Rabbitnormandystyle Recipes

GRILLED AND MARINATED RABBIT (CONIGLIO MARINATO ALLA GRIGLIA)

Steps:

• I've written this recipe to be cooked on the barbecue, because the flavour will be amazing, but it also works really well when roasted in the oven at 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. If you cook it in the oven, turn the pieces of rabbit several times to ensure even colour and cooking. If you cook it on the barbecue, you'll need 5 wooden or metal skewers (soak wooden ones before you use them). Whether barbecuing or roasting, here are your rough timings:
• Belly: 25 to 30 minutes. Kidneys and liver: 4 minutes. Saddle and ribs: 15 to 20 minutes. Legs and shoulder: 35 to 40 minutes.
• Put your rabbit pieces into a bowl. Using a pestle and mortar, or a liquidizer, bash or whiz up the thyme and rosemary leaves to a pulp, then add the garlic cloves and bash or whiz again. Stir in 8 tablespoons of olive oil, the lemon zest and juice and the honey, and pour this over the rabbit. Put the meat to one side and let it come to room temperature while you light your barbecue.
• Now I'm going to talk about flavour. Get a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme and tie them together like a little brush. Each time you turn the meat, dab it with a little of the marinade to give you a lovely encrusted layer of flavour. This rabbit is going to be really tasty!
• Keeping the marinade to one side, remove the pieces of meat and season with salt and pepper. Sandwich the pancetta between the 2 pieces of belly using 3 skewers. Put the legs and shoulder on the barbecue. When they've been cooking for 10 minutes, put the belly on. After another 10 minutes put the saddle and ribs on. Make sure you turn the meat over every so often. Look after it by controlling the temperature and basting it continuously with the marinade. Cut three-quarters of the way through each kidney and open them out like a book. Cut the liver into 4 pieces and push one piece on to each remaining skewer, followed by a kidney and more liver.
• When all the pieces of meat are beautifully cooked, add your skewered bits of kidney and liver on to the barbecue and cook until golden, along with your 2 remaining slices of pancetta. After a few minutes, when the pancetta is browned, put it on top of the meat at the cooler end of the barbie. Now get your guests round the table.
• You can serve the rabbit with any white beans, or roast potatoes, or grilled vegetables, or different salads - it really depends on how you feel and what the weather's like. Just put a big bowl of your chosen accompaniment in the middle of the table and serve all the meat on a board. Lovely with a glass of white wine. Simple, honest and bloody good.

OLD FASHION RABBIT STEW

Steps:

• Chop rabbit into 12 pieces, discard the head and feet.
• Chop the onion and garlic finely.
• Slice and dice the bacon.
• Make a bouquet garni by tying together the parsley, thyme and bay leaf with string.
• Sear the rabbit pieces in olive oil, until lightly browned, remove from casserole.
• In the same pan, fry garlic, onion and the bouquet garni.
• Add the bacon and allow to color lightly.
• Pour off excess fat.
• Return rabbit to pan and deglaze with the red wine.
• Add 3 cups water, cover and cook for 1 hour 45 minutes.
• Peel small onions and remove root ends.
• Rinse well.
• Cook the onions in water to cover, add sugar, butter, salt and pepper.
• Cook until all water has evaporated and the sauce is caramelized.
• (20 min) Peel and cut potatoes into narrow rectangles.
• Add potatoes to rabbit stew after the stew has been cooking for 90 minutes.
• Cook covered until tender.
• Serve stew with caramelized onions and garnish with chopped chervil.

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.

HASENPFEFFER (RABBIT STEW)

Steps:

• Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Sprinkle rabbit with salt and coat with 1/3 cup flour, shaking off excess. Brown rabbit in remaining bacon fat. Remove from skillet, along with all but 2 tablespoons of the fat, and reserve.
• Saute shallots and garlic in skillet for about 4 minutes, until tender. Stir in wine, 1 cup water and bouillon. Heat to boiling, then stir in jelly, peppercorns, bay leaf, and rosemary. Return rabbit and bacon to skillet. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer about 1 1/2 hours or until rabbit is tender.
• Remove bay leaf and discard. Place rabbit on a warm platter and keep warm while preparing gravy.
• To Make Gravy: Stir lemon juice into skillet with cooking liquid. Combine 3 tablespoons water with 2 tablespoons flour and mix together; stir mixture into skillet over low heat. Finally, stir in thyme. Pour gravy over stew and serve, or pour into a gravy boat and serve on the side.

SLOW ROASTED RABBIT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Season the rabbit with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the rabbit pieces and brown on all sides. Place in a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, onion, ketchup, garlic, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and water; pour over the rabbit.
• Bake uncovered for 90 minutes in the preheated oven, basting frequently. Meat should be very tender when done.

SLOW-COOKED RABBIT STEW

Steps:

• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Put the prunes in a bowl with the brandy and brown sugar, stir, then set aside to soak.
• Dust the rabbit in the flour. Heat the oil in a large flameproof dish and brown the rabbit all over until golden - you may have to do this in batches. Set the rabbit aside. Add the bacon, vegetables, garlic and herbs to the dish and fry for 5 mins until starting to colour.
• Pour in the red wine and scrape all the goodness off the bottom of the dish. Add the chicken stock and put the rabbit back in the dish with the boozy prunes, then cover and cook for 2 hrs, stirring occasionally, until the rabbit is totally tender. Serve scattered with parsley and wild rice on the side.

GRILLED RABBIT AND VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Prepare a grill or heat up a grill pan. If available, place a piece of slate on the grill and heat for at least 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place the rabbit on a platter and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil over and scatter garlic slices from 3 cloves, 8 sprigs of thyme and 4 sprigs of rosemary (halved to make 8). Allow it to marinate while the grill is heating.
• When the slate is hot, place the rabbit pieces on the slate. Cook on each side until the rabbit is nicely seared and cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes per side. Remove the garlic cloves and discard if they begin to burn, they will give a harsh flavor to the rabbit.
• Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Halfway into cooking the rabbit, place the vegetables on the slate and place a sprig of thyme and rosemary and a few slices of garlic on each. Cook on each side until nicely browned and softened, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Serve hot or room temperature.