I don't like to brag. Wait, that's a lie -- when it comes to food and it's good and I made it, I can actually be a little braggy. Anyhow, I will brag that this is one of the best rabbit dishes I have made to date. It is sweet and salty and juicy/tender. The rabbit meat is delicate and takes the brine nicely, and the sweet roasted carrots are a great companion. I recommend serving this with a simple nutty grain accompaniment (we had red quinoa and bulgur). Also, just FYI: Ginger likes it too -- what JRT wouldn't enjoy some bunny and carrots! Easter Dinner is ready to roll!!!
This looks like a long ingredient list, but once you have everything in place you can roll through cooking this in no time.
Ingredients
1. 1
whole rabbit cut into 8 pieces
2. 1
tablespoon whole white peppercorns
3. 1
tablespoon whole black peppercorns
4. 1
cinnamon stick
5. 3
cups water plus 3 cups ice
6. 1/3
cup kosher salt, plus 2 teaspoons more for the flour
7. 1/3
cup sugar
8. 3
cups ice
9. 1
cup flour
10. 1
teaspoon ground pepper
11. 3
tablespoons butter
12. 5
cloves garlic, chopped
13. 2
large shallots, peeled and sliced
14. 1
cup dry white wine
15. 1
cup chicken stock
16. 2
cups peeled carrot in 1/2-inch slices
17. 1/4
cup grade B maple syrup
18. 8 fresh sage leaves
Directions
Is your rabbit cut up for you? If not, cut off the hoppers
and the front legs (I do this with kitchen shears). Then remove the spine and
portion the saddle into 4 pieces. There is a side flap that you can either
leave loose (I do, I am lazy) or use to create a roll that you can secure with
a toothpick.
Make the brine: Toast the peppercorns and cinnamon stick in
a large saucepan for a few minutes until they are fragrant. Pour in the water,
then add the salt and sugar. Bring it to a boil to dissolve the salt and sugar,
then turn off the heat. Add the ice. Put the rabbit pieces in a large container
and pour the cool brine over top. Refrigerate for several hours (this is a good
morning task -- do the rest at dinner time)
Heat the oven to 325° F. Get out your biggest oven-ready
skillet (alternatively, you can brown in a skillet and then move the rabbit to
a baking dish). Mix the flour with the 2 remaining teaspoons of salt and the
ground pepper in a shallow dish. Remove the rabbit from the brine and try to
get most of the peppercorns off. Pat it dry, then dredge each piece in flour.
Melt the butter over medium-high heat and then place the rabbit pieces in the
pan. Don't overcrowd them -- you will likely need to do this in batches. Brown
each piece on both sides until golden brown, then remove from the pan.
When all of the rabbit is browned, add the garlic and
shallots to the pan and brown them for just a couple of minutes. Add the wine,
then stock, and scrape all of the good stuff off the bottom of the pan. Allow
this to simmer for 4 to 5 minutes.
Now add the rabbit back in with the liquids. Toss the
carrots and maple syrup together, then position them amongst the rabbit pieces.
Add the sage leaves, hit it with a bit more pepper, then cover the pan with
foil and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for 30
more. Finish the rabbit by turning the oven to 375° F and cooking for 10 more
minutes. Then remove it from the oven and allow it to rest while you take
eleventy billion pictures. Remove the sage leaves before eating.
That's all! Hippity, hoppity, dinner is ready!