What to do with a rabbit? [Cooking]
2014 Jan 2
Tastes like chicken!
Was working in the bush one winter and met up with some Austrian hunters and they would make Schnitzel with the rabbit they got. A fellow I planted trees with also was fond of rabbit and we got him more than he could possibly want....he was Chinese and made it with some traditional spices I could not come close to describing and it was delicious. Like nothing I have ever tasted before.
They were lean yes, but I would want to make sure the animal is big enough to make it worth your while to process it etc.
K,
Was working in the bush one winter and met up with some Austrian hunters and they would make Schnitzel with the rabbit they got. A fellow I planted trees with also was fond of rabbit and we got him more than he could possibly want....he was Chinese and made it with some traditional spices I could not come close to describing and it was delicious. Like nothing I have ever tasted before.
They were lean yes, but I would want to make sure the animal is big enough to make it worth your while to process it etc.
K,
2014 Jan 3
I like it one of two ways, both cooked in a dutch oven over 4-6 hours:
Browned in bacon fat, and gently stewed with lardon, onions, carrots, potatoes, apple cider and bay/thyme.
Browned in olive oil, gently stewed with onion, garlic, lots of mushrooms, white wine, tomatoes. Maybe add celery and a bit of oregano/tyme rosemary, serve with fettuccine or really nice wide papparedelle noodles or soft polenta.
When I stew rabbit, I cut it into sixths or eighths (4 legs plus the 2 or 4 parts of the loin) and carefully stack the legs on top of the loin so that the loin (which can easily dry out) is submerged in the liquid while the legs (which take longer to cook) are only partly submerged and cook in the slightly hotter steam.
In both cases, I blend the liver and other organs if I have it to thicken the sauce closer to the end of the cooking. Rabbit kidneys are amazing by the way.
Browned in bacon fat, and gently stewed with lardon, onions, carrots, potatoes, apple cider and bay/thyme.
Browned in olive oil, gently stewed with onion, garlic, lots of mushrooms, white wine, tomatoes. Maybe add celery and a bit of oregano/tyme rosemary, serve with fettuccine or really nice wide papparedelle noodles or soft polenta.
When I stew rabbit, I cut it into sixths or eighths (4 legs plus the 2 or 4 parts of the loin) and carefully stack the legs on top of the loin so that the loin (which can easily dry out) is submerged in the liquid while the legs (which take longer to cook) are only partly submerged and cook in the slightly hotter steam.
In both cases, I blend the liver and other organs if I have it to thicken the sauce closer to the end of the cooking. Rabbit kidneys are amazing by the way.
2014 Jan 6
I made rabbit stew - here is what I did and I have to say I am EXTREMELY pleased with the results!
Rabbit Stew
820g rabbit
400g fatty cuts of pork
3 large carrots
1 parsnip
1 large potato
3 stalks celery
2 large onions
1 tsp peppercorns
2 tsp salt
1 tablespoon dried whole rosemary
1 sprig fresh sage
¼ cup red wine vingegar
¼ cup apple juice
½ cup red wine
butter
up to ¼ cup flour
Preheat oven to 325F
Take the fattiest bits of the pork and fry them to release the fat in the pan. Make a mirepoix with 1 of the carrots (125g), the celery (125g) and the onions (250g), all finely chopped. Cook down until it starts to brown and really stick to the pan, then deglaze with the red wine vinegar. Cook down again and do a second deglaze with the apple juice. Add butter or other fat if required.
Chop the parsnip and other 2 carrots and potato largish and add everything into a dutch oven. Add enough water to almost cover, and give it all a good stir. Put in the oven covered for 3 hours.
Remove ½ to 1 cup liquid. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan and slowly add the flour and stir continuously until you have a roux ball. Now slowly dilute it with the removed liquid while stirring continuously. When fully uniform allow to come to the boil and then return it all back to the dutch oven, stir well, and return to the oven for 30 minutes.
EDIT: oh yeah, and I cut up the rabbit into about 20 chunks before putting it into the dutch oven. Left the bones in.
Rabbit Stew
820g rabbit
400g fatty cuts of pork
3 large carrots
1 parsnip
1 large potato
3 stalks celery
2 large onions
1 tsp peppercorns
2 tsp salt
1 tablespoon dried whole rosemary
1 sprig fresh sage
¼ cup red wine vingegar
¼ cup apple juice
½ cup red wine
butter
up to ¼ cup flour
Preheat oven to 325F
Take the fattiest bits of the pork and fry them to release the fat in the pan. Make a mirepoix with 1 of the carrots (125g), the celery (125g) and the onions (250g), all finely chopped. Cook down until it starts to brown and really stick to the pan, then deglaze with the red wine vinegar. Cook down again and do a second deglaze with the apple juice. Add butter or other fat if required.
Chop the parsnip and other 2 carrots and potato largish and add everything into a dutch oven. Add enough water to almost cover, and give it all a good stir. Put in the oven covered for 3 hours.
Remove ½ to 1 cup liquid. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan and slowly add the flour and stir continuously until you have a roux ball. Now slowly dilute it with the removed liquid while stirring continuously. When fully uniform allow to come to the boil and then return it all back to the dutch oven, stir well, and return to the oven for 30 minutes.
EDIT: oh yeah, and I cut up the rabbit into about 20 chunks before putting it into the dutch oven. Left the bones in.
zymurgist
If I'm not mistaken, wild rabbit will be extremely lean so has to be cooked with this in mind so it won't be dry and tough.