Practical household cookery

Saw off the shank-bone; remove and pare away the sinews and dark skin of a well-seasoned haunch of venison ; wrap it in a buttered sheet of paper and roast it for about an hour before a good fire, taking care to baste it twice with a little butter. A quarter of an hour before the meat is ready remove the paper ; sprinkle some salt and pepper over it ; continue the roasting, and baste it once more. Then take the haunch away from the fire ; dish it up on a veiy hot dish, and serve with a sauce-boat of Venison sauce (Na 196) and a dish of plain boiled French beans apart. Note, — Haunch of venison is generally served on a hotwater dish. 687. HAUNCH OF ROEBUCK LARDED AND ROASTED. Trim and saw off the bone below the knuckle, of a haunch of venison; make a circular incision about six inches in diameter on the top of the leg with a pointed knife, and remove the skin, so as to leave the surface perfectly smooth and bare, in order to lard it rather thickly. Marinade it for two days in a liquor made as follows : — Fry in a stewpan w^ith an ounce of butter for five minutes a shred carrot and two onions, a few sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, two shalots, and two blades of mace; add a quart of boiling water, a pint of good vinegar, two tableepoonfuls of salt, and half a tablespoonful of pepper. Boil and simmer very gently for about half an hour, and pour the contents into an earthenware pan or basin large enough to hold the haunch of roebuck. After having marinaded this two days, take the joint out of the liquor three hours before serving, wipe it well, and butter it with a brush dipped in melted butter; then cover the leg with a soft paste made of flour and boiling water, well beaten and mixed, so as not to leave any clotting, taking care, also, that the paste should be hot when wrapping the leg with it, in order that its layer should not be more than the sixteenth of an inch thick; after which, cover this with two well-buttered sheets of paper, and roast before a moderate fire for two hours and a half or more, according to the size of the leg; then remove the paper and paste from the meat, dish it up on a hot- water dish, and serve with a sauce made as follows : — Boil and strain through a cloth the liquor in which the haunch was marinaded ; brown nicely in a stewpan one ounce of flour with one of butter ; moisten it with the marinade, stirring the while, and reduce it by a quarter of its quantity over a brisk fire ; add a gill of port wine, stir again over the fire, and serve. Note, — A haunch of venison can remain in the marinade in a cool place for a week or more without fear of being spoilt. It can also be roasted without a coat of paste round it, and then one hour will be sufficient to cook it. 688. HASHED VENISON. The remains of the leg or haunch should be cut in thin slices not more than two and a half inches square. Put about a pint of Venison sauce (No. 196) in a stewpan on the Are ; when it boils add the slices of meat to it ; draw the stewpan by the side of the fire and cover it. Let the meat warm up gradually, by tossing the pan frequently, without, however, letting the contents boU. When properly warmed dish up in a large hot dish, with the sauce poured over, and serve with crotitons fried in butter. Eeharks ok Hare. The flesh of this puny quadruped is always savoury, but varies in taste according to the nature of herbs it feeds on ; those living on high and mountainous ground are superior in flavour and delicacy to those living on marshy land. These can be recognised by the colour of the fur ; the darker the back and the whiter the under part the better the hare. Hares should only be eaten in winter. 689. JUGGED HARE.