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I've had rabbit once in my life that I can recall, at a Moroccan restaurant. I don't remember much about it other than we ate with our hands, the pieces were about the size of short ribs (chunks of meat on a bone), and I liked it. I don't remember what it tasted like, just it was good.
My husband suggested a days ago that I "make" rabbit. I don't think I've seen it in stores (Jewel, Dominicks, Aldi, Meijer, Trader Joe's), although that may be because I've never looked for it. I have no idea what it costs (but I did see last weekend that a frozen goose in Dominicks is SIXTY DOLLARS--so I guess I'm never cooking THAT).
Do you cook rabbit? Where do you get it? Although a cottontail does live in my backyard, I am not killing one myself.
And for those of you who have never seen the Gallery of Regrettable Food at LILEKS (James) :: Hello., go there sometime. Reading some of those descriptions aloud with my mother and sister ... I honestly can't remember laughing harder in my life.
I brought that up because my post reminded me of this:
Rabbit ( and Hare - more gamey) is delicious, but a fairly delicate meat too. Because it is so low in fat it can dry out really quickly so if you want to cook rabbit either cook it in a stew, over long period of time , very low heat with liquid, wine or hard cider especially work well or use only the medallions and pan fry very quickly .
Mustard sauce or Prune work really well with rabbit as does a red wine sauce. White wine also goes very nicely with it.
I tend to brown the meat ( on the bone , it keeps it juicier) a little in butter, add some chopped shallots or onions ( even nice if you have caramelised them first) , a little garlic , some thyme, rosemary , add some decent red wine, and cook for a long time. Or without the red wine, add some grain mustard , white wine instead and cook until the meat literally falls off the bone. Fry a little bacon and add it to with some carrots and it's delicious.
Rabbit also goes really well in a sort of "cassoulet" ( haricot bean stew) .
Here is a recipe from Chef John Folse that I have used. It was wonderful. The recipe calls for rabbit and squirrel but I just doubled the rabbit instead. Prep time says 2 hours and that's not a lie but well worth it.
My husband suggested a days ago that I "make" rabbit. I don't think I've seen it in stores (Jewel, Dominicks, Aldi, Meijer, Trader Joe's), although that may be because I've never looked for it. I have no idea what it costs (but I did see last weekend that a frozen goose in Dominicks is SIXTY DOLLARS--so I guess I'm never cooking THAT).
You can get rabbit in many Chicago supermarkets - places like Eurofresh, Joe Cap u t os, Woodman's and the like. Watch for country of origin as a lot of it is imported from Asia.
As for duck and goose, generally Woodman's has locally raised FROZEN birds (farmed in Beloit, WI) and sometimes frozen smoked birds. They are NOT cheap. I believe that the last time I shopped them, they were $4/lb or more.
Thanks, everybody! Nobody told me where they get rabbit, though. At a regular grocery store?
I used to shoot my own but my hunting days are over, at least for now so now it has to be either our local butcher, excellent local small supermarket or generous hunter/ farmer !
I used to shoot my own but my hunting days are over, at least for now so now it has to be either our local butcher, excellent local small supermarket or generous hunter/ farmer !
Aha! That made me think of Casey's, a small grocery store near my Trader Joe's. They have very nice meat but are too pricey for me to shop their very often. I looked, and they do carry rabbit, as well a quail, duck breast and ostrich or bison patties.
Aha! That made me think of Casey's, a small grocery store near my Trader Joe's. They have very nice meat but are too pricey for me to shop their very often. I looked, and they do carry rabbit, as well a quail, duck breast and ostrich or bison patties.
Do you have farmer's markets ? Maybe you could get in touch with some hunters /farmers ( rabbits are a pest , I don't understand why it is expensive , it's the same in the Uk where you pay more for something farmers are desperate to get rid of... they should be giving them away really).
It is a very healthy meat but be careful not to dry it out. It won't like high heat unless very, very quickly for rabbit medallions ( the equivalent of the fillet). Very slow cooking, over low heat is the secret to tender, juicy and moist rabbit.
If you ever stumble upon Hare, I would suggest you try it, it is an absolutely delicious meat , a little more gamey but gorgeous and excellent with darker, richer sauces like red wine ) Jugged Hare cooked with its own blood is fantastic- I know it sounds awful but it truly is lovely -try it , you seem quite adventurous compared to many people ).
I love Duck, duck breast is delicious too !! We had buffalo( Bison) burgers and wild boar burgers the other day , also lovely game if you see it. Buffalo( Bison) is like the most tender juciy steak, leaner. Ostrich is very good if you get the fillet, otherwise can be a little tough . Wild boar is fab in dark, rich stews... Kangaroo is OK but can also be a little chewy and tough if you have the wrong cut.
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