Red Wine Braised Rabbit With Wild Mushrooms Recipes

BRAISED RABBIT WITH WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• In a large, heavy skillet, melt the butter over medium heat; add in the rabbit pieces (in batches, if necessary), brown on all sides, and transfer to a plate.
• Add in the onion, mushrooms, and garlic; cook/stir, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add in the wine and continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
• Add in the tomatoes, beef broth, tarragon, and chevril; season with salt and pepper; bring to a boil, and let boil until the sauce begins to thicken, about 5-7 minutes.
• Remove pan from heat.
• Arrange rabbit pieces in a large, greased baking dish, pour the sauce over the top; cover and bake until the rabbit is fork tender and the sauce nicely thickened, 30-35 minutes.

LAPIN A LA BOURGUIGNONNE (RABBIT WITH RED-WINE SAUCE)

Steps:

• Sprinkle the rabbit pieces with salt and pepper.
• Put the salt-pork cubes in a saucepan and add water to cover. Bring to the boil and simmer about one minute. Drain thoroughly.
• Heat the butter in a large, heavy casserole and add the salt-pork pieces. Cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about three minutes. Add the onions and cook, stirring, about two minutes.
• Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, about two minutes. Transfer the onions, mushrooms and salt-pork pieces to a bowl and set aside.
• To the fat remaining in the casserole, add the rabbit pieces in one layer and cook, turning the pieces as necessary, until lightly browned all over, about five minutes. Scatter the mushrooms, onions and salt pork over the rabbit pieces and stir to blend.
• Cook about five minutes and sprinkle with flour, salt and pepper. Add the wine and cloves.
• Tie the parsley, thyme and bay leaf into a bundle and add it. Bring to the boil, cover closely and cook over very low heat about one hour. Remove and discard the herb bunch. Uncover and cook about three minutes to reduce the sauce.

RED-WINE BRAISED RABBIT WITH SAGE POLENTA

Steps:

• In a large bowl stir together flour and salt. Add rabbit and toss to coat. In a heavy kettle heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown rabbit in batches, transferring pieces to a bowl.
• Add onion and remaining tablespoon oil to kettle and sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned. Stir in garlic and rosemary and sauté, stirring, 1 minute. Add broth, wine, and rabbit with any juices accumulated in bowl and simmer, covered, 1 hour, or until rabbit is tender. Remove lid and simmer until sauce is thickened slightly. Stir in parsley.
• Stir sage into warm polenta. Serve polenta topped with rabbit and sauce.
• To make basic polenta:
• In a heavy saucepan bring water and salt to a boil and gradually whisk in cornmeal in a thin stream. Cook polenta over moderately low heat (it should be barely boiling), stirring constantly, until very thick and pulls away from side of pan, about 40 minutes for cornmeal and about 15 minutes 2for instant polenta. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm. Stir polenta just before using. Polenta will keep warm, covered, about 20 minutes. Makes about 3 cups.
• Note: In the traditional method of cooking polenta, forty minutes of constant stirring is required to achieve a lumpless texture and fragrant flavor. However, Italian-food expert Marcella Hazan has developed a method that involves very little stirring during this time. We believe it produces a very good polenta, one nearly as flavorful and smooth as the traditional procedure. To make satisfactory polenta in a real hurry, an imported instant polenta (precooked cornmeal) is available. This cooks in a mere fifteen minutes.