed. Lift them out, stir an ounce of flour into the hot fat, and beat out any lumps that there may be with the back of a wooden spoon. Moisten this with half a pint of nicely-flavoured stock and a glassful of sherry, let it boil for five minutes, and strain it. Put it back into the saucepan with the rabbit, a shallot finely minced, and a table-spoonful of chopped parsley. When the sauce is on the point of boiling, lift out the pieces of rabbit, arrange them neatly on a dish, pour the sauce over them, and serve very hot.