Rabbit Etouffee Recipes

RABBIT ETOUFFEE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Sauté bacon in wide ovenproof pot over medium heat until crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels.
• Sprinkle rabbit with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high. Working in batches, add rabbit to pot and sauté until browned, turning often, about 10 minutes per batch. Transfer to large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon butter to pot; add onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté until vegetables begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, and bay leaves; stir 1 minute. Return rabbit and bacon to pot. Add wine; simmer 5 minutes. Stir in broth and tomatoes; bring to boil. Cover pot tightly. Transfer to oven and cook rabbit until very tender, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among plates; spoon grits alongside.
• Makes 4 to 6 servings.

RABBIT STEW

Steps:

• Using half the flour (3/4 cup) coat the pieces of rabbit, shaking off any excess. Heat the oil and butter in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, and brown the floured rabbit on all sides. Add the celery, carrots, onions, salt, pepper, bay leaves, 6 cups water and red wine, and stew for about 2 hours. Add the potatoes 45 minutes into the stewing process. Once the rabbit and all the vegetables are cooked, use some water to form a paste with the remaining 3/4 cup flour. Stir the flour mixture into the pot as a thickener. Add the already sauteed mushrooms to the stew and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings, if necessary, and serve.

CHEF JOHN'S SHRIMP ETOUFFEE

Steps:

• Whisk paprika, thyme, oregano, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, white pepper, and black pepper together in a small bowl.
• Drain shrimp in a colander for at least 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl lined with paper towels and dry shrimp for about 3 minutes. Remove paper towels from bowl and season shrimp with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon spice blend. Toss to coat shrimp with spice blend.
• Heat vegetable oil a large heavy skillet over high heat until oil is smoking hot. Cook shrimp in the hot oil without stirring for 1 minute; stir, and cook 1 minute more.
• Transfer shrimp to a large bowl. Let stand until juice forms in bowl. Strain shrimp juices into chicken stock to total 2 cups, adding more chicken stock if necessary.
• Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat until butter begins to turn tan at the edges. Saute onion, celery, and green pepper in hot butter until softened, about 5 minutes. Pour in remaining spice blend.
• Sprinkle flour into vegetable mixture and saute until combined, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in tomatoes; cook until tomato juices begin to brown on bottom of pan, about 3 minutes. Whisk stock into vegetable mixture, stirring until smooth. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened and reduced to a gravy consistency, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Season with salt to taste.
• Stir shrimp into etouffee sauce; let simmer until shrimp are cooked all the way through and no longer translucent, about 1 minute.
• Garnish with green onions and a dusting of cayenne pepper. Pour over rice in large, shallow bowls.