Quick recipe finder The Bunny Pentathlon
Rabbit is cooked in five ways to make up the ‘bunny pentathlon’ – truly an Olympic feat!
By Stephen Terry From Great British Menu
Ingredients
For the rabbit stock
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 small white onion, roughly chopped
- 1 small leek, roughly chopped
- 1 stick celery, roughly chopped
- 1 medium carrot, roughly chopped
- olive oil
- 2 rabbit carcasses, chopped
- 500ml/18fl oz chicken stock
- 4 rabbit legs
- 4 rabbit shoulders
For the rabbit mince
For the bunny burger
- 3 shallots, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
- olive oil
- 200g/7oz rabbit mince (above)
- 30g/1oz bone marrow, finely diced
- 4 slices white bread
For the potato fries
- 4 large maris piper potatoes, peeled, cut into large thick chips
- 300ml/10½floz vegetable oil
For the faggots
- olive oil
- 3 shallots, finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- 2 rabbit livers
- 2 rabbit hearts
- 4 rabbit kidneys
- 4 rabbit lungs
- remainder of the rabbit mince (above)
- freshly ground black pepper
- olive oil
- rabbit stock (reserve 100ml/3½floz for the confit leg)
For the confit leg
For the braised shoulder
- 4 rabbit shoulders – cooked in stock
- 1 free-range egg
- 300ml/10½fl oz vegetable oil
- 100g/3½oz plain flour
- 100g/3½oz panko breadcrumbs
For the loin
For the smoked anchovies
- 200ml/7fl oz vegetable oil
- 4 smoked anchovies
- 100ml/3½fl oz milk
- 100g/3½oz plain flour
For the creamed endive
- olive oil
- 1 large chicory, finely shredded
- 50ml/2floz double cream
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
For the carrot slaw
- 1 large carrot, finely shredded
- 2 tsp salad cream
- 1 tsp crème fraîche
- ½ tsp poppy seeds
For the caper and shallot dressing
Method
For the rabbit stock, place the garlic, onion, leek, celery, carrot into a pan with a little oil and cook for 1-2 minutes, without browning. Add the rabbit carcasses and the chicken stock and bring up the heat to a simmer. Meanwhile, place the rabbit legs and shoulders into a large square of muslin and tie the ends together with string, to form a bag. Tie the string to the handle of the pan so that the bag sits in the stock. Leave to simmer for 3½ hours.
For the rabbit mince, pass rabbit loins and meat stripped from three of the rabbit legs cooked in the stock, through a mincer.
For the bunny burger, heat a frying pan with a little olive oil and add the garlic and shallots, cook for 1-2 minutes, without browning. Remove from the pan, and leave to cool and drain on kitchen paper. Once cooled, mix together the 200g/7oz rabbit mince, cooked garlic and shallots and the bone marrow. Split the mixture into four balls and shape into patties. Set aside until needed.
For the potato fries, place the cut chips into boiling water, then drop the heat to the lowest possible, and cook for 12-14 minutes (don’t let it come back to the boil). Remove the chips gently from the pan, so they don’t break, and toss slightly in a colander to rough the edges up, allow to cool.
Place the vegetable oil into a deep-sided heavy-based pan and bring up to 130C/265F, or alternatively heat a deep fat fryer. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Fry the blanched chips for 10-12 minutes at the low temperature. Remove the chips from the oil (they will look like pale, fried chips) and drain on kitchen paper. Leave to cool.
For the faggots, add a drop of oil to a frying pan and bring up to a medium heat, add the shallots, garlic and parsley and cook until soft without browning. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3. Pass the rabbit offal through a mincer and combine this with the remaining rabbit mince. Add the cooked shallot, garlic and parsley. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Form the mixture into balls, roughly 50g/2oz in weight.
Heat a little oil in a tall-sided pan and add the faggots, brown the faggots on all sides then add the rabbit stock until it sits about three-quarters of the way up the faggots (remembering to reserve 100ml/3½fl oz for the confit leg). Place a round of parchment paper into the pan so that it sits directly on top of the faggots and covers the surface completely. Transfer the pan to the oven for and bake for two hours. Reserve until serving.
For the confit rabbit leg, heat the rabbit stock over a medium heat, add the soaked gelatine and whisk through. Pick the meat from the rabbit leg and place it into a mould about 6 x 3cm/2½ x 1¼in (the same as the shoulder), but do not pack it down. Pour over the rabbit stock and leave to set in the fridge for two hours.
For the braised shoulder, pick the rabbit meat from the shoulders, line a mould about 6 x 3cm/2½ x 1¼in deep with cling film and place in the picked meat. Place a weight on top (a jam jar or something of that nature should do the job) and leave to press and set in the fridge for two hours.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4, place the oil into a large deep-sided pan and bring up to 180C/350F, or alternatively use a deep fat fryer. Place the egg, flour and breadcrumbs into separate bowls. Remove the pressed shoulder from the mould and dredge first through the egg, then the flour, then the breadcrumbs, to coat. Deep fry the breaded shoulder in the oil until golden-brown and then place it onto an oven tray and heat in the oven for two minutes. Just before serving, chop into four 3cm/1¼in squares.
For the rabbit loins, spread 2-3 slices (depending on the size of your loin) of Parma ham out on the work surface and scatter some sage leaves over. Place the loin onto the edge and roll the loin up in the ham. Secure with a cocktail stick, and repeat for the other loin. Add a drop of oil to a frying pan and bring up to a medium heat, place the loins in and fry for no longer than four minutes each side.
For the smoked anchovies, place the milk and flour into two separate bowls and pass the anchovies through the milk, then the flour until well coated. Place the anchovies into the oil and deep fry until golden-brown.
For the creamed endive, place a little oil into a frying a pan and bring to a medium heat, add the chicory and cook until softened, stir through the double cream and parsley until warmed through and reserve.
For the coleslaw, mix the shredded carrot together with the salad cream, crème fraîche and poppy seeds.
Just before serving, heat the vegetable oil for the fries up to 180C/355F, cut the potatoes into thin fries and deep fry until golden-brown.
To finish the bunny burgers, heat a frying pan with a drop of oil and pan fry the burgers for five minutes each side, or until cooked through.
Cut out four discs of bread that are slightly larger than the burgers and toast lightly, just before serving.
To finish the confit rabbit leg, remove the mould from the fridge, turn out the confit and slice it into four 3cm/1¼in squares.
For the caper and shallot dressing, mix together the ingredients in a small bowl.
To serve place a disc of toast onto each serving plate, place a rabbit burger onto it, and top with coleslaw and some fries. Slice the rabbit loins in half and serve half in the centre of each plate, place a faggot to the side of it, a square of confit leg next to the faggot. Add a spoon of creamed endive next to the faggot. Top the creamed endive with the breaded shoulder and the smoked anchovy. Pour some of the stock that was used to cook the faggot all over, drizzle with the caper and shallot dressing and serve.
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