Braised Rabbit With Porcini And Polenta Recipes

SOUTHWESTERN BRAISED RABBIT WITH BLACK BEANS AND FRIED POLENTA

Steps:

• For the black beans: Sauté the onions in some bacon fat or oil in a large pot over medium to medium-high heat until dark golden brown and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Add the red pepper and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the chili powder and paprika, then add the beans and cover with fresh water by 2 inches. Bring to a simmer and cook until the beans are tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Season with salt and pepper.
• For the braised rabbit: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Sauté the onions in some bacon fat or oil in a large pot over medium to medium-high heat until dark golden brown and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, chili powder, tandoori spice, Cajun spice, peppers, celery and jalapeños and sauté until the spices start to stick, about 5 minutes. Deglaze with the beer and reduce. Add the rabbit and brown very slightly. Cover with water and add the brown sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, transfer to the oven and cook until the rabbit is just tender, about 1 hour.
• For the polenta: Add the butter to a saucepan and heat until hot. Add the onions, peppers, garlic and chili powder and sauté until the vegetables are soft. Add the chicken stock, bring to boil, reduce to a simmer and slowly whisk in the polenta. Simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, adding more stock as necessary to get a fairly thick consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a shallow pan and let set to cut later for frying.
• When ready to fry, cut into pieces and fry in clarified butter until golden brown.

BRAISED RABBIT WITH POLENTA

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.

BRAISED RABBIT WITH PORCINI AND POLENTA

Steps:

• Soak the mushrooms in warm water for a half-hour, then squeeze them dry, discarding all but two tablespoons of the liquid. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat; saute the onion, prosciutto and mushrooms until the onion is lightly browned. Add the rabbit and brown on all sides.
• Add the wine, thyme, salt and pepper and cook covered over medium heat for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, dice the tomatoes and add them to the rabbit. Lower the heat and cook, uncovered for another 30 minutes or until the sauce has thickened somewhat.
• In the meantime, make the polenta. Fill a large pot with three quarts of salted water, add the polenta in a steady stream and cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the spoon stands by itself in the center and the polenta pulls away from the sides of the pot. Serve the polenta in large bowls, topped with the rabbit.

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.

WHITE WINE-BRAISED RABBIT WITH MUSTARD

Steps:

• Lay rabbit pieces on a baking sheet and season each piece generously with salt and pepper. (If you are using a pepper mill, adjust it for coarse grind.)
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Put a deep, heavy-bottomed, oven-safe saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add lard or oil.
• Put 1 cup flour on a wide plate. Dip seasoned rabbit pieces in flour and dust off excess. Gently set them in the hot oil in one layer without crowding; work in batches if necessary. Adjust heat to keep them from browning too quickly. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side until nicely browned.
• Remove browned rabbit from pan and set aside. Add diced onion to fat remaining in pan. Keep heat brisk and cook onions until softened and lightly browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle onions with 2 tablespoons flour and stir until well incorporated, then cook for a minute or so, until mixture starts to smell toasty. Add wine and 1 cup broth, whisking as the sauce thickens. Whisk in remaining broth and the whole-grain mustard and bring to a simmer. Taste for salt and adjust.
• Return browned rabbit pieces to the sauce. Add thyme and sage. Cover pot and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until meat is fork tender. (Alternatively, simmer over low heat, covered, on the stove top, for about the same amount of time.)
• Using tongs, remove rabbit pieces from sauce, set aside, and keep warm. Put saucepan over medium heat and bring contents to a simmer. Whisk in crème fraîche, Dijon mustard and capers and simmer until somewhat thickened, about 5 minutes. Taste sauce and adjust.
• Transfer rabbit to a warmed serving bowl and ladle the sauce over. Sprinkle generously with chives and a little freshly ground pepper. Accompany with noodles if desired.

ITALIAN-STYLE BRAISED RABBIT WITH ROSEMARY AND MUSHROOMS

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.