Rabbit

[gfron1]

Don't sweat the rice bran oil - any neutral oil will do. I use rice bran because its trans fat free.

[huiray]

Does the rabbit HAVE to be cooked and maintained in large pieces? (such as the "only two of each part" comments, single-intact-leg+thigh dishes, etc) CHOP IT UP into bite-sized pieces and do a dish based on smaller pieces. A stir-fry, perhaps. Or de-bone it and shred or chunk the meat and do another dish with that - a ragoût, another kind of stir-fry, a pie, etc, as some of the latter posts bring up.  In all these cases other stuff goes into the dish so it certainly could feed three people and then some.

[Porthos]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

@gfron1

 

 ... I grew up eating rabbit but one of my fondest memories is of my aunt in Lincolnshire and her rabbit pie.  ...

When I was young my parents raised rabbits for food. Chicken-fried rabbit was a Sunday-dinner treat.

 

Hasenpfeffer is the other way I enjoy it but that is something I get in restaurants.

 

gfron1, I will have to find out where I can get rabbit in southern California. I haven't seen any for maybe 30 years. I really, REALLY want to try your recipe.

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, gfron1 said:

Don't sweat the rice bran oil - any neutral oil will do. I use rice bran because its trans fat free.

 Rice bran oil is readily available and usually in my pantry. I'm just currently out of it.

[gfron1]

2 hours ago, Porthos said:

gfron1, I will have to find out where I can get rabbit in southern California. I haven't seen any for maybe 30 years. I really, REALLY want to try your recipe.

I buy mine through 4H kids, so you can call your local extension office and they should know who sells. I pay $13 per regardless of size. Normally works to my advantage.

[gulfporter]

I have had success in grilling rabbit, but yes, it can dry out in a flash.  I guess I've been lucky as I don't use a thermometer on it as I find it's too bony to get a good 'read', but maybe that's just me.  I brine my rabbit for about 4 hours. 

 

I have also substituted rabbit in ersatz coq au vin, though I cut the marinade time down from overnight to a few hours since the pieces are so much smaller and less meaty than chicken.  

Edited December 24, 2015 by gulfporter (log)

[Duvel]

I usually rub the entire rabbit with salt and oil and put it in a casserole in a very hot oven (circulation). Once browned - about 10-15 min - I throw in a slightly diluted sauce (coconut milk-based curry, anything soffregit-based, whole grain mustard/white wine/onion, ...), close the casserole and put down the oven on very low. After 1 -1.5h tender perfection with nicely intense sauce. 

[Franci]

Rabbit and polenta is the local specialty of my mother hometown, Bergamo. So I grew up eating it more or less every Sunday. In my  mind there is only this way to eat rabbit.

 

• 1 rabbit, cut into pieces*.
• 5-6 cloves
• 2-3 rosemary sprigs
• white wine
• some hot water or chicken stock
• clarified butter 
• olive oil
• salt

Usually when you cook meat you are asked to warm up your skillet and sear the meat in hot fat. For this recipe I go against common wisdom and follow my mom and she follows her mother recipe.
You need to clean perfectly the meat from fat. My grandmother used to say that while chicken fat tastes good, it's not the case for rabbit fat. Add some olive oil to your pan, then the rabbit pieces perfectly dried, some clarified butter, cloves (don't skip it's not the same without), rosemary, salt. Saute' on medium-high heat until all the pieces are golden brown. Add almost a glass of warm white wine and reduce it. Then you lower the heat and add a little bit of stock or warm water when necessary to keep the meat from drying out, I put the lid on with a wooden spoon between the lid and the pan. Cooking time about 50 minutes to 1 hour. Check the leg if it's tender.
Ah, the liver and the kidneys go in the pan just at the end of cooking so they stay pink and juicy.
Make sure to add a bit of liquid when needed. My mom usually stops here. I strain the liquid and and add a little more fat (butter)
 

*A big rabbit is normally too much for our family and the loin could come out a little dry. So, often I debone the ribs and loin, cut into cubes and save in the freezer for a ragout or for sauteing quickly

[Anna N]

@gfron1

 

 Kerry Beal was just over visiting me and we were discussing your method of cooking rabbit. We are wondering if you have attempted to sous vide with a small amount of oil as one does with duck legs?

[gfron1]

23 minutes ago, Anna N said:

@gfron1

 

 Kerry Beal was just over visiting me and we were discussing your method of cooking rabbit. We are wondering if you have attempted to sous vide with a small amount of oil as one does with duck legs?

Because I'm cooking for a restaurant and I don't have "real" SV equipment, I haven't. And for me, my technique is less than a minute of hands-on before it goes in the oven where I can forget about.

[Anna N]

5 minutes ago, gfron1 said:

Because I'm cooking for a restaurant and I don't have "real" SV equipment, I haven't. And for me, my technique is less than a minute of hands-on before it goes in the oven where I can forget about.

 

Kerry guessed it might have something to do with restaurant cooking and we certainly weren't finding fault with your method just curious if you had tried anything else.  Once it is civilized in the stores again after the Christmas rush I intend to find me a couple of rabbits and try it both ways.  I might even find a third one and try it Franci's way.   First I may have to negotiate a loan with my bank manager because rabbits here range between 20 and $25 each.  And my family will not eat rabbit that I can guarantee.  

[gfron1]

Someone around you is raising them for meat. You just need to find them. Once you get to a more personal source the price will drop dramatically. I buy mine at 9 weeks which like I said comes in at $13 per. The cost is in the feed. (And I didn't take your question as fault, just eG curiosity) 

[Martin Fisher]

3 hours ago, Anna N said:

First I may have to negotiate a loan with my bank manager because rabbits here range between 20 and $25 each.

 

I priced D'Artagnan rabbits at Wegman's earlier today.

A jaw-dropping ~$10.50 per pound for 2.75-3.25 lbs avg. whole fryers. 

That's not even fresh rabbit!!! 

It is, without a doubt, one of the most outrageously over-priced retail meats.

It's time to get back into raising them myself.

Edited December 25, 2015 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[Franci]

Yes, Martin, that's the price around here too. So a rabbit is about $35-$40. Thinking that when living in Monaco, I could get a label rouge rabbit for about 25 euros, a cheap one for about 18 euros. I no longer eat that much rabbit

Edited December 25, 2015 by Franci (log)

[Anna N]

4 minutes ago, Franci said:

Yes, Martin, that's the price around here too. So a rabbit is about $35-$40. Thinking that when living in Monaco, I could get a label rouge rabbit for about 25 euros, a cheap one for about 18 euros. I no longer eat that much rabbit

Wow!  I have little to complain about.

[liuzhou]

Normally, I braise rabbit slowly as in this meal from a while back. Bunny with mushrooms, asparagus, lentils, sun dried tomatoes and rice.

 

 

But perhaps my favourite is this variation on a Sichuanese classic, Lazi Chicken. This is Lazi Rabbit. I based it on Fuchsia Dunlop's recipe, substituting rabbit for chicken.

[Franci]

With afterthought, my grandmother had a reason to start from cold pan...wild rabbits. So, not really a reason to do it today Another  very popular way is rabbit alla monferrina and all of you doing sous vide, might have wonderful results. In the traditional recipe you boil the rabbit with aromatics, usual mirepoix plus a lot of fresh herbs (parsley in good amount, little basil, marjoram, oregano, thyme, 1 sprig rosemary, sage,bay leaf,  garlic, black pepper and a little white wine). Then you let it cool in the stock.

Then you do layers of the meat off the bone, in  chunks, dress with a little salt, slice of garlic, sage and oil. Keep going and cover with oil (Italians do extra virgin, mild) and let sit in the fridge for 3 days before eating. It's resembles almost good tuna, that's why is called "tonno di coniglio" tuna rabbit. It's a nice summery dish...ah, ah and giving the temperature in NY today, almost.  

Edited December 25, 2015 by Franci (log)

[gfweb]

1 hour ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

 

I priced D'Artagnan rabbits at Wegman's earlier today.

A jaw-dropping ~$10.50 per pound for 2.75-3.25 lbs avg. whole fryers. 

That's not even fresh rabbit!!! 

It is, without a doubt, one of the most outrageously over-priced retail meats.

It's time to get back into raising them myself.

 

At Janssen's, a local "high class" supermarket, they have d'artagnan goose for $100 for about 8lb bird. And they sell it, amazingly enough. I think rabbit is somewhere in the $45 range

 

[andiesenji]

Back in the days when I was catering, I had a client who always asked for hasenpfeffer - for a crowd.

 

I cooked it in a big electric roaster and usually it was 8 to 10 rabbits, depending on size - about 20 pounds dressed.

I got the recipe when I lived in Wisconsin, from my stepdad's sister - German all the way.

 

This recipe is virtually identical, except I don't use MSG.  

 

Provide plenty of napkins, because most people can't resist using their fingers.  

 

I always served "rustic" mashed potatoes  as well as steamed rice and German black bread.

 

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I love it fried like chicken because that is what I grew up with. Ours were larger, meatier rabbits, but not tough; they were raised in hutches. Butcher, cut into pieces, salt, pepper, and other spice as desired, and let set a few minutes while doing other work. Dust with flour only, then brown in hot oil, my grandparents may well have used saved bacon fat? Put the cover on skillet with a few TBSP water until tender, then uncover to recrisp.

 

I need to find a local source like gfron1 suggests, because commercial rabbit, IF you can find it is prohibitive around these parts too.

 

Also I did not find the need to clean off the rabbit fat, but ours were farmed in hutches, not free range. They were not gamy at all, and I'm sensitive to that. They ate well. Occasionally they were turned out in a fenced area to romp, but I'd certainly not call it free range. They were well cared for up until butchering. Endearing animals if not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

[Porthos]

On 12/23/2015 at 7:28 AM, gfron1 said:

I break the rabbit down, season it, then cover it in oil (I use rice bran), and then cook at 225ºF for 6 hours

 

Covered or uncovered?

[gfron1]

Either works because its at such a low temp, but I do mine uncovered because I like the fats from the rabbit that migrate to the top of the oil to brown, and then when I pick up the rabbit I make sure that skin catches onto the meat which otherwise doesn't have much color.

[FeChef]

Local Grocery just started selling whole Rabbit(frozen). I never tried, nor seen it being sold at a chain grocery store before. So naturally i had to buy it. Figured what better time to try Bunny then Easter. But i have no clue how to prepare it. It came frozen no head,no feet, and no skin.

 

Thanks.

Edited April 6, 2020 by Smithy
Corrected title spelling (log)

[donk79]

I am no expert on rabbit, but I can tell you that it is extremely lean and easy to overcook.  That said, I find it delicious!  

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Rabbit is a favorite of mine although I seldom encounter it.    It is a delicate, mild meat.    I used to just moosh  legs in salt, pepper and evoo, then grill to barely cooked through. 

Two of the finest restaurant dishes I've ever had were rabbit.   One at Delfina in SF and one by Eric Frechon in Paris.   Both were braises, and both were Italian influenced.    Here is one idea.

I would add that at each restaurant, I snagged the last portion which probably means it was prepared the day before.   This is one of those dishes that might well improve with a day of rest.