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outdoors
LANSING —Have you ever wanted to eat like a founding father? Small game was common in the diet of early European colonists in North America and likely was something these early settlers were quite familiar with. A common recipe of the time was “jugged hare.” Jugging referred to the way the meat was cooked: sealed in a jug or pot that was placed in a pot of simmering water, usually for a long time – basically a low-tech crock pot!
So how would such a meal have been prepared? Most likely with some bacon, butter and seasonal spices. Adding a little fat helped with the cooking of these lean meats and fresh sprigs of spices like thyme, parsley, marjoram and rosemary added flavor. Want to make this tasty fare? Here’s a jugged hare recipe from the 1700s you can re-create in a 21st-century kitchen with rabbit, snowshoe hare or squirrel. If you don’t have a shilling coin, don’t worry; a quarter is about the same size.
Cut a hare in pieces, but do not wash it; season it with half an onion shred very fine, a sprig of thyme, and a little parsley all shred, and beaten pepper and salt, as much as will lie on a shilling, half a nutmeg, and a little lemon-peel; strew all these over your hare, and slice half a pound of bacon into thin slices; then put your hare into a jug, a layer of hare, and the slices of bacon on it; so do till all is in the jug; stop the jug close that not any steam can go out; then put it in a pot of cold water, lay a tile on the top, and let it boil three hours; take the jug out of the kettle, and put half a pound of butter in it, and shake it together till the butter is melted; then pour it in your dish. Garnish with lemon. [from “The Compleat Housewife” by Eliza Smith, circa 1742].
What do you think? Does it take you back in time? Use your base hunting license this winter and try your hand at making jugged hare, rabbit or squirrel. We’d love to see your results! Share with us at Facebook.com/MichiganDNR.
Looking to learn more about small game hunting? Visit Michigan.gov/SmallGame or contact the DNR Wildlife Division at 517-284-9453.