Braised Rabbit With Mushrooms And Bacon Food

RABBIT IN A WHITE WINE, BACON, ONION AND MUSHROOM SAUCE

Steps:

• Lightly coat the rabbit pieces in seasoned flour.
• Heat the butter and oil and fry the rabbit pieces until golden brown.
• Remove from the pan and add the tiny onions and bacon to the pan and fry until the onions are coloured.
• Add the wine, water and tomato paste, stirring to combine and lift any brown bits off the bottom of the pan; add the thyme, bayleaf, garlic and season with extra black pepper.
• Return the rabit to the pan.
• Cover the pan and simmer about 1 hour or until the rabbit is tender.
• Meanwhile, toss the mushrooms in a little extra butter and oil for a few minutes.
• Add to the rabbit for the last few minutes of cooking.
• Remove the thyme and bayleaf and serve the rabbit, mushrooms, onions and sauce with chopped parsley sprinkled over.

EDNA LEWIS'S SMOTHERED RABBIT

Steps:

• Roll the pieces of rabbit in the seasoned flour, and let them set for 20 minutes.
• Heat a large skillet, and cook the butter until it foams, then add the bacon pieces. When they become a bit browned, remove them with a slotted spoon, and put in the pieces of rabbit, except the four front quarter pieces (they can be used later in a soup or stew).
• Brown on both sides, and sprinkle over the browned pieces with defatted bacon, onion or shallot and 1/4 cup water. Cover, and set into oven at 300, or leave to cook on burner slowly for 45 minutes. Serve hot as you would serve fried chicken.

RABBIT FRICASSEE WITH BACON, PEARL ONIONS AND MUSHROOMS RECIPE

Steps:

• Peel the onions by first plunging them into a pot of boiling water, boiling for 1 minute, draining in a colander, rinsing with cold water, and then cutting the tiny root ends off with a paring knife and pulling away from the peel.
• Trim 1/8 inch off the bottom of the mushroom stems if they are dark, dirty or dried out. If the mushroom caps are more than 1 inch in diameter, quarter the mushrooms vertically.
• Season the rabbit parts with salt and pepper, and melt the butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet, or two skillets just large enough to hold the rabbit parts in a single layer. When the butter stops foaming, add the rabbit parts and brown on both sides for 8 minutes.
• Sprinkle the flour over the rabbit and cook for 2 minutes more on each side to eliminate the flour's starchy taste.
• While the rabbit parts are browning, cut the bacon slices crosswise into 1/4-inch strips and cook the strips gently over medium heat in a small skillet until they barely begin to turn crispy. Remove them with a slotted spoon and reserve.
• Tie the parsley, thyme and bay leaf together in a piece of cheesecloth.
• Pour the wine and chicken broth over the rabbit parts, and deglaze the skillet with a wooden spoon. Add the wrapped herbs, pearl onions, and mushrooms, and move them around a bit, so they're evenly arranged between the rabbit.
• If you're using 2 skillets, use half the liquids, onions and mushrooms in each one and nestle half of the wrapped herbs (meaning, you'll need to wrap up 2 parcels in cheesecloth).
• Bring the fricassee to a simmer over high heat, then turn the heat down to low to maintain a very gentle simmer. Simmer covered for about 15 minutes, until the rabbit feels firm to the touch.
• Transfer the rabbit, onions, and mushrooms to a bowl and cover them loosely with aluminum foil. Pour the liquid in the skillet into a small saucepan and gently simmer the sauce, while skimming off fat and scum, for about 10 minutes, until the sauce has a slightly syrupy consistency.
• Portion out the rabbit parts onto plates, spoon each portion with sauce, mushrooms and pearl onions. Sprinkle parsley over each portion and serve at once. (Adapted from "Glorious French Food" by James Peterson, © 2002 James Peterson, John Wiley & Son Publisher.)

BRAISED RABBIT PAPPARDELLE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan. When hot, add the rabbit, brown on all sides, then remove from the pan and set aside.
• Add the bacon, onion and carrot to the pan and cook for 10 mins until soft. Add the garlic, rosemary and tomato purée, stir for 1-2 mins, then pour in the wine and chicken stock.
• Return the rabbit to the pan, season, cover with a lid and cook over a low heat for 1 hr until the rabbit is really tender.
• Remove the rabbit from the pan and shred the meat using 2 forks. Be careful to remove all small bones. Meanwhile, increase the heat under the pan and boil the liquid for 5 mins until reduced by half. Add the shredded meat and reduce the heat to low. Cook the pasta in a large pan of salted water following pack instructions. Drain, reserving a little pasta water to thin the sauce if necessary.
• Stir half the orange zest, mustard, cream and parsley into the rabbit sauce. Add the cooked pasta to the pan, toss everything well to coat and heat through for 1-2 mins. Serve in bowls with grated Parmesan, parsley leaves and the remaining orange zest.

MUSTARDY BRAISED RABBIT WITH CARROTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place flour in a shallow bowl. Tie thyme, rosemary and clove in a spice sachet or square of cheesecloth (or just toss them in pot if you do not mind accidentally biting into clove later).
• Season rabbit pieces all over with salt and pepper. Coat each piece evenly with flour; tap off excess. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large oven-proof Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear rabbit in batches, until browned all over, 5 to 6 minutes a side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.
• Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pot; reduce heat to medium. Add leeks and 2 tablespoons sage and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the carrots, celery, garlic, coriander, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until vegetables begin to color, about 5 minutes.
• Add wine and increase heat to high; simmer, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pot, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Return rabbit to pot. Add stock (it should come almost halfway up the sides of rabbit) and herb sachet (or herbs and clove). Transfer pot to oven and cook, partially covered, until meat is fork tender, about 2 hours.
• Transfer rabbit pieces to a serving platter. If liquid seems too thin, place pot over medium-high heat and simmer until it thickens slightly. Discard sachet. Stir in mustard, to taste. Spoon sauce and vegetables over rabbit. Garnish with parsley and remaining 1 tablespoon chopped sage. Serve with noodles, if desired.

ITALIAN-STYLE BRAISED RABBIT WITH ROSEMARY AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Cut the rabbit into 9 pieces (or ask your butcher to) as follows: with a sharp cleaver, cut the saddle (center portion) into 3 pieces, leaving the kidneys attached. Cut the front portion (front legs) in half through the backbone. Chop each hind leg into 2 pieces. Reserve the liver and heart to sauté as a snack.
• Heat .25 inch of olive oil in a Dutch oven or deep, wide heavy skillet over medium heat. Season the rabbit pieces with salt and pepper, then dust lightly with flour. Lightly brown the rabbit for about 3 minutes on both sides, working in batches. Drain on kitchen towels, then transfer to a baking dish in one layer. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Pour off the used oil, wipe out the pan and add 2 tablespoons fresh oil. Heat to medium-high, add the onions and cook till soft, about 5 minutes. Add the leek, garlic, rosemary and mushrooms. Season generously with salt and pepper, and add red pepper flakes to taste. Cook for 2 minutes more, stirring.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and wine, and let the mixture reduce for 1 minute. Add the broth, bring to a simmer, taste and adjust seasonings.
• Ladle the mixture evenly over the rabbit. Cover the dish, and bake for 1 hour. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

BRAISED RABBIT WITH WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• In a large, heavy skillet, melt the butter over medium heat; add in the rabbit pieces (in batches, if necessary), brown on all sides, and transfer to a plate.
• Add in the onion, mushrooms, and garlic; cook/stir, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add in the wine and continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
• Add in the tomatoes, beef broth, tarragon, and chevril; season with salt and pepper; bring to a boil, and let boil until the sauce begins to thicken, about 5-7 minutes.
• Remove pan from heat.
• Arrange rabbit pieces in a large, greased baking dish, pour the sauce over the top; cover and bake until the rabbit is fork tender and the sauce nicely thickened, 30-35 minutes.