Rabbit Ragu Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Cut the rabbits as follows: With a sharp cleaver, cut off the front portions (from right behind the front legs) of the rabbits and cut them in half through the backbones. Then cut the saddles from the hind legs; remove the bones but keep the saddles intact. Chop each hind leg into 2 pieces¿the thighs and the drumsticks or lollipops. Remove the bones from the thighs; discard the bones. Reserve the livers and hearts.
• Place the front portions on a baking sheet and roast until golden brown, about 25 minutes. While they roast, bring the brown or white chicken stock to a simmer in a small stockpot over medium heat. Add the roasted rabbit pieces and continue to simmer. Reduce the oven heat to 375 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, puree the onion, fennel, celery, garlic and 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves in the food processor. Scrape the puree into a bowl.
• Coat a large Dutch oven with some of the olive oil and heat over medium heat. Season the rabbit lollipops with salt and brown on all sides. Transfer the lollipops to a plate. Add the pureed vegetables and cook, stirring frequently, until almost dry.
• Add the white wine and let it bubble away until reduced by half. Stir in the mustard. Return the rabbit lollipops to the pan and add enough simmering stock to cover by 2/3. Simmer about 10 minutes, add 2 full ladles of rabbit stock, simmer another 10 minutes, and add 2 more ladles of stock. Continue to cook the rabbit until tender, about 30 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Stir in the remaining heaping teaspoon of whole grain mustard.
• While the lollipops cook, cube the thigh meat. Put it in the bowl of a food processor with the hearts and livers, the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons rosemary, the Parmesan cheese and some salt. Pulse to combine. With the processor running, stream in the cream until the mixture is smooth. This is the forcemeat.
• Cut the caul fat so that you have 2 pieces a little bit larger than the saddles with the loins attached. Spread the pieces of caul fat on a cutting board and lay the prosciutto on top to cover. Put a saddle on each one. Scoop the forcemeat onto the saddles between the loins and roll everything up so that the caul fat encloses the whole bundle. Season with salt. Tie with butcher's twine in a few spots.
• Coat a medium skillet with some of the remaining olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the loins seam-side down and brown them well on all sides. Leave the skillet over the heat. Transfer the loins to a small baking sheet and roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the center registers 160 degrees F, about 15 minutes.
• While the rabbit loins roast, ladle some rabbit stock into the pan you browned them in and scrape any brown bits with a wooden spoon; add the mixture to the pot of rabbit stock.
• For the ragu: Coat a medium skillet with olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the spring onion, season with salt, and sweat them, stirring occasionally, until softened; you don¿t want them to take on any color. Add the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the fava beans and rabbit stock and cook just to heat the beans through.
• To serve: Slice the loins into thick rounds. Spoon some Polenta and ragu into the centers of 4 dinner plates. Divide the rabbit legs and sliced loin over and around the vegetables, and serve immediately.
• Bring the milk, 2 cups water and bay leaf to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Season generously with salt, almost to the point of over-seasoning. How do you know that you are there? TASTE IT!
• When the liquid reaches a boil, slowly whisk in the polenta in small sprinkles. Once all of the polenta has been incorporated, reduce the heat to medium and immediately switch over to stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook the polenta until it begins to pull away from the pan, adding water to loosen it up if it becomes too thick.
• When the polenta is thoroughly cooked, it should look creamy and not feel gritty on your tongue, about 5 minutes. Remove it from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, mascarpone and chives.

Steps:

• Place a large, heavy-bottomed, nonreactive pot over medium-low heat. Add olive oil and when it shimmers, add onion, carrot, celery and pancetta. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and caramelized (about 25 minutes).
• Raise heat to medium-high. Add rabbit. Brown lightly on all sides. Add wine and stir, scraping bottom of pan. Add cheese rind if using, tomato paste, bay leaves and stock or water. Stir well, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, stir, and reduce heat to low.
• Simmer, lid slightly ajar, until meat is tender and nearly falling off the bone, about 2 hours.
• Remove rabbit from sauce. When cool enough to handle, shred rabbit. Return meat to pot. Add thyme and rosemary, and season with salt and pepper. Reheat gently before serving. Ragù may be spooned over warm polenta or tossed with pasta, butter, more fresh herbs and grated Parmesan or pecorino Toscano.

Steps:

• Pat the rabbit pieces dry and season with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the oil and brown the pieces, working in batches if needed to avoid crowding. Transfer to a plate.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the anchovy (if you choose) and mash it until it dissolves into the oil. Add the onion, carrots and celery, stirring until soft, about 5 minutes. Then add the red-pepper flakes, garlic and tomato paste, stirring for another minute. Deglaze the pan with the wine, turn the heat to high and boil to burn off the alcohol, about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth, bay leaves and thyme. Return the rabbit pieces to the pot, spacing them evenly so they are partly covered by the liquid. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the rabbit is falling off the bone, about 2 hours. Turn the pieces at least once.
• Turn off the heat and discard the thyme and bay leaves. Remove the rabbit from the sauce and let cool; then pull the meat from the bones. Shred some pieces and leave others large. Return the meat to the pan and simmer the sauce until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the butter, piece by piece. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pappardelle until al dente. Before draining, save a cup of the pasta water. Toss the pappardelle with the sauce over low heat, adding pasta water as necessary if the sauce is too thick. Divide among pasta bowls and top with the grated cheese.

Steps:

• Pat rabbit dry and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown rabbit in 2 batches, turning over once, about 7 minutes per batch. Transfer to a platter, reserving fat in skillet.
• Add remaining 3 tablespoons oil to fat in skillet and heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add wine and boil, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, until most of liquid is evaporated, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, broth, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Return rabbit along with any juices accumulated on platter to skillet and nestle rabbit into sauce. Cover skillet and simmer, stirring and turning rabbit over occasionally, until both saddle pieces are tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer saddle pieces to a plate, then continue to simmer leg pieces 10 minutes more.
• Remove from heat and transfer remaining rabbit pieces to plate. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones, discarding bones and gristle, and shred. Return meat along with any juices to sauce in skillet, then add remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and bring sauce to a boil. Discard bay leaves.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until al dente. Drain in a colander.
• Transfer pasta to a large serving dish and top with sauce, stirring to combine.

Steps:

• Heat oil and butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet - 2" deep - over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add pancetta (or bacon) and cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minute
• Add sage and rosemary and cook stirring, 30 sec.
• Add rabbit and cook, stirring occasionally, until rabbit is no longer pink on the outside, 2-3 minute
• Add onion, carrot and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minute
• Add wine and simmer, uncovered until liquid is reduced to about 1 cup - 10-15 minute
• Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper and simmer until sauce is thickened, 5-10 minute.
• Serve over Buttered Polenta, grits, rice or mashed potatoes.