Orange Braised Rabbit Recipes

BRAISED RABBIT

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook rabbit in oil until lightly browned; remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, saute onion until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the broth, thyme, pepper and bay leaf. , Return rabbit to pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until meat is tender and a thermometer reads 160°., Remove rabbit to a serving platter. Discard bay leaf. Combine the flour, lemon juice and water until smooth; stir into pan juice. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with rabbit.

ORANGE-BRAISED BRISKET

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Season brisket generously with salt and pepper. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high; swirl in 1 tablespoon oil. Add beef and cook, flipping once, until browned on both sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate; discard fat in pot. Reduce heat to medium; swirl in remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in coriander and oregano; cook 1 minute. Add triple sec; boil until mostly evaporated, about 30 seconds. Return beef and any juices to pot with jalapeno and cinnamon. Squeeze orange wedges over meat and drop into pot. Add broth; bring to a boil.
• Cover pot, transfer to oven, and cook, turning beef every hour, until tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Remove lid and continue braising until liquid is reduced slightly, about 30 minutes.
• Remove beef; shred into bite-size pieces. Strain braising liquid; discard solids. With a spoon or a fat separator, remove and discard excess fat. Stir 1 cup braising liquid into shredded meat to moisten. Serve with more braising liquid, tomatillo salsa, and cilantro.

ORANGE BRAISED RABBIT

Steps:

• Prepare rabbit Lay the boned saddle skin side down on a clean work surface and season with salt and pepper. Lay fatback strips down the center end to end and then a sprig of rosemary. Season generously with salt and pepper. Wrap the flaps of the saddle over to enclose, and secure with twine.
• Brown rabbit Season rabbit pieces on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat for 1 minute, then add enough oil to barely coat bottom of pan and heat until shimmering. Cook the rabbit pieces (in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pan) until well browned, starting with the skin side down and letting them sear before turning (to prevent the meat from tearing). This will take 4 to 5 minutes per side. Reduce heat if the bottom of the pan is getting too dark. (If there are burned bits after all the rabbit has been cooked, deglaze the pan with a little water and discard liquid and bits.)
• Cook aromatics Reduce heat to medium and add the oil, onions, and garlic. Lightly season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes, then stir in the red pepper flakes and cinnamon. Continue cooking and stirring until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes more.
• Braise rabbit Heat oven to 200°F. Deglaze pan with the wine, scraping up any brown bits from bottom, and continue boiling until the liquid is slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Stir in the orange zest and juice, olives, and remaining sprig rosemary. Arrange the rabbit pieces skin side up in a single layer (they should fit snugly). Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Cover tightly and cook until the saddle is just cooked through, about 30 minutes. Transfer saddle to an ovenproof platter, cover and keep warm in the oven. Continue cooking legs until very tender, with meat almost falling off the bone, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer legs to the platter.
• Finish sauce Boil the braising liquid in the pan until it thickens and turns syrupy, 6 to 7 minutes.
• Serve Remove the rosemary sprig from the sauce and from the saddle; discard. Slice saddle piece crosswise into 1-inch pieces. Arrange one of the legs with a couple of saddle slices on each plate, then spoon some of the olives, onions, and sauce over the rabbit. Garnish with orange wedges.
• Equipment
• A large straight-sided skillet (with a 3-quart capacity) will be large enough to hold all of the ingredients for braising. Make sure it has a tight-fitting lid, as rabbit (especially the loin) is particularly prone to drying out. You can also use a Dutch oven.
• Ingredients
• Fresh rabbit can be found at butcher shops and some specialty markets; call ahead to order, since it might not always be in demand, and have the butcher fabricate it for you and bone the saddle.
• This dish can be made with 3 pounds of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (in which case you wouldn't need the extra rosemary sprigs or fatback). The cooking time should be about the same.
• Fatback, or salted pork fat, is available from most butchers; pancetta can be substituted. You can leave it out, but the rabbit won't be as flavorful.

RABBIT BRAISED WITH CELERY

Steps:

• Wipe the pieces of rabbit dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet and brown the pieces. Remove them to a plate and add the onion and garlic to the skillet. Cook over moderate heat until soft.
• Return the rabbit to the skillet along with the celery, white wine and chicken stock. Cover and simmer gently for one hour, or until the rabbit is tender (if the rabbit seems too dry, add a little more chicken stock or water). Put the rabbit pieces and vegetables onto a heated serving dish, reserving as much of the cooking liquid as possible in the skillet. Keep the rabbit warm in a low oven while you make the sauce.
• Break the egg into a small saucepan and beat with a whisk for a minute or two. Add the lemon juice and beat well. Then gradually pour in the hot sauce from the rabbit and cook over low heat until thickened (be careful not to curdle the sauce). Pour the sauce onto the rabbit, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

BRAISED RABBIT WITH CRACKED OLIVES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Place rabbit back down on cutting board. Remove any fat from the inside of the rabbit. Cut along the tailbone, keeping the knife against the bone, and detach the thigh. Repeat to cut off the second thigh, starting at the end of the tailbone. Remove liver and kidneys; discard, or save for another use. Cut through the rabbit, below the shoulder blade, to remove the foreleg. Repeat to remove the other foreleg. Turn rabbit over, and cutting along the rib bones on each side, remove loins. Repeat with remaining rabbit. Reserve bones for stock. Wrap loins from top to bottom with pancetta. Set loins aside.
• Season shoulders and legs with salt and pepper and coat lightly with flour. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place legs and shoulders in pan and cook until brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from Dutch oven and set aside.
• Add butter, onion, celery, and carrot, and cook stirring until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add tomato puree and cook 3 minutes. Pour in wine and crushed tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by half, 12 to 14 minutes.
• Add stock, browned rabbit, 1 cup olives with their brine, rosemary sprigs, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Transfer to oven and cook until fork tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove meat from sauce; set aside. Strain sauce through a medium sieve, discarding solids. Return sauce to Dutch oven. Heat sauce on stove until reduced to desired consistency, skimming fat if necessary. Remove meat from reserved shoulders, and discard bones. Return legs and shoulder meat to sauce. Chop remaining 1 cup olives and stir into sauce with chopped rosemary. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• While the sauce is reducing, heat a medium skillet over high heat, add remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and heat until smoking. Add rabbit loins, and cook until brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer loins to cutting board, and allow to rest for 1 minute before thinly slicing. Add linguine to boiling water, and cook until tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain, and transfer to a serving platter. Top with sauce, and surround with slices of loin. Serve immediately.

BRAISED RABBIT

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large, heavy based frying pan with a lid. Add the rabbit pieces and cook over a high heat, turning until browned all over. Remove to a plate.
• Add the chorizo, onion, garlic, carrot and clery and cooke over a medium heat until vegetables are well cooked (about 10 minutes).
• Add the tomatoes, wine, water and thyme to the pan and bring to a boil. Return the legs to the pan and put the lid on. Cook for about 1 1/2 hours at a low simmer or until the rabbit is tender.
• Add the potatoes to the pan and cook a further 30 minutes (or until almost cooked through).
• Stir through the peas and cook a further 5 minutes or so.
• I leave the lid off in the final 10 minutes or so to make sure the sauce is a nice consistency.
• Ladle into a couple of shallow bowls and sprinkle the parsley over before serving.

BRAISED RABBIT, PORTUGUESE STYLE ("COELHO ESTUFADO")

Steps:

• Cut up the rabbit into pieces (hind legs, front legs, etc.) as you would cut up a whole chicken, into approximately 9 pieces. Place into a large bowl.
• Add the garlic, parsley, bay leaf, piri-piri, salt, pepper and beer (or enough wine to cover the rabbit) to the rabbit. Mix around to combine everything.
• Cover and refrigerate to marinate for 1 day or at least overnight. The longer it marinates, the better it is! (I hate the gamey taste of wild rabbit - I use storebought rabbit).
• Cut up the onion and place into a pot with the olive oil. Saute the onion slightly.
• Add the rabbit a few pieces at a time to brown (careful not to crowd the pot - you want to brown them, not cook them at this point).
• Once all pieces are browned, add the rabbit marinade into the pot as well and enough water to cover the rabbit.
• Bring to a boil, reduce to medium-high heat, cover (leave lid slightly off) and let the rabbit cook for approximately 2 hours, or until tender. Check for salt, pepper, garlic (I add lots because we love it!), little more paprika for colour - all to your taste. Don't let the liquid boil right off - it should end up cooking down to a "gravy". You may need to periodically add some water, but careful you don't add too much too late in the cooking - you don't want it to be swimming in liquid towards the end.
• Once rabbit is cooked, add the rice right to the pot (with the rabbit still in or remove and keep warm), add some additional water/salt/pepper if needed, and cook the rice right in the broth.
• Serve the rabbit over the rice. Enjoy!