For this
assignment I chose to buy rabbit. I was interested in cooking a venison loin or
a wild boar ribs or something of that nature considering the flavour would be
oustanding because a wild animal eats anything out there in the wild. The
animals we typically eat are cooped up in
barns and fed food pellets. I chose a rabbit because it is readily
available and also I have not cooked it before. I purchased the whole rabbit at
Sanagan's Meat Locker located in Kensington market. One whole rabbit cost
around $26 and I wanted to ensure none of it went to waste. I looked upon
youtube to find a good video to show me how to take a part a rabbit and I did.
I used everything including the rabbit's organs.
I kept the head and some of
the bones as I did not want to waste anything. I roasted the head and bones in
a pan and cooked a mirepoix and made a jus for the roasted rabbit. I was aiming
for a recipe that involved keeping the pieces of rabbit as a whole. It is such
a delicate animal that I don't want to do a typical rabbit fricasse where the
poor animal is really shredded to pieces.
I found a recipe that caught my
attention: Red Wine Braised Rabbit. I floured the rabbit pieces, seared it in
oil, then cooked it with roasted garlic, sage, rosemary, and of course red
wine. You cook it for about 45 minujtes then another 30 minutes uncovered in
the oven. It was an interesting flavour. I have to admit I was hesitant on
trying rabbit but then I thought about Gollum in Lord of the Rings and when he
ate that roasted rabbit how delicious it looked. I was expecting the flavours
to be a bit weird and they were. The texture as cliché as it sounds tasted a
lot like chicken. You definitely need to braise rabbit because when you think
of the animal… the animal is constantly moving using its whole body hind legs
and front legs. If I were to re-do this recipe I would probably brine the
rabbit and then fry it. I thought the crispy beautifully coloured skin
dissipated in the braise and you couldn't really taste it. I served the rabbit
with some crispy roasted potatoes, roasted butternut squash with thyme, feta,
and maple syrup and rabbit jus.
Eat Well.
K.M.W.
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