April. It's raining, hailing, the sun has been hiding for days, and it's really miserable outside. On a day like this, there's nothing better than a plate of a warm, rich comfort food. This recipe has been on my list for a while, so I decided to finally make it. I know from sad attempts of cooking rabbit before, that it is quite a tough, lean, unforgiving, meat and therefore easy to get wrong. So this method of braising looked very promising, and in actual fact, it perfectly did the trick. Braising means that the meat gets cooked over a long period of time, submerged in liquid, at a relatively low temperature. This way the fibres can really relax and soften, with the flavours penetrating deep inside the meat.
The result: flavoursome, juicy and tender rabbit. The recipe did not mention a side-dish but I decided to make Spätzle, which worked very well, especially in combination with the creamy sauce.
For 6 Portions:
1 rabbit
2 Tbsp (30ml) flour
4 red onions, peeled and cut into thin slices
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 Tbsp (45ml) olive oil for frying
250ml white wine
300ml veal stock
2 sprigs rosemary
3 sprigs thyme
250ml high-fat cream
sea salt
freshly milled black pepper
Pre-heat the oven to 150°C / 130 °fan.
Cut the rabbit into pieces (or ask your butcher to do this for you), then wash with plenty of cold running water and pat completely dry. Season with salt and pepper, then dust with flour. Peel the onions and garlic. Cut the onions into thin slices. Mince the garlic. Heat a casserole over medium-high heat. Once hot (water droplet test!), add the olive oil . Sear/brown the rabbit pieces in small portions on all sides until they have a nice golden colour. Once browned, remove from the pan and keep warm on a plate. Reduce the heat to medium-low, then add the onions with a pinch of salt and if necessary, a little more olive oil, then leave them to gently caramelise, app. 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute until fragrant. Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping any burnt-on bits ('Sucs') from the bottom of the pan, then leave the wine to evaporate completely. Place the rabbit pieces back inside the casserole, then add enough of the veal stock to almost cover the pieces. Add the rosemary and thyme, check for seasoning, then bring everything to a short boil. Put on the lid, then braise the rabbit in the oven for 45-60 min or until the rabbit is soft. During the cooking time baste several times with the remaining veal stock. The rabbit is cooked when it is 'fork-tender', which means the meat can be torn easily apart with a fork or two forks. Also, it should be easy to insert a fork into the meat, as well as the meat sliding off the fork easily. If this is not the case, the rabbit needs to be cooked further as the fibres are still too tough. Once the rabbit is fork-tender, remove the casserole from the oven. Remove the rabbit pieces onto a plate and keep warm. Temper the cream into the sauce (= add the cream slowly to the pot by placing it into a large ladle, and suspending the ladle into the liquid with the cream remaining inside the ladle, but being gently warmed from underneath. Once warmed, pour the the cream from the ladle into the liquid). Place the casserole on the stove and leave the sauce to gently simmer and reduce until it has a creamy consistency. Season with salt and freshly milled black pepper, then add the rabbit pieces back to the casserole to warm them through gently. Important: never boil the sauce after the cream has been added or with the rabbit inside, to prevent the sauce from splitting and the meat from getting tough.
6) Braise the rabbit: Place the rabbit pieces back inside the casserole, then add enough of the veal stock to almost cover the pieces. Add the rosemary and thyme, check for seasoning, then bring everything to a short boil. Put on the lid, then braise the rabbit in the oven for 45-60 min or until the rabbit is soft. During the cooking time baste several times with the remaining veal stock. The rabbit is cooked when it is 'fork-tender', which means the meat can be torn easily apart with a fork or two forks. Also, it should be easy to insert a fork into the meat, as well as the meat sliding off the fork easily. If this is not the case, the rabbit needs to be cooked further as the fibres are still too tough.
7) Make the Sauce: Once the rabbit is fork-tender, remove the casserole from the oven. Remove the rabbit pieces onto a plate and keep warm. Temper the cream into the sauce (= add the cream slowly to the pot by placing it into a large ladle, and suspending the ladle into the liquid with the cream remaining inside the ladle, but being gently warmed from underneath. Once warmed, pour the the cream from the ladle into the liquid). Place the casserole on the stove and leave the sauce to gently simmer and reduce until it has a creamy consistency.
8) Season and finish: Season with salt and freshly milled black pepper, then add the rabbit pieces back to the casserole to warm them through gently. Important: never boil the sauce after the cream has been added or with the rabbit inside, to prevent the sauce from splitting and the meat from getting tough.
9) Serve: serve on pre-warmed plates with Spätzle and a green salad on the side.
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BRAISED RABBIT WITH ROSEMARY AND THYME
For 6 Portions:
1 rabbit
2 Tbsp (30ml) flour
4 red onions, peeled and cut into thin slices
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 Tbsp (45ml) olive oil for frying
250ml white wine
300ml veal stock
2 sprigs rosemary
3 sprigs thyme
250ml high-fat cream
sea salt
freshly milled black pepper
Pre-heat the oven to 150°C / 130 °fan.
1) Prepare the rabbit: Cut the rabbit into pieces (or ask your butcher to do this for you), then wash with plenty of cold running water and pat completely dry. Season with salt and pepper, then dust with flour.
2) Prepare the vegetable: Peel the onions and garlic. Cut the onions into thin slices. Mince the garlic.
3) Sear the rabbit pieces: Heat a casserole over medium-high heat. Once hot (water droplet test!), add the olive oil . Sear/brown the rabbit pieces in small portions on all sides until they have a nice golden colour. Once browned, remove from the pan and keep warm on a plate.
4) Caramelize the onions and garlic: Reduce the heat to medium-low, then add the onions with a pinch of salt and if necessary, a little more olive oil, then leave them to gently caramelise, app. 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute until fragrant.
5) Deglaze the pan: Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping any burnt-on bits ('Sucs') from the bottom of the pan, then leave the wine to evaporate completely.
6) Braise the rabbit: Place the rabbit pieces back inside the casserole, then add enough of the veal stock to almost cover the pieces. Add the rosemary and thyme, check for seasoning, then bring everything to a short boil. Put on the lid, then braise the rabbit in the oven for 45-60 min or until the rabbit is soft. During the cooking time baste several times with the remaining veal stock. The rabbit is cooked when it is 'fork-tender', which means the meat can be torn easily apart with a fork or two forks. Also, it should be easy to insert a fork into the meat, as well as the meat sliding off the fork easily. If this is not the case, the rabbit needs to be cooked further as the fibres are still too tough.
7) Make the Sauce: Once the rabbit is fork-tender, remove the casserole from the oven. Remove the rabbit pieces onto a plate and keep warm. Temper the cream into the sauce (= add the cream slowly to the pot by placing it into a large ladle, and suspending the ladle into the liquid with the cream remaining inside the ladle, but being gently warmed from underneath. Once warmed, pour the the cream from the ladle into the liquid). Place the casserole on the stove and leave the sauce to gently simmer and reduce until it has a creamy consistency.
8) Season and finish: Season with salt and freshly milled black pepper, then add the rabbit pieces back to the casserole to warm them through gently. Important: never boil the sauce after the cream has been added or with the rabbit inside, to prevent the sauce from splitting and the meat from getting tough.
9) Serve: serve on pre-warmed plates with Spätzle and a green salad on the side.
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