Jugging

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This article is about the cooking process. For the process of climbing a rope, see Jumar.

In cooking, jugging is the process of stewing meat (usually whole animals, mainly game, or fish) for a long time in a tightly covered container, such as a casserole or an earthenware jug. Sometimes the cooking liquid includes some of the animal's blood. In French, such a stew of a game animal, thickened with the animal's blood, is known as a civet.[1][2]

One common traditional dish that involves jugging is Jugged Hare (known as civet de lièvre in France), which is a whole hare, cut into pieces, marinated and cooked with red wine and juniper berries in a tall jug that stands in a pan of water. It traditionally is served with the hare's blood (or the blood is added right at the very end of the cooking process) and Port wine.[3][4][5][6]

Jugged Hare is often thought to be described in an 18th century cookbook, The Art of Cookery by Hannah Glasse, with a recipe that begins with the words "First catch your hare" in early editions.[4]

However, having a freshly caught, or shot, hare enables one to obtain its blood. A freshly killed hare is prepared for jugging by removing its entrails and then hanging it in a larder by its hind legs, which causes the blood to accumulate in the chest cavity. One method of preserving the blood after draining it from the hare (since the hare itself is usually hung for a week or more) is to mix it with red wine vinegar in order to prevent it coagulating, and then to store it in a freezer.[7][8]

Many other British cookbooks from before the middle of the 20th century have recipes for Jugged Hare. Merle and Reitch[9] have this to say about Jugged Hare, for example:

The best part of the hare, when roasted, is the loin and the thick part of the hind leg; the other parts are only fit for stewing, hashing, or jugging. It is usual to roast a hare first, and to stew or jug the portion which is not eaten the first day. [...]
To Jug A Hare. This mode of cooking a hare is very desirable when there is any doubt as to its age, as an old hare, which would be otherwise uneatable, may be made into an agreeable dish. [...]

In 2006, a survey of 2021 people for the television channel UKTV Food found that only 1.6% of the people aged under 25 recognized Jugged Hare by name. 7 out of 10 of those people stated that they would refuse to eat Jugged Hare if it was served at the house of a friend or a relative.[10][11]

Jugged Rabbit (civet de lapin) is an alternative to Jugged Hare. It is considered a speciality of the cuisine of Martinique.[12][13]

Another jugged dish, also traditional in the United Kingdom, is Jugged Kippers, which is kippers (with the heads and tails removed) in a covered jug, cooked in boiling water. Recipe books recommend jugging kippers as one way of avoiding the strong smell that kippers have.[14][15]

In Louisiana, a fishing technique involving a plastic soda bottle as a bob is also called jugging.[16]

[edit] References

  1. ^ James T. Ehler. jugged. Kitchen & Cooking Tips. FoodReference.com.
  2. ^ French–English food glossary. At Home With Patricia Wells. Patricia Wells, Ltd..
  3. ^ Tom Jaine. A GLOSSARY OF COOKERY AND OTHER TERMS. THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH COOKERY. Prospect Books.
  4. ^ a b "Chips are down for Britain's old culinary classics", The Guardian, 2006-07-25, pp. 6. 
  5. ^ Jugged. The Great British Kitchen. The British Food Trust.
  6. ^ Recipes: Game: Jugged Hare. The Great British Kitchen. The British Food Trust.
  7. ^ Bill Deans. HARES, Brown, Blue or White..
  8. ^ John and Sally Seymour (September/October 1976). "Farming for Self-Sufficiency Independence on a 5-Acre Farm". Mother Earth News (41). 
  9. ^ Gibbons Merle and John Reitch (1842). The domestic dictionary and housekeeper's manual. London: William Strange, 113. 
  10. ^ "Bygone food quiz reveals pig ignorance among young", The Scotsman, 2006-07-24. 
  11. ^ Martin Hickman. "Young diners lose taste for traditional British dishes", The Independent, 2006-07-24. 
  12. ^ John Walsh. "It's a bunny old world", The Independent, 2003-04-18. 
  13. ^ Martinique: What to Eat. Insight Guides.
  14. ^ The Fat Badgers. Food: Jugged Kippers. Fat Badgers Guide to Quality Inns, Pubs, Restaurants and Hotels in the United Kingdom.
  15. ^ Anthony Telford (2004). The Kitchen Hand: A Miscellany of Kitchen Wisdom. Allen & Unwin, 120. ISBN 1865088900. 
  16. ^ Girl Catches Big Fish

[edit] Further reading

  • Jugged Hare. Mrs Beetons Poultry and Game Revisited. The Delineator. — Mrs Beeton's recipe for Jugged Hare
  • William Kitchiner (1845). "Jugged Hare", The Cook's Oracle: Containing Receipts for Plain Cookery, on the Most Economical Plan for Private Families. R. Cadell, 311.  — another detailed recipe, with alternatives
  • Frederick Bishop (1852). "Jugged Hare", The Illustrated London Cookery Book: Containing Upwards of Fifteen Hundred First-rate Receipts, 147.  — Bishop's recipe includes a note that "in some parts of the country" the hare is cooked in ale with bacon.
  • Dorset Jugged Steak. British Food Recipes. — a recipe for Jugged Steak
  • Civet de lièvre par Stéphane (French). SuperToinette. BENEGIL Développement. — a modern French recipe for civet de lièvre, using a pressure cooker