rabbit is rich

I did search, but didn't find much on ways to cook rabbit (I did find the hare ragú thread). I see rabbit (whole, frozen) at the Garden Fresh Market in Mundelein all the time. Sorry, I don't remember the price per pound, but next time I'm there I'll check. I'm definitely going back soon, since they're selling hefty chicken leg quarters for 49 cents a pound! But I digress.

I cooked rabbit once in a while when I lived in Chile, once I got past the fact that it was packaged head and all. But I don't remember how. I tried it once or twice at Spanish restaurants in Chile and had it in the traditional mustard sauce - so strong all I remember about it was the mustard.

So I'm thinking, I could fry it, or fricasee it, like chicken, but what else can I do with rabbit? Rotisserie on the grill? Any other ideas?

Mind you, as long as there's not a lot of mustard or onions involved, this will probably go in the category of Things My Dog Will Eat With Me That My Husband Won't -- unless I lie to him. I'm seriously considering it.

Here's my favorite way to prepare a rabbit:

Step 1: Brine the rabbit in salt water, herbs and honey for at least 2 hours

Step 2: Rinse and pat dry the rabbit

Step 3: Rub the Rabbit with: Salt, Pepper and Fresh Herbs

Step 4: Sear the rabbit on both sides, keeping it whole

Step 5: Remove seared rabbit & set aside

Step 6: Using retained oil, build your aromatics by softening: Leeks, onions, shallots, garlic and carrots at the bottom of a dutch oven.

Step 7: Deglaze bottom of the dutch oven by adding one whole bottle of White Wine in with the vegetables

Step 8: Place rabbit in pan, and add water just untill the rabbit is covered

Step 9: Bring dutch oven to simmer on stove top and leave for several hours until the rabbit is tender. Alternatively, you can slow cook the rabbit by putting the dutch oven directly into the oven at around 325 F. If you'd like, add some potatoes to the stew about 35 minutes before serving.

After that, your rabbit should be fork tender, and the broth should have developed into a rich and warming stew! I often serve this stew over plain basmati rice, to make a simple and wonderful meal.

Good luck!

Katie, I tried making rabbit a while back but can't find the post - the one thing I do remember is that the frozen rabbit tasted like, well, chicken - not the sort of stuff my Argentine godfather used to make for me when I was a kid (I remember his recipe had lots of onions and sour cream, but I don't have it)

I just *love* hasenpfeffer: a rabbit stew in distinctly proper Deutschegericht. Here's a pretty accurate recipe, although I'd be tempted to use cream + milk instead of the water.

Geo

Most frozen rabbit available today is imported from China. check the source of your rabbit.
I go to John's Live Poultry and pick out a bunny and John's does the rest. If your squeamish, just call ahead and John's will have your bunny all prepped and ready for you.-Dick

Dick, can I assume that you find that the live bunnies have more flavor/texture than the imported?

Sweet Baboo shocked me today by conceding during Easter dinner today that he had eaten rabbit in the past and found it not bad. He expressed misgivings, however, about the quality of what they're fed ... misgivings that I feared might move future rabbit dishes into the "Things My Dog Will Eat With Me..." column. As there followed some discussion among other family members of rabbit not being much different from dark-meat chicken, I proposed that I would just mix rabbit into a stew once in a while without telling him exactly what kind of meat it was, and he seemed okay with that.

p.s., thanks for the recipes so far. Both look good.

Good call Katie--you could mix a little rabbit into your "Huhnenpfeffer" (instead of putting chicken into your Hasenpfeffer!). I'd use chicken thighs...

Geo

Mhays wrote:Dick, can I assume that you find that the live bunnies have more flavor/texture than the imported?

I try to avoid any food product imported from China except for Pearl River Bridge Soy sauces.
So I haven't compared 'live' to a Chinese import but I do hunt bunnies(I think the coyotes have got most of them lately) and like mine fresh!-Dick