With this Hasenpfeffer, I am pulling a rabbit out of The Meat Hook Meat Book hat.
Hasenpfeffer
Serves 3 to 4
1 rabbit, 3 to 4 pounds, cut into 6 pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup lard or chicken fat
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup stock
1/2 teaspoon light brown sugar
For the Marinade:
2 cups cider vinegar
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup sturdy, fruity red wine
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 large yellow onions, sliced
10 garlic cloves, sliced
A few thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons mustard powder, preferably Colman’s
1 tablespoon crushed toasted juniper berries
7 whole cloves
10 bay leaves, preferably fresh
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Special Equipment:
Medium nonreactive food-safe container
1. Put the rabbit in a medium food-safe container, preferably one with a lid.
2. To make the marinade, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Pour the marinade over the rabbit, cover with the lid or plastic wrap, and refrigerate, ideally for at least 24 hours, turning the pieces after 12 hours.
3. Pull the rabbit from the marinade and wipe it dry with paper towels. Strain the marinade and set aside.
4. Dump the cup of flour into a medium bowl. Dredge each piece of rabbit in flour, shake to remove the excess, and set aside on a plate.
5. Heat 2 tablespoons of the lard in a Dutch oven over high heat. When the fat is hot, brown the rabbit in batches of 3 pieces each, sprinkling with salt and pepper as you go, about 3 minutes a side. Transfer to a plate.
6. Drain the fat from the pot, add the strained marinade, and deglaze the pot over high heat, scraping up the bits with a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons lard, the stock, and the brown sugar. Add the browned rabbit to the pot and bring the liquid to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the meat is tender and just starting to fall off the bones.
7. Divide the stew among four plates and serve.
Also from The Meat Hook Meat Book: Edoardo’s Fried Beef Kidney
(Excerpted from The Meat Hook Meat Book by Tom Mylan- Artisan Books- Copyright © 2014. Photographs by Michael Harlan Turkell. Illustrations by Kate Bonner)