The Other White Meat

When I tell someone how much I love to eat rabbit I usually get one of two reactions.  Either he wrinkles his nose, screws up his face and envisions eating a giant rat or he puts on a sad clown face and imagines the family pet going under the knife.  (See Kathy’s previous post about Mike’s reluctance to dine on rabbit).

Such was Tim’s reaction when we invited him to dinner this weekend. He told the story of his father, a gentleman farmer, who after experimenting with various forms of livestock many years ago, decided to raise rabbits.  One day, the father told his sons he was going out to harvest some rabbits.  The boys didn’t give it much thought until later that night when they were served a funny looking chicken for dinner.  With horror, Tim realized how his father had spent the afternoon.  “Is this Fluffy or Snowball?” he sadly asked his dad.

People who don’t think twice about eating a pig or a lamb get all misty eyed when faced with eating a fluffy cousin of Bugs.  Even my husband, usually devoid of any sentimentality where pets are concerned, whined a bit about how cute the rabbit I was struggling to butcher probably was at one point.  “Poor fuzzy little thing,” He whimpered.

Granted, a whole frozen bunny looks a bit scary on a butcher block but my love for rabbit has long outweighed any squeamishness I may have early on about this underappreciated meat.  I ordered it twice while in Italy recently because I knew it’s next to impossible to find locally.

So when Kathy and I saw them for sale recently at the Hollywood Farmer’s market I snapped up the last one, bought a second later at a local butcher shop and started menu planning.

For the record, rabbits aren’t rodents.  They are members of the order Lagomorpha. They also don’t taste like chicken. They are much, much better.

I promise I could make a convert out of you.  

Braised Rabbit with Lemons and Rosemary

 

Serves 6 generously or 8.

Slightly adapted from Oranges and Olives by Sara Jenkins and Mindy Fox (one of our favorite cookbooks).

The lemon peel in this recipe is sublime with each bite of rabbit. As a result I’ve added more here than originally called for.  Jenkins and Fox advise getting a nice brown crust on the rabbit before adding liquid—a step that requires patience and not over-crowding the pan. Otherwise the meat steams rather than browns.

This rabbit should be served with polenta, rice or plain smashed potatoes. And for a bit of color and comedy, roasted carrots are a great side.

4 Lemons, preferably organic, unwaxed and unsprayed.

Two 2 ½ pound rabbits, cut lengthwise in half then into 8 roughly equal pieces.

Kosher salt and fresh, coarsely ground black pepper

¼ cup plus two tablespoons olive oil

4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

8 fresh rosemary sprigs cut in half crosswise

2 cups dry white wine

1 cup water

Note: I ended up using about 50% more wine and water in the same proportions to yield enough volume to just cover the meat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cut the peel from the lemon using a vegetable peeler in wide vertical strips. Avoid the bitter white pith and set aside.

Pat the rabbit dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil over high heat in a heavy enameled cast iron Dutch oven (or other heavy pot).  Add 3-4 rabbit pieces and brown well on all sides (about 4-6 minutes per side). Remove to a bowl as they are done and repeat with the remaining pieces.

Reduce heat to low and add the 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the garlic, lemon peel and rosemary and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is slightly brown, about 2 minutes.  Add wine, bring to a simmer, and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  Add the rabbit pieces and any juices, putting the largest, meatiest pieces on the bottom of the pan.

Add the water, bring to simmer, cover and braise in oven until rabbit is tender, about one hour and 20 minutes.

Remove rabbit to a warm platter and tent with foil. Return pot to the stovetop over high heat and reduce to one cup, about 25 minutes. 

Serve the rabbit with the juices spooned over, being sure to include some lemon peel with each serving.