Stewing with Prunes and Election Dread

Up at bloody 6am today; the thought of the damn Tories getting back into power startling me awake after a scant five-hour snooze. Bleary-eyed and itching with Election Day irritability; what's to do? Well, there's a rabbit that needs to be butchered and cooked for a start so have a roll-up, a bucket of coffee and get on with it. Bugger the Tories.

Make a stock with the bones and a pile of thyme, bay and rosemary from the window-box; splash in a bit of Balsamic and a quarter-bottle of Red that was lying around; slop a dollop of Agave Nectar in there as well to offset the sharpness of the vinegar.

Fry the meat in sunflower oil till golden, then coat in rye flour and seasoning and bake in a hot oven for a wee while (no idea why really, just seemed like a good idea). No more oil left so fry onion in butter and add more herbs, carrots and spuds chopped peasant-style, i.e, barely chopped at all.

Separate stock from herby carcass. Add to now-golden fried onions with veg, meat, a handful of prunes and salt 'n pepper too. Stew at a just-simmering roil for a fair old while - maybe an hour and a half.

Later I'll fry the liver and kidneys in butter and add just before serving. My local Labour M.P is a chap called 'Kidney' as it happens, so, still knackered and woozy, I'm off out to vote for him.

Tomorrow, we may wake with a groan to find that the nation has looked to the boys from the Bullingdon Club for 'leadership'. God help us all.

L'Atelier Vert - Rabbit Recipes

Just came across these involved but rather fine looking French recipies for rabbit on the site L'Atelier Vert:

Farm rabbit cooked like game

Daube of rabbit with rosé, lavender honey and thyme blossoms

Fricasée of rabbit with glazed onions, honey, and lavender

Rabbit braised with artichokes

Rabbit with mustard sauce

The only thing I'd quibble with about any of these very tasty looking recipes is the piece of advice that's given after one of them: "If you know a rabbit farmer, make sure to patronize him or her."

Well, no; be nice to rabbit farmers, that's my suggestion.
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Tags: Recipe, Rabbit Stew, cooking, recipes, rabbit, cookery, game

Cooking Rabbit: To soak - or not to soak?

I've read a little on forums about soaking skinned rabbits before cooking them, but - up till now - I've never bothered. Some people say soak overnight in salty water and some in water with vinegar - the rationale, either way, seems to be that the soaking has a tenderising effect on the meat and and perhaps also improves the flavour.

I thought I'd give it a go with this most recent catch and - though it's difficult to tell if the results are due to the process itself or some other factor - it seems to work very well (and I soaked mine overnight in water with salt and malt vinegar in it!). The meat emerged rather blanched from its soaking and, after cooking - a slow stewing with onions, carrots, celeriac, Dijon mustard, thyme, a couple of prunes and a little honey, I found the meat to be the most tender and flavoursome I think I've ever eaten: it was really superb.

As I say, it's hard to know if this is due to the process or perhaps due to this being a young rabbit (though I've absolutely no idea if this was the case - it certainly wasn't any smaller or lighter than rabbits I've had before) - but either way, I do think it's something I'll be doing again in the future.
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Tags: cooking, Rabbit Stew, rabbits, Recipe, soaking