Rabbit Braised In Oregon Pinot Gris And Rosemary With Gorgonzola Polenta Recipes

Steps:

• Bring 4 cups salted water to a boil. Slowly add 1 cup instant polenta, whisking. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring, until thick and creamy, 10 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter, 1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola, 1 tablespoon chopped oregano and a dash of nutmeg. Top with more cheese and some pepper.

Steps:

• In large casserole over medium-high heat, heat olive oil and add onion, bacon, bay leaves, sage, rosemary and cloves. Saute, stirring constantly, until onion is wilted, about 4 minutes.
• Season rabbit pieces with salt and pepper to taste. Add rabbit to casserole, and saute until lightly browned, about 3 minutes a side. Add tomato paste and wine. Stir, scraping bottom of pan. Add stock. Simmer partly covered until rabbit is cooked, about 40 minutes.
• Remove rabbit pieces to a platter, and keep them warm. Strain sauce, and return it to a clean pan. Bring it to a boil, and reduce for 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Pour sauce over rabbit, and serve with polenta.

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook rabbit in oil until lightly browned; remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, saute onion until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the broth, thyme, pepper and bay leaf. , Return rabbit to pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until meat is tender and a thermometer reads 160°., Remove rabbit to a serving platter. Discard bay leaf. Combine the flour, lemon juice and water until smooth; stir into pan juice. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with rabbit.

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.

Steps:

• Prepare rabbit Lay the boned saddle skin side down on a clean work surface and season with salt and pepper. Lay fatback strips down the center end to end and then a sprig of rosemary. Season generously with salt and pepper. Wrap the flaps of the saddle over to enclose, and secure with twine.
• Brown rabbit Season rabbit pieces on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat for 1 minute, then add enough oil to barely coat bottom of pan and heat until shimmering. Cook the rabbit pieces (in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pan) until well browned, starting with the skin side down and letting them sear before turning (to prevent the meat from tearing). This will take 4 to 5 minutes per side. Reduce heat if the bottom of the pan is getting too dark. (If there are burned bits after all the rabbit has been cooked, deglaze the pan with a little water and discard liquid and bits.)
• Cook aromatics Reduce heat to medium and add the oil, onions, and garlic. Lightly season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes, then stir in the red pepper flakes and cinnamon. Continue cooking and stirring until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes more.
• Braise rabbit Heat oven to 200°F. Deglaze pan with the wine, scraping up any brown bits from bottom, and continue boiling until the liquid is slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Stir in the orange zest and juice, olives, and remaining sprig rosemary. Arrange the rabbit pieces skin side up in a single layer (they should fit snugly). Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Cover tightly and cook until the saddle is just cooked through, about 30 minutes. Transfer saddle to an ovenproof platter, cover and keep warm in the oven. Continue cooking legs until very tender, with meat almost falling off the bone, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer legs to the platter.
• Finish sauce Boil the braising liquid in the pan until it thickens and turns syrupy, 6 to 7 minutes.
• Serve Remove the rosemary sprig from the sauce and from the saddle; discard. Slice saddle piece crosswise into 1-inch pieces. Arrange one of the legs with a couple of saddle slices on each plate, then spoon some of the olives, onions, and sauce over the rabbit. Garnish with orange wedges.
• Equipment
• A large straight-sided skillet (with a 3-quart capacity) will be large enough to hold all of the ingredients for braising. Make sure it has a tight-fitting lid, as rabbit (especially the loin) is particularly prone to drying out. You can also use a Dutch oven.
• Ingredients
• Fresh rabbit can be found at butcher shops and some specialty markets; call ahead to order, since it might not always be in demand, and have the butcher fabricate it for you and bone the saddle.
• This dish can be made with 3 pounds of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (in which case you wouldn't need the extra rosemary sprigs or fatback). The cooking time should be about the same.
• Fatback, or salted pork fat, is available from most butchers; pancetta can be substituted. You can leave it out, but the rabbit won't be as flavorful.

Steps:

• Rinse the rabbit pieces in cold water and pat dry.
• In a deep wide skillet with a lid, put the oil, celery, garlic, and the rabbit in a single layer. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 2 hours. Turn the meat once or twice. If some of the ingredients begin to scorch, add a little water.
• After 2 hours, the rabbit may have thrown off a lot of liquid. Uncover the pan, turn the heat up to medium, and cook until the liquid has evaporated, turning the meat from time to time.
• Add the wine, rosemary, salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, until the wine has evaporated.
• Dissolve the bouillon cube, tomato paste, and sugar in the warm water. Pour it over the rabbit, and cook gently for another 12 to 15 minutes, basting and turning the rabbit two or three times.
• Serve immediately, accompanied by polenta if desired.
• (The dish may be prepared entirely ahead of time. Reheat gently with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water over low heat, covered, turning the meat occasionally.).

Steps:

• Cut the rabbit into 9 pieces (or ask your butcher to) as follows: with a sharp cleaver, cut the saddle (center portion) into 3 pieces, leaving the kidneys attached. Cut the front portion (front legs) in half through the backbone. Chop each hind leg into 2 pieces. Reserve the liver and heart to sauté as a snack.
• Heat .25 inch of olive oil in a Dutch oven or deep, wide heavy skillet over medium heat. Season the rabbit pieces with salt and pepper, then dust lightly with flour. Lightly brown the rabbit for about 3 minutes on both sides, working in batches. Drain on kitchen towels, then transfer to a baking dish in one layer. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Pour off the used oil, wipe out the pan and add 2 tablespoons fresh oil. Heat to medium-high, add the onions and cook till soft, about 5 minutes. Add the leek, garlic, rosemary and mushrooms. Season generously with salt and pepper, and add red pepper flakes to taste. Cook for 2 minutes more, stirring.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and wine, and let the mixture reduce for 1 minute. Add the broth, bring to a simmer, taste and adjust seasonings.
• Ladle the mixture evenly over the rabbit. Cover the dish, and bake for 1 hour. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 375°. Lay rabbit on its back on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut off hind legs at the joint near the backbone. Cut under shoulder blades to remove forelegs from rib cage. Trim off rib cage on either side of loin and discard, then trim neck and tail ends of loin and discard. Cut loin crosswise (through backbone) into 2 pieces. 2. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add rabbit to skillet and brown well all over, 4-6 minutes per batch. 3. Transfer rabbit to a medium roasting pan and scatter garlic and rosemary into pan. Break up sausage meat and add to pan. Add enough wine to pan that it reaches a depth of about 1/4". Season to taste with salt and pepper. Tightly cover pan with heavy-duty foil, then pierce in 3 or 4 places to allow steam to escape. Transfer to oven and braise until rabbit is tender, 1-1 1/2 hours. 4. Bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Gradually add polenta in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until polenta is very thick, 4-5 minutes. Stir in 4 tbsp. of the half-and-half. Add parmigiano-reggiano and gorgonzola, season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir well. Thin polenta with remaining half-and-half, if you like. 5. Divide polenta between 4 warm plates. Place rabbit on polenta, dividing hindquarter pieces between 2 of the plates and forelegs and loins between the remaining 2 plates. Garnish each plate with some of the sausage, 1 clove of the garlic, and 1 sprig of the rosemary.