Here’s Your Hasenpfeffer
Regina Murphy
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Rabbits are a hot topic these days. Most of us townspeople lead fairly sheltered lives when it comes to meats. We don’t have to think about where that styrofoam-packed ground beef has been if we don’t want to.
But there was a time when eating meat was literally a cradle-to-grave relationship. You farmer-rancher-hunter people know what I’m talking about. So, today, the tender subject of eating “Peter Cottontail”.
At the Lyon County Fair, Rabbit Grand Champion Krisanne Karr from the Sunflower 4-H Club received $225 for her three-party entry. She’s been raising rabbits for five years and competing for four. In fact, she was the Grand Champion back in 2007! Krisanne’s main goal is preparing animals for the meat pens, but she hasn’t actually butchered any of her rabbits yet. “I think I’ll butcher one or two this spring,” she said. She knows that’s the end purpose for her hard work.
Krisanne’s entries this year were three Californians: “It’s a white rabbit with black ears, nose, feet and tail.” she said. They were named Lora, Beth and Bret. “All the names are four letters long, because I tattoo them it the inside of their ear,” Krisanne explained. Great idea!
Steven Haught was the highest bidder for Krisanne’s rabbits, and rather than pop them in a pot he allowed her to keep them. “I’m going to use at least two of them to improve my breeding stock,” she said.
Eating rabbit used to be as normal as apple pie. Especially during frontier days, and then during the Great Depression, rabbits were a superior supplemental meat source. Some people think that the rise of federal subsidies in agriculture pushed rabbit to the side in favor of chicken, pork and beef, and that’s why it’s a bit hard to come by here.
According to www.rabbitwrangler.wordpress.com:
F Rabbit is easily digested. People with slower metabolisms (especially due to age and infirmity) can get more nutrition from this meat than others.
F Rabbit hutches use very little land. The droppings from cages are easily collected for fertilizer. Elevated cages mean no need for worming medications.
F Rabbits are very productive. They gain weight quickly. Rabbits can eat a variety of greens, including mown grass, plant tops from garden crops and weeds. One female rabbit, if bred responsibly, can average 65 offspring a year.
F Rabbit meat is leaner than beef, pork, lamb and chicken. It’s also substantially lower in cholesterol. Wild rabbit has more flavor; domestic rabbit tastes more like chicken.
The USDA actually inspects and grades rabbit meat. There are two grades for the flesh and one for giblets. “Fryer” refers to a rabbit weighing between 1 and 3 pounds, and less than 12 weeks old. The flesh is tender, fine-grained and a bright, pearly pink.
“Roaster” refers to a mature rabbit of any weight, but usually more than 4 pounds and over 8 months of age. The flesh is firm, coarse grained, slightly darker in color and less tender. Ergo, braising, stewing and roasting result in a more tender dish.
Now, there is an issue with wild rabbit meat: the bacterial infection Tularemia (also known as “rabbit fever” or “deer fly fever.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it’s most commonly spread through deer flies or fleas. It’s not a very nice bacterium, but the infection rate between 1990 and 2000 was less than 1 per 1 million, meaning the disease is extremely rare. Wear gloves when you handle your wild rabbit, cook the meat thoroughly, and you should be just fine.
When a certain editor and publisher expressed shock at the thought of someone actually eating rabbit, I heard in my head “Where’s my Hasenpfeffer!”
There is a Bugs Bunny cartoon, (I’m told it is “Shishkabugs” from 1962), in which a buffoonish king orders his cook (Yosemite Sam) to bring him his Hasenpfeffer, which would require the capture and cooking of our dear Bugs Bunny. Of course, the king went without.
“Hasenpfeffer” [HAH-zuhn-fehf-uhr] is German for “hare pepper,” a thick, highly seasoned, peppery stew of rabbit meat. Hasenpfeffer is often served garnished with sour cream and accompanied by noodles (Nudeln) or dumplings (Spätzle).
Reader comments posted to the online edition of the Friday Thoughts column from Aug. 14 had some information on rabbit. “Create” wrote: “Rabbit is popular here, too. You can buy domestic rabbit fryers from a place in Cottonwood Falls, all dressed and ready for the skillet. There’s a seller here in Emporia, too. A very dense meat, yes indeed, rabbit is good eats, one of the most nutritious meats.”
“Blulitespecial” wrote: “Darn right, create — good eats! Grandma even told me about rabbit drives they used to have around here. They would dress them and pack them in barrels with ice to put on the train to Kansas City.” So there!
HASENPFEFFER
www.epicurious.com
3 pounds of hare or rabbit,
cut into pieces.
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup flour
1/2 lb. diced bacon
1/2 cup shallots, minced
1 finely chopped garlic clove
1 cup dry red wine, such as a
cabernet sauvignon
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. instant chicken bouillon
1 Tbsp. currant (or grape) jelly
10 crushed black peppercorns
1 small bay leaf
1/4 tsp. dried, crushed rosemary
leaves
1/8 tsp. dried thyme leaves
2 tsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. flour
Sprinkle the rabbit meat with salt. Coat with the 1/3 cup of flour, shaking off the excess. Fry the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, then remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Brown a few pieces of the rabbit in the hot bacon fat, and then remove the browned pieces. Repeat with remaining rabbit until done. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan.
Cook and stir the shallots and garlic in the hot fat until the shallots are tender. Stir in the wine, 1 cup water and the instant chicken bouillon: bring to a boil. Stir in the jelly, peppercorns, bay leaf, rosemary and thyme. Return the rabbit meat and bacon to the Dutch oven. Heat again to boiling, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer until the rabbit is tender, usually about 1-1/2 hours.
Remove the bay leaf and discard it. Place the rabbit on a warm platter, and keep it warm while preparing the gravy. Stir lemon juice into the liquid that remains in the Dutch oven. Whisk the 3 tablespoons of water and the 2 tablespoons of flour together and then into the drippings in the pan. This will make some gravy to cover the rabbit meat. (I might extend the gravy with some milk, because I like gravy. A lot. — RM)
RABBIT SMOTHERED WITH ONIONS
www.rabbithuntingonline.com
1-2 small rabbits, cut into pieces
Seasoned flour, for dredging
3 Tbsp. bacon drippings
1 large onion, sliced
1/4 tsp. each thyme, pepper
and salt
1 cup sour cream
Skin and clean the rabbits and cut into pieces. Dredge with seasoned flour. Melt the bacon drippings in a skillet or oven proof casserole and sauté the rabbit until brown.
Cover with the onion slices, sprinkle on the seasonings, and finish with the sour cream. Cover and simmer very gently or slow bake in a 300 degree oven for one hour.
My Papaw Finney could fry rabbit with the best of them. He also made the best pecan pie on the planet. He passed his fried rabbit recipe to my mother, and she passed it to me. I haven’t had this dish in at least 30 years but I may drive over to Cottonwood Falls and just rectify that situation!
SOUTHERN FRIED
RABBIT (OR SQUIRREL) WITH GRAVY
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 wild rabbit or 2 squirrels, cut up
Vegetable oil
3 Tbsp. flour
1-1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper
In a large zip-close bag, combine 1/3 cup flour, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Shake to mix. Add rabbit or squirrel pieces and shake to coat.
In a large skillet (we use cast iron), heat 1/4-inch of oil for rabbit, or 1/8-inch of oil for squirrel, over medium-high heat until hot. Brown the meat on all sides.
Reduce heat and cover tightly. Cook over very low heat until tender, 20 to 25 minutes for rabbit, 35 to 45 minutes for squirrel, turning pieces once. Remove cover, and cook 5 minutes longer to crisp. Transfer meat to a plate lined with paper towels. Set aside to keep warm.
Discard all but 3 tablespoons of oil. Over medium heat, stir flour into reserved oil. Blend in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve gravy with meat and hot homemade biscuits.
LAPIN A LA COCOTTE (French Rabbit Stew)
recipezaar.com
3 slices bacon, cut in thirds
1 1/2 cups sliced onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (2-3 lb.) rabbit, quartered
3 Tbsp. flour
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup red wine
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. dried parsley
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
In a large skillet or medium-sized Dutch oven, cook bacon until done; remove bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve for another use (for a salad, omelet, etc). In the bacon drippings, cook the onion and garlic until transparent.
Add the rabbit pieces and sauté over medium heat until rabbit is golden. Sprinkle on the flour and continue to brown rabbit for another 5 minutes or so, then add the beef broth, red wine, thyme, parsley and bay leaves.
Cover and simmer over low heat for about an hour, adding more broth if necessary. Salt and pepper to taste (with the bacon drippings, not much salt is needed). Serve with mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles.
Well, if you didn’t know what to do with dressed rabbit meat before, you do now. Bon appetit.
Next week is a column featuring carrots in all their glory. The week after that we’ll have the winners of the Aug. 26 salsa contest.
If you would like to compete in the third Murphy’s Menu Cook-Off this summer, bring a pint of your best salsa to the Farmers Market kiosk between 4:30 and 5 p.m. next Wednesday. You could walk away with a wonderful culinary gift bag from Country Marts and Price Chopper. I’ll bring the chips, you bring a recipe and we’ll go from there. Let’s get cooking.