eG Cook-Off #86: Rabbit

[Duvel]

4 hours ago, Shelby said:

I meant to ask this a few days ago, but if it's not too nosey, can I ask what a rabbit costs there?  

Sure. When on offer, rabbit is around 10 €/kg (last week 10.49 €/kg) for the whole animal, including head, lungs, heart, kidneys & liver. Regular price is about 15 €/kg for the whole bunny, and 25 €/kg and up for selected parts (e.g. front or hind legs, saddle). The rabbits offered in the two major supermarkets here is imported from nearby France (Alsace).

Edited February 10, 2021 by Duvel (log)

[jmacnaughtan]

10 hours ago, David Ross said:

 

 

Slightly  off-topic, but I'm curious. How and why would you bruise mace? 

 

[chromedome]

Presumably it was not routinely/solely sold ground, back in the day.

[Shelby]

I've looked at so many rabbit recipes that my eyes are crossed lol.  I really wanted to do a Sichuan rabbit type dish, but I'm missing like three key ingredients....still in an Asian type mood, and having some fresh rice noodles that I had ordered, I thought RABBIT PHO!

 

I first thought I'd pressure cook the rabbit in the pho broth, but after many hours of thinking and looking, I decided to go with @rotuts suggestion of sous vide.  I did not want a dry bunny.  Sous vide was definitely the way to go.  145F for 90 mins.  

 

 

 

Got a bit of nice broth...going to be used in my next rabbit creation.

 

Pull apart tender.

 

 

Just like a deer, a rabbit has a back strap and a tenderloin.  I used those pieces (the ones on the top) for the Pho and am saving the rest for later.

 

 

 

 

My bowl before the broth.

 

 

Ronnie's mid meal 'cause I forgot to get an after broth picture lol.

 

 

This was excellent.  In full disclosure we snacked on a front leg before dinner...melty...delicious good.  I don't know why we don't get more rabbits.  Would help the lettuce in the garden, too.......

[rotuts]

@Shelby 

 

looks very good.

 

was the the wild rabbit 

 

that tends to be tough ?

 

did you iP the carcass w the broth for 

 

an even more flavorful stock ?

[Shelby]

2 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@Shelby 

 

looks very good.

 

was the the wild rabbit 

 

that tends to be tough ?

 

did you iP the carcass w the broth for 

 

an even more flavorful stock ?

You wouldn't even know this was wild, IMO.  I didn't....guess I should have.  I gave the carcass to the outside cats.  I'll do that next time.

[rotuts]

outside cats ;  even better !

[blue_dolphin]

A bit of an interim report. As mentioned above, I've been curious about the pappardelle with rabbit ragù and peaches in Marc Vetri's Mastering Pasta (Recipe available online in this excerpt)

The Venn diagram of peach season and when I want to make a ragù is pretty much null but the ragù can be frozen so when this cook-off popped up, I figured it was time. 

I bought a rabbit.  $8.99/lb.  Frozen and cut-up.  Here it is, thawed:

It was cut into 6 pieces and I got liver, heart and kidneys

Cut down further and browned:

Into the oven:

And 90 min later (there was a stir involved):

Meat, pulled from the bones:

And back in the pot with the veg:

At this point, we are ready to toss this with fresh pappardelle and sliced peaches.  I took a taste.  It's a fresh, light tasting sauce but I'm not entirely sold.  I'd like a bit more liquid.  The recipe calls for a 3 lb rabbit and gives a yield of 2 cups of ragù.  My rabbit was a bit shy of that weight and yielded 3 cups so a little more sauce seems reasonable but I'm too hungry to figure it out.  So I packed that up into the fridge and turned my sights to the liver and heart which were a treat with some mushrooms, shallots, sherry & cream, spooned over toast and enjoyed with a glass of Amontillado.

 

Edited February 10, 2021 by blue_dolphin (log)

[David Ross]

21 hours ago, Shelby said:

I meant to ask this a few days ago, but if it's not too nosey, can I ask what a rabbit costs there?  

Locally  have a farming source where I can get a whole rabbit for $7.  If I go to the one local store that sells it frozen, it's about $21.  Over the internet it's $40 + shipping.  I'm in Eastern WA.

[Shelby]

As mentioned above, I had a bit of rabbit left.  Ronnie immediately said I should make ravioli with it.  Good idea!  I had just enough milk to make some ricotta in the IP yesterday afternoon.  Mixed that with diced up rabbit, fresh flat leaf parsley, garlic, salt and pepper, and an egg. Oh and some fresh grated parmesan.

 

 

 

 

Made a sauce using a mushroom broth, mushrooms, garlic, sherry and a bit of cream.  

 

[Duvel]

52 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Ronnie immediately said I should make ravioli with it.

That‘s a great idea and a wonderful execution 🤗

[David Ross]

2 hours ago, Shelby said:

As mentioned above, I had a bit of rabbit left.  Ronnie immediately said I should make ravioli with it.  Good idea!  I had just enough milk to make some ricotta in the IP yesterday afternoon.  Mixed that with diced up rabbit, fresh flat leaf parsley, garlic, salt and pepper, and an egg. Oh and some fresh grated parmesan.

 

 

 

 

Made a sauce using a mushroom broth, mushrooms, garlic, sherry and a bit of cream.  

 

What a great way to use rabbit.

 

[FeChef]

I still have a vacuum sealed frozen rabbit in the freezer from last easter that i never made due to covid. I wonder if a partially thawed and light flour dusting, then flash deep fried, and braised in a white wine and cream sauce approach would keep it tender and moist? I used this approach with frog legs many years ago and it was fantastic.

[rotuts]

@FeChef 

 

Do it !

 

why do you want to 

 

' flash deep fry ? '

 

what are you looking for 

 

w this method ?

 

ot crispyness , as after the braise , well ....

 

some Maillard ? 

 

OK you want the light dusting of flour to thicken th

 

final sauce 

 

OK

 

Id reduce te wine first.

 

then of couse use heavy cream 

 

or the sauce would split w th acid from the wine.

 

looking forward to your tasty results.

 

 

[David Ross]

Went to the local market that always has rabbit and I was surprised.  There must have been 30 rabbits in the frozen meat case, next to the pork belly, beef trip and other interesting meat cuts, so that tells me that there is a market for these meats in the neighborhood.  The price was reasonable at 6.99 a pound for a good size rabbit.  In the Spring I'll take the drive up to the local farm where they sell it for $7 for a fresh rabbit.  It's a 1 1/2 hour drive north which isn't a good idea up here in the winter.  I'm looking at three recipes: a Rabbit Tourtine from Canada, an Italian recipe for a Rabbit Fricasse and a Daniel Boulud recipe for a braised rabbit dish.  I think I'll start with the Boulud recipe but change the final sauce to a mustard cream.  

[kayb]

On 2/13/2021 at 8:24 AM, Shelby said:

As mentioned above, I had a bit of rabbit left.  Ronnie immediately said I should make ravioli with it.  Good idea!  I had just enough milk to make some ricotta in the IP yesterday afternoon.  Mixed that with diced up rabbit, fresh flat leaf parsley, garlic, salt and pepper, and an egg. Oh and some fresh grated parmesan.

 

 

 

 

Made a sauce using a mushroom broth, mushrooms, garlic, sherry and a bit of cream.  

 

 

 

I want that. Please?

[KennethT]

I just remembered a dish I really enjoyed during a trip to NOLA years ago - rabbit jambalaya at Coop's!!!  And back then, if you asked, they'd give you the Crystal that they kept behind the bar rather than using the Tabasco that was on every table...

[blue_dolphin]

As part of a recent 5-course chocolate meal, Eva of Pasta Grammar made a Sicilian chocolate rabbit dish, Coniglio al Cioccolato. 

Who's up for trying that one?

 

https://youtu.be/6Dxy94H12PU

 

If you don't want to watch the whole thing, the rabbit dish starts around the 8 minute mark.  The recipe is available on their website here.

 

 

[Duvel]

2 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

As part of a recent 5-course chocolate meal, Eva of Pasta Grammar made a Sicilian chocolate rabbit dish, Coniglio al Cioccolato. 

Who's up for trying that one?

That specific recipe or the combination ... as in:

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

That specific recipe or the combination ... as in:

 

 

 

I forgot you have already made ALL the rabbit dishes....and expertly so! 🙃

[Duvel]

29 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

I forgot you have already made ALL the rabbit dishes....and expertly so! 🙃

Sorry, it wasn’t meant like that. Just “rabbit with chocolate” sounded so familiar 😉

[rotuts]

I did watch the rabbit 

w choc Rx

 

might be nice for some

 

but based on the

 

price of Rabbit.

 

not for me to try

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

Sorry, it wasn’t meant like that. Just “rabbit with chocolate” sounded so familiar 😉

I didn't mean it like that either.  You've really and truly knocked it out of the park in this Cook-Off!

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

I did watch the rabbit 

w choc Rx

 

might be nice for some

 

but based on the

 

price of Rabbit.

 

not for me to try

 

Eva said the recipe works nicely with beef, so that may be worth a try.  

When my farmers market peeps get their bunnies ready, I'll get another one to play with and I figure I can scale down the recipe to use just part of the rabbit and let me try two or three things. 

A friend of mine raved about a Leek & Rabbit Pie from Julia Child.  I believe it's in Julia Child and More Company, a book I don't own but I might be able to track it down somewhere. 

Another friend likes the simple Rabbit with Rosemary and White Wine from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking so those are on my list along with the chocolate rabbit.  

 

 

Of the recipes in the chocolate dinner, the chocolate pizza, pasta and salad make me curious as well, but that's off-topic for this thread!

 

 

[Katie Meadow]

A dark chocolate Easter Bunny would work for me. I like my chocolate unadulterated. No raisins, no chile powder, no strawberries, no rabbit.