Road Rabbits

I comment a lot about how I never post regularly, and I usually take on an unnecessarily apologetic tone when I do it. Well, nuts to that. I feel entirely justified about not posting since July because I do loads of shit all summer long. But finally, FINALLY something I did just so happened to intersect with something that I've wanted to post for a while: my go-to rabbit recipe. 

Summer was capped off with a road trip towards northwest BC. The people I met up there were so goddamned cool and welcoming, nobody more so than our hosts. Fortunately/unfortunately for them, I showed my gratitude by bringing a couple of dead rabbits with me.

In an effort to avoid coming off as a weird, morbid asshole, I cooked them, too.

Rabbit Braised in Wine Schloob

- 1 rabbit (this guy clocked in at about 5 lbs)

- 2 carrots

- 2 onions

- 2 stalks celery

- 1 head of garlic

- 12 pitted prunes

- 3 inch sprig rosemary

- 2 sprigs sage (roughly 10 leaves)

- 3 whole star anise

- 1 cup chicken stock

- 1 bottle of dry red wine (no need to get fancy)

- 1-2 tbsp flour

- salt+pepper
- fat/oil/whatever

Step one: acquire a rabbit.

Step two: butcher said rabbit into manageable pieces. A little Google-fu will clear up any questions you have about how to do it.

Chop up the veg, bundle the herbs together, and cut the prunes in half. I don't bother with mincing up the garlic (smash and peel suffices for the long cooking time), but hey — you do you. Set it all aside and get down to business.

Liberally season the rabbit on both sides with salt and pepper. Set a pan with a couple tablespoons of fat over high heat and brown each piece on both sides. Stick the meat somewhere to hang out and grab your chopped veg. 

Turn the heat down a bit and toss the veg into the pan. Stir and cook until the onions start going translucent.

Tasty brown bits are probably already coming off the bottom at this point, but further deglaze the pan with the wine. Feel free to then throw in the prunes, herb bundle, anise, and chicken stock. I also usually add in about a teaspoon of salt and roughly a dozen whole peppercorns at this point — you can add in however much or little as you like.

Cover the pan and transfer to the oven for about 2 hours (or until your rabbit is tender). 

This next step is entirely optional — I like a thicker sauce, but if you like runnier stuff then just dig in as is.

Remove the anise bits and herb bundle from the pan. Mix 2 tbsp of flour in about 1/3 cup of water and gradually add into the hot pan while stirring until the desired thickness is reached. I usually end up using about 3/4 of the slurry, but it all depends on how much liquid remains in your pan after roasting. Place the meat back into the sauce, and you're good to go.

Eat with your sauce vehicle of choice, and remember: the cuter it is, the better it tastes.

Awfully good offal

Over the last year and a half my partner in crime and I have run a little backyard cuniculture operation; we breed, raise, and butcher the rabbits ourselves. The high dressing ratio of our rabbits ensures that we benefit from a goodly amount of quality meat as well as pelts (which we have since learned how to tan ourselves, athankyouverymuch).

The ears, hearts, lungs, and kidneys are treated as dog edibles, however it has always seemed a shame to feed the pooch such a choice liver. Let me explain to you my complicated stance on organ meats...

Although I'm quite fond of braised tendon and pig ears (thanks, Asian mom) I've never really been a huge fan of most offal. This bugs me just on principle. I consider myself to be a pretty avid carnivore, and when I butcher an animal I like to use as much as I possibly can. That having been said, it seems so stupidly antithetical for me to be averse to the rich, woobly jewels which said animal's body is engineered to protect. Blasphemy! It's time for me to change my ways and learn how to appreciate the liver. 

...*cough* by seasoning and pureeing it into a pâté fit to trick my gustatory perception.

Rabbit Liver Pâté

- 7 rabbit livers (or about 1 3/4 cup chicken livers)

- 1/4 cup heavy cream

- 1/4 tsp ground cloves

- 3 cloves garlic

- 3 shallots

- 3/4 tsp salt + more for seasoning

- pepper

- 2 tbsp butter, + more for topping

- 1 tbsp fresh thyme

- 1 tbsp fresh sage

- 1/4 cup bourbon or whiskey

Slice up the shallots, roughly chop the garlic, and aggravate yourself by separating the thyme leaves from their twigs. Set aside, and get into the guts.

Rabbit livers have such a mild taste that I don't bother with this step, but if you're using chicken livers I would suggest letting them soak in milk for a couple of hours before using them. It helps soften the taste and draw out residual blood. Regardless of where your livers come from, be sure to remove any sinewy bits before use.

Pat the livers dry, then season liberally with salt and pepper.

 Put a pan over high heat, drop in 1 tbsp butter, and sear the livers for about 30 seconds (definitely no more than a minute!) on each side. They should remain a bit wiggly with pink centers. Livers will continue to cook after you remove them from the hot pan and overcooked livers are gross, so get them out in good time!

Set the livers aside, turn the heat down to medium-high, and throw in another tablespoon of butter along with the shallots, garlic, sage, and thyme. Saute until the shallots begin to tender, then deglaze the pan with the whiskey or bourbon (I've used both with good results). I realize that cognac is a more traditional choice, but I seldom have any lying around because I don't enjoy drinking old man bathwater. So bourbon it is.

Combine all of the cooked stuff with the cloves, 3/4 tsp of salt, and blitz the absolute shit out of it. (my weapon of choice is the food processor). If you enjoy a really smooth pâté, you'd best push it through a fine sieve after puréeing it. If you're lazy like me, you'll shrug your shoulders and decide that you have more enjoyable things to do with your time.

Spoon the pâté into a bowl or jar, and slam it down on the counter top a couple of times to distribute it evenly. Melt another couple of tablespoons of butter and spoon on top of the pâté to seal it. Stick in the fridge to firm overnight, and be prepared to go gangbusters on some crackers and toast the next day.

I realize that liver (especially delicate rabbit liver) can hardly be considered a weird gastronomic compromise, JUST APPRECIATE MY TENDER FORAY INTO EATING THE (not so) GARBAGE PARTS OF THE ANIMAL, OK??

WHAT YEAR IS IT

I'm channeling some serious Robin Williams à la Jumanji because GODDAMN, it's been 6 months of lackadaisical gastrosluticity. Not posting for so long makes me a really bad slut...which, contrarily, makes me sound like a good slut. In any case, I'm posting now so stop waggling your fingers at my good/bad/slutty face.

This post is about curry because the rich Southeast Asian flavours reminiscent of my childhood are evocative of heartwarming personal nostalgia  that shit is tasty.

This was originally  a curry made by my Burmese mother, but then I subtracted and added a couple of things quite atypical of the cuisine. Now it's just sort of generally Southeast Asian, verging on ethnically confused (not unlike myself).

Southeastsomething Seafood Curry

- 1 lb white fish
   (we use halibut or basa)

- 1.5 lbs prawns
   (a little shell left on is better than not!)
- handful of cilantro
- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 4 yellow onions, diced

- 1.5 heads of garlic, minced
- 3 inch chunk of ginger, minced

- 1 cup lemongrass pulp
   (see this post for dealing with lemongrass)

- handful of lime leaves
   (15-20...ish)

- 3 tsp paprika
- 3 tsp turmeric

- 1 tsp chili flakes
   (or to taste)
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper

- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp nuoc mam
- 1 tbsp palm sugar
   (raw cane sugar is ok, too)
- 2 400ml cans  coconut milk

Start by patting the seafood dry, cutting the fish into large chunks, and mincing up the cilantro. My ma says that turmeric takes away any possible fishiness - a tidbit of wisdom which was delivered with exquisite stink eye as I questioned her methods. Add about a teaspoon of turmeric into your (separate) piles of fish and prawns, along with the minced cilantro which I can only assume you have since deduced to halve.

Set the sea-things aside, place a large pan with the oil over medium heat, and add both the onion and garlic. You want the pan's contents to sweat but not brown, so stir often. Once your onions have gone sort of translucent, you can incorporate the lemongrass pulp, ginger, chili, salt, pepper, lime leaves, paprika, and remaining teaspoon of turmeric.

...Paprika might seem like a weird thing to add in, I know; it's pretty much just for colour in this recipe.

Mix it all up for a minute or two until the lemongrass and lime leaves get fragrant. At this point you can add the coconut milk, palm sugar, nuoc mam, and lime juice to the pan. Allow the whole shebang to continue simmering uncovered for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I enjoy a thicker curry, so I tend to let it reduce by about a third.

When it has reduced to your liking, place the fish chunks in first and cover them with sauce. Let it all continue to cook for just about 5 minutes. Shake the pan if you must, but do try to avoid shoveling the goods around as much as possible; the fish is delicate and will break apart easily. After about 5 minutes you can dump in your prawns and allow the curry to simmer for another couple of minutes until the crustaceans are cooked through. I'm a fan of letting most other curries mellow overnight, however this is best served right away to avoid overcooking the seafood.

Garnish with fresh cilantro and fried chili flakes - avoid scratching your butt after handling said chili flakes.