240 THE RABBIT 



after boiling should be drained and dried before the 

 fire in a sieve reversed. 



As simple game soup, carve the rabbits carefully 

 and fry with bacon, onions, carrots, &c. Drain and 

 stew for an hour in beef stock, with celery and minced 

 parsley. Small pieces of the rabbits may be fried and 

 stewed in the broth. 



As we have seen, there were no rabbits in Meg 

 Merrilies' caldron, but her namesake, Meg Dodds, 

 gives a capital recipe for what she calls Poachers' 

 Soup, or Soupe a la Meg Merrilies, for which 

 rabbits may be used as well as anything else. Meg 

 does not say whether it was the dish invented by 

 M. Florence, chef to the Duke of Buccleuch, and 

 served at Bowhill in honour of the author of 

 ' ^^^averley.' 



' This savoury and highly relishing new stew soup 

 may be made of anything or everything known by the 

 name of game. Take from two to four pounds of the 

 trimmings or coarse parts of venison, shin of beef, or 

 shanks or lean scrag of good mutton, all fresh. 

 Break the bones and boil this with a couple of carrots 

 and turnips, four onions, a bunch of parsley and a 

 quarter-ounce of peppercorns. Strain this stock when 

 it has boiled for three hours. Cut down and skin a 

 blackcock, a pheasant, half a hare or a rabbit, &c., 



