This is a simple recipe to make at home, equally suited for serving on a weekday or for hosting a dinner. 

Cooking with Rabbit 

If you are new to cooking with rabbit, it is very similar to chicken. Most recipes calling for rabbit can actually be substituted with chicken as it can be prepared similarly. Rabbit just has a slightly more delicate and tender texture, with a slightly more earthier taste. If you enjoy cooking with and eating chicken, you will certainly enjoy rabbit. 

This recipe is meant to use a whole rabbit, cut into 8 serving pieces. Whole rabbits are available in most local butcheries, if not in your local grocery store. They can often be ordered as well, so do not hesitate to ask. And while you are at it, I recommend you also ask your butcher to cut the rabbit into parts for you, which will save you a lot of time. If you do decide to butcher the rabbit yourself, you can watch this video. You can also sometimes find rabbit in grocery or specialty stores, already pre-cut, fresh or frozen. 

Liver, or not 

Optional to this recipe is the use of the rabbit liver. If you buy a whole rabbit, you will obviously have it come with it. And even if you buy rabbit pieces pre-cut and packaged, you will often still receive the liver with it. The idea is to whisk the liver with about 1 tablespoon of white vinegar until it becomes creamy, and add it to the sauce. The liver doesn’t really impart much flavor to the sauce, but it does make it richer and slightly thicker.  

More cooking notes: 

• I recommend you take the rabbit pieces out of the fridge at least 2 hours before you cook them, to allow them to get close to room temperature.
• In France, “lardons” are used in this recipe. Lardons is slab bacon sliced into matchsticks. We’re using bacon here to recreate lardons sticks.  
• For the white wine, I recommend you choose one that is dry and crisp, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris or Pinot Blanc. 
• For better enjoyment while eating this dish, I recommend using pitted prunes. 

I hope you’ll love this Braised Rabbit with Prunes (Lapin aux Pruneaux) recipe as much as I do! 

• Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breasts in Grape Sauce 
• Simple Chicken Marengo with Mushrooms
• Braised Chicken Thighs with Garlic and Onion
• Coq au Vin Blanc 

Braised Rabbit with Prunes (Lapin aux Pruneaux)

Print Recipe

Serves: 6-8 Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 55 Minutes 55 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.6/5

( 8 voted )

Ingredients

2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter
2 tbsp (30ml) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1.5 kg rabbit, cut into 8 serving parts
1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
6.5oz (180g) Bacon – about 6 slices, sliced into 1/2-inch thick matchsticks
2 Shallots, peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1.5 cup (350ml) white wine
2 cups (500ml) chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
3 bay leaves
¼ tbsp juniper berries (about 12)
1 ¼ cup (300g) prunes (pitted)

Instructions

Make sure you read the cooking notes before you start. 

Step 1 – At least 2 hours before you start cooking, pat dry the rabbit (with paper towel) and season the rabbit pieces with salt and pepper on both sides. Be generous and make sure to get inside all the nooks and crannies. Set aside to "warm" to near room temperature. You can do your prep work (shallots, garlic, bacon) in the meantime. 

Step 2 – In a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or casserole, heat up the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Place the rabbit pieces in (work in batches) and cook for 5 minutes on each side, until the outside is golden. Set aside on a plate. 

Step 3 – Add the bacon strips and cook for about 5-6 minutes, until crisp. Remove the bacon from the Dutch oven with a spatula, so the drippings remain at the bottom, and set the bacon aside. 

Step 4 – Add the shallots and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, until slightly caramelized.

Step 5 - Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until fully combined. Add the rabbit pieces back in. Pour in the white wine and chicken stock. Add the bacon, 2/3 of the prunes (200g), juniper berries and bay leaves. Cover with a lid, lower the temperature to medium low and cook for 45 minutes. 

Step 6 – After the 45 minutes, ensure the rabbit is cooked through by poking a pointy knife in it. It should insert fairly easily. Add the rest of the prunes (100G) and cook for an extra 10 minutes. 

Optional: When adding the last of the prunes, you can add the rabbit liver. Mash up the rabbit liver in a small bowl with a fork, add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and whisk until creamy. Pour in the mixture into the sauce, mix to combine. 

After the 10 more minutes of cooking, serve over rice. 

Did you make this recipe?

I’d love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a comment below, rate the recipe and/or share a photo on Instagram: tag @pardonyourfrench  and hashtag it #pardonyourfrench.  Bon Appétit!

The post Braised Rabbit with Prunes (Lapin aux Pruneaux) appeared first on Pardon Your French.

This Stuffed Rabbit Saddle with Chestnut and Mushrooms is roasted until perfectly golden and juicy inside, while the vegetable stuffing is so tender and flavorful. This festive recipe yields a super comforting feast that is enough for four people.

Cooking notes:

• • A Noble Piece of Meat

Deeply anchored into French Gastronomy, rabbit saddle is called a “noble piece of meat”, which means it is a prime piece, sought after for its extreme tenderness and easy versatility. Rabbit saddle can be braised, roasted, sliced, minced … or most commonly stuffed, like in this delicious recipe.

• Bone-in or Bone-out.

The saddle is made up of the ribs and spine, with a loin or fillet on either side. If you are up for the challenge, buy a whole rabbit or a bone-in saddle and follow this video to see how to debone a rabbit and separate the saddle.

For this recipe, I’ve took on the challenge of deboning the rabbit myself (it was my first time!). It was a little time consuming and requires some precise knife technique as well as sharp knives. It was a tad overwhelming at first, but ended up being not difficult, and well worth the effort !

If you’re in a hurry, buy a deboned rabbit saddle (it is pretty common to find) or ask your butcher to debone it for you.

• Servings

An average size rabbit saddle is 350 to 400 grams, which, once stuffed, will serve 4 adults. If you are feeding more people, prepare more saddles accordingly. 

If you try this Stuffed Rabbit saddle recipe, let me know!  Leave a comment or share a photo on Instagram tagging @pardonyourfrench or using #pardonyourfrench. I’d love to see what you come up with.  

Bon Appétit!

Stuffed Rabbit Saddle with Mushrooms and Chestnuts

Print Recipe

Serves: 4 people Prep Time: 1 hour Cooking Time: 1 hour 1 hour

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 2 voted )

Ingredients

For the stuffed rabbit saddle:
1 rabbit saddle (350-400gr)
400g chestnuts, peeled and cooked
400g nutty bread (or any rustic loaf of your choosing)
2 shallots
4 garlic cloves
400g white mushrooms
50g butter
3 sprigs of coriander
3 sprigs of parsley
3 sage leaves
Pepper (freshly cracked)
Salt
Butcher’s twine

For the potatoes:
500g (1lb) small white-skinned potatoes, scrubbed
1 tbsp herbes de Provences
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Pepper
Salt (freshly cracked)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400F. Place rack in the lowest position of the oven. Take out the rabbit meat from the fridge, lay it on paper towels and and let it come up to room temperature ( it ensures that it will cook more evenly).

Step 1 – Roughly chop 300g of the chestnuts and 300g of the mushrooms (keep aside 100g of whole chestnuts and 100g of whole mushrooms). Finely chop 2 garlic cloves (keep aside 2 whole garlic cloves in their skins). Finely chop the shallots, coriander, parsely and 1 sage leaf.

Step 2 - In a large frying pan, fry the minced garlic and shallots, with the butter, for 2 minutes (until transluscent). Add the chopped mushrooms, chesnuts, herbs and bread (crumbled roughly with your fingers). Season to your liking (salt and pepper), and mix roughly with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients come together in a crumbly stuffing mix. (If it looks too dry, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water – the bread will absorb it quickly). Transfer the stuffing to a bowl and set aside (keep the frying pan on the stove – we will use it soon to quickly brown the rabbit, in step 5).

Step 3 - On a clean working surface, lay the rabbit saddle (back side down). Spread the stuffing on top and press it firmly (using your hands) into a tight log, right in the middle of the saddle. Roll the saddle and close it tightly with butcher’s twine. Slip the 2 remaining sage leaves between the twine.

Step 4 - For the potatoes, whole mushrooms (remaining 100g) whole chesnuts (remaining 100g) and 2 whole remaining garlic cloves – In a small bowl, whisk the herbs, garlic and oil together until blended. Put the potatoes, chesnuts and mushrooms in a large bowl and pour over the oil mix. Toss to coat and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Step 5 – Gently place the rabbit saddle in the frying pan, on medium-high heat with a dollop of butter, and brown quickly (1-2 minutes on all 4 sides).

Step 6 – Gently transfer the rabbit saddle in a large, heavy baking dish (I used a Staub Oval Cocotte) and toss the potatoes, mushrooms and chestnuts all around it.

Cook for 45 minutes, lid on. After 45 minutes, gently toss the potatoes, mushrooms and chestnuts around (to make sure they’re evenly roasted) with a spatula. Spoon some juice from the bottom of the pan and pour it on the rabbit saddle. Put back in the oven for 15 minutes, lid off.

For serving, transfer the rabbit to a platter, cut into 8 slices and spread the potatoes, mushrooms and chestnuts all around.

Notes...

Merry Christmas!

Looking for more Christmas Recipes? 

• Spiced Persimmon Chutney Foie Gras Toasts 
• Speculoos Cookies from Alsace
• Honey and Citrus Spiced Bread 
• French Eggnog Madeleines 
• Pistachio & Almond Crescent Cookies 

The post Stuffed Rabbit Saddle with Chestnuts and Mushrooms appeared first on Pardon Your French.