Civet Of Rabbit Or Hasenpfeffer Recipes

HASENPFEFFER (RABBIT STEW)

Steps:

• Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Sprinkle rabbit with salt and coat with 1/3 cup flour, shaking off excess. Brown rabbit in remaining bacon fat. Remove from skillet, along with all but 2 tablespoons of the fat, and reserve.
• Saute shallots and garlic in skillet for about 4 minutes, until tender. Stir in wine, 1 cup water and bouillon. Heat to boiling, then stir in jelly, peppercorns, bay leaf, and rosemary. Return rabbit and bacon to skillet. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer about 1 1/2 hours or until rabbit is tender.
• Remove bay leaf and discard. Place rabbit on a warm platter and keep warm while preparing gravy.
• To Make Gravy: Stir lemon juice into skillet with cooking liquid. Combine 3 tablespoons water with 2 tablespoons flour and mix together; stir mixture into skillet over low heat. Finally, stir in thyme. Pour gravy over stew and serve, or pour into a gravy boat and serve on the side.

HASENPFEFFER

Steps:

• In a large nonmetallic bowl, combine onion, vinegar, water and seasonings. Add rabbit pieces; cover and refrigerate for 48 hours, turning occasionally. , Remove meat; strain and reserve marinade. Dry meat well; coat lightly with flour. In a large skillet, melt butter; brown meat well. Gradually add 2 to 2-1/2 cups reserved marinade. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. , Remove meat to a warm platter. Add sour cream to pan juices; stir just until heated through. Spoon over rabbit.

CIVET OF RABBIT, OR HASENPFEFFER

Steps:

• Mix together the wine, vinegar, chopped carrot, and roughly chopped onion in a bowl large enough to hold the rabbit. Add the herb and the rabbit, along with some salt and pepper. Marinate in the refrigerator, turning the rabbit pieces occasionally, for at least 8 hours. Strain the marinade, reserving it, and dry the rabbit pieces.
• Cut the bacon into bits and render it over medium-low heat in a Dutch oven or steep-sided skillet. After 5 or 10 minutes, when it has given up much of its fat and is becoming crisp, remove it and add the chopped onion, diced carrot, and celery. Cook, stirring, over medium-low heat; chop the mushrooms and add them, too. If you have soaked dried mushrooms, strain and reserve the soaking liquid. When the vegetables are soft, after about 10 minutes, remove them with a slotted spoon and set aside with the bacon.
• Turn the heat to medium. Dredge the rabbit pieces in the flour and brown them in the fat that remains in the pan, turning as needed to brown evenly and seasoning with salt and pepper as they brown. When they are browned, lower the heat and return the vegetables and bacon to the skillet; stir, then add the reserved marinade and mushroom soaking liquid, if any. Raise the heat a bit, bring to a boil, stir, then add the chocolate, some salt, and plenty of pepper.
• Lower the heat even further, cover, and cook until the rabbit is tender and the sauce thick, about an hour. If the sauce is too thin, transfer the meat to a warm oven and reduce the sauce over high heat, stirring almost constantly, until it is thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve immediately, with buttered noodles, rice, or crusty bread.