Braised Rabbit Legs Dijon Mustard And Pancetta Food

WHITE WINE-BRAISED RABBIT WITH MUSTARD

Steps:

• Lay rabbit pieces on a baking sheet and season each piece generously with salt and pepper. (If you are using a pepper mill, adjust it for coarse grind.)
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Put a deep, heavy-bottomed, oven-safe saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add lard or oil.
• Put 1 cup flour on a wide plate. Dip seasoned rabbit pieces in flour and dust off excess. Gently set them in the hot oil in one layer without crowding; work in batches if necessary. Adjust heat to keep them from browning too quickly. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side until nicely browned.
• Remove browned rabbit from pan and set aside. Add diced onion to fat remaining in pan. Keep heat brisk and cook onions until softened and lightly browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle onions with 2 tablespoons flour and stir until well incorporated, then cook for a minute or so, until mixture starts to smell toasty. Add wine and 1 cup broth, whisking as the sauce thickens. Whisk in remaining broth and the whole-grain mustard and bring to a simmer. Taste for salt and adjust.
• Return browned rabbit pieces to the sauce. Add thyme and sage. Cover pot and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until meat is fork tender. (Alternatively, simmer over low heat, covered, on the stove top, for about the same amount of time.)
• Using tongs, remove rabbit pieces from sauce, set aside, and keep warm. Put saucepan over medium heat and bring contents to a simmer. Whisk in crème fraîche, Dijon mustard and capers and simmer until somewhat thickened, about 5 minutes. Taste sauce and adjust.
• Transfer rabbit to a warmed serving bowl and ladle the sauce over. Sprinkle generously with chives and a little freshly ground pepper. Accompany with noodles if desired.

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.

BRAISED RABBIT WITH GRAINY MUSTARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Rinse rabbit pieces and remove any fat, then pat dry and divide into 3 batches. Mix together salt and pepper in a small bowl for seasoning rabbit.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Heat a dry 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot. Season first batch of rabbit, then add 3 tablespoons oil to skillet and brown rabbit on all sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer browned rabbit to a flameproof roasting pan just large enough to hold all 3 batches in 1 layer. Season and brown remaining 2 batches of rabbit in same manner, transferring to roasting pan and adding more oil to skillet between batches if necessary. Reserve skillet.
• Add broth to roasting pan, then cover pan tightly with foil and braise rabbit in oven 15 minutes.
• While rabbit is braising, pour off any fat from skillet, then add onions, garlic, thyme, and 3 tablespoons butter and cook over moderately low heat, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add wine and boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes.
• Pour mixture over rabbit and continue to braise, covered tightly, until rabbit is tender when pierced with a fork, 45 minutes to 1 hour more. Transfer rabbit to an ovenproof serving dish and keep warm, covered loosely with foil, in turned-off oven.
• Straddle roasting pan over 2 burners and boil braising liquid until reduced to about 3 1/4 cups, about 10 minutes. Transfer 1/2 cup reduced liquid to a bowl and whisk in mustards. Add mustard mixture to reduced liquid in pan, whisking to incorporate. Dissolve cornstarch in water and whisk into sauce, then simmer, whisking, 2 minutes. Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter to sauce and swirl pan until incorporated. Season sauce with salt and pepper and pour over rabbit.
• *Available at butcher shops, specialty foods shops, and some supermarkets (may require special order).

RABBIT WITH MUSTARD & BACON

Steps:

• Mash the butter with the herbs, garlic and lemon zest, then chill. This can be done up to a day in advance. Use a small sturdy knife to scrape the meat away from the thigh bone part of the rabbit leg. Try and create a pocket around the bone rather than cutting into the actual meat. When you get to the joint, cut or snap the bone away.
• Halve the butter, roll into two logs, then stuff into the cavity of each rabbit leg. Wrap the slices of pancetta around each leg so that they join underneath. The rabbit can be prepared up to a day ahead and kept in the fridge.
• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Place the rabbit on a shallow roasting tray and roast for 20-30 mins (see tip below), then leave to rest for 5 mins. While the rabbit is cooking, make the sauce. Heat the crème fraîche with both mustards and simmer for 2-3 mins until thickened slightly. Season to taste, then add a squeeze of lemon juice and set aside.
• To serve, spoon some sauce onto each plate and carve the rabbit into thick slices. Arrange the rabbit on top of the sauce with some steamed new potatoes on the side.