RG_Adult_Onset_Hunter
Well-known member
I love peasant food. I like it enough that I ran out of my shanks, ground meat, neck, and front shoulders way before I ran out of backstrap. A steak is nice, but a well-crafted casserole or stew is magical. Stroganoff is designed around taking cheap stuff and turning it into something hardy. The only shame is that in most forms it’s too rich and cream laden for my wife to handle. The jackrabbit and a few other recipe tweaks allowed me to solve this problem while still making a dish that tastes downright sinful.
You will need about 4 hours to get this all done (not all of them have to be spent in the kitchen), but here is how I broke things up to turn out a great dish even after a fairly exhausting morning hunt.
The Rabbit
Coat one and a half rabbit backs, or 2 rabbit hams with a light dusting of wheat flour. In a preheated, heavy, lidded stock pot or Dutch oven, sear the rabbit pieces on all sides in a little bit of oil (I like grapeseed for this because of the high smoke point and neutral flavor).
Add about ½ cup of water to the pot and scrape the bottom to get that water good and brown. Jackrabbit has a lot of tough sinew, which means it makes killer broth. Now add enough water to just cover the meat (about 4 cups). Bring this to a simmer and cover the pot. Depending on the age of the rabbit, it will take 1-3 hours to get it tender enough to slip it from the bone. A good way to tell if its ready to go is to poke it with a skewer, when done just right the piece will be liftable with the skewer, but want to slide right back into the liquid when it starts to be removed. Overcooking in this instance is way more acceptable than undercooking (it’ll just have less definition when you shred it). When done, remove the meat from the liquid but do not discard the liquid. Pick the meat from the bones and shred it.
The Noodles
While the rabbit is simmering it’s a good idea to get the noodles started. Pour 1 cup of wheat flour, 2 cups of white flour and a pinch of salt on your countertop. Mix this and then make a well in the center. Add 6 eggs to this well. Using a fork, beat the eggs while grabbing flour from the sides to incorporate it into the eggs. When fully mixed knead the dough until smooth. Put this in an airtight container and set it aside for a few hours. Good noodles need to rest for a while.
The Sauce and Getting it all Together
When the rabbit comes out of its simmering liquid, strain the liquid to remove any additional solids and put it back in the pot. Crank the heat up all the way on that and let it reduce until you have a very thin amount at the bottom of the pan (I’d guess it reduced down to a cup or less).
While that does its thing, roll out the noodles. Use flour on the counter and the noodles to prevent too much sticking. I divide the dough into four parts to roll out. You can make good noodles with a pasta press, but great noodles get rolled out by hand. Thin or thick take your pick. If you are trying to get ultra-thin noodles, use the rolling pin to stretch the dough while you roll it bit by bit onto the pin, this will save a ton of work. When rolled out, liberally flour the whole sheet as you fold it into a four-inch-wide roll. Slice this roll into noodles (this gives you long noodles with a consistent width) juggle them in your hands to separate them. Cook the noodles in boiling water for a few minutes, drain and set aside. If you decide to pre-cook noodles way ahead of time put them in a pot of cold water to keep them from sticking to each other.
Sauté a small chopped onion in about 3 tablespoons of butter. Quick note: butter that says it has “natural flavoring” in it will generally spatter all over the place at a low temp because of the additional water it contains from additives. Good butter that is made of cream, culture, and perhaps salt, does not do this. Buy the good stuff and your food will taste better while your kitchen stays cleaner. Back to the recipe, when the onions become translucent, add minced garlic, and a thinly sliced pepper (I like chimayo for this). Sauté for a few more minutes and add 2 or 3 sliced porcini mushrooms (I sliced mine thin on a mandolin, but I think I’d go thicker next time to give some more meatiness to the dish). After another minute or two add a few spoonsful of wheat flour. Mix this into the whole works and cook until you see the flour brown a bit. Add the reduced simmering liquid from the rabbit, and a can of coconut milk (13.5oz). Stir this until well mixed and allow to simmer on low heat until a bit thickened. Mix this in with the noodles and shredded meat.
Garnish with chiffonaded parsley.
You will need about 4 hours to get this all done (not all of them have to be spent in the kitchen), but here is how I broke things up to turn out a great dish even after a fairly exhausting morning hunt.
The Rabbit
Coat one and a half rabbit backs, or 2 rabbit hams with a light dusting of wheat flour. In a preheated, heavy, lidded stock pot or Dutch oven, sear the rabbit pieces on all sides in a little bit of oil (I like grapeseed for this because of the high smoke point and neutral flavor).
Add about ½ cup of water to the pot and scrape the bottom to get that water good and brown. Jackrabbit has a lot of tough sinew, which means it makes killer broth. Now add enough water to just cover the meat (about 4 cups). Bring this to a simmer and cover the pot. Depending on the age of the rabbit, it will take 1-3 hours to get it tender enough to slip it from the bone. A good way to tell if its ready to go is to poke it with a skewer, when done just right the piece will be liftable with the skewer, but want to slide right back into the liquid when it starts to be removed. Overcooking in this instance is way more acceptable than undercooking (it’ll just have less definition when you shred it). When done, remove the meat from the liquid but do not discard the liquid. Pick the meat from the bones and shred it.
The Noodles
While the rabbit is simmering it’s a good idea to get the noodles started. Pour 1 cup of wheat flour, 2 cups of white flour and a pinch of salt on your countertop. Mix this and then make a well in the center. Add 6 eggs to this well. Using a fork, beat the eggs while grabbing flour from the sides to incorporate it into the eggs. When fully mixed knead the dough until smooth. Put this in an airtight container and set it aside for a few hours. Good noodles need to rest for a while.
The Sauce and Getting it all Together
When the rabbit comes out of its simmering liquid, strain the liquid to remove any additional solids and put it back in the pot. Crank the heat up all the way on that and let it reduce until you have a very thin amount at the bottom of the pan (I’d guess it reduced down to a cup or less).
While that does its thing, roll out the noodles. Use flour on the counter and the noodles to prevent too much sticking. I divide the dough into four parts to roll out. You can make good noodles with a pasta press, but great noodles get rolled out by hand. Thin or thick take your pick. If you are trying to get ultra-thin noodles, use the rolling pin to stretch the dough while you roll it bit by bit onto the pin, this will save a ton of work. When rolled out, liberally flour the whole sheet as you fold it into a four-inch-wide roll. Slice this roll into noodles (this gives you long noodles with a consistent width) juggle them in your hands to separate them. Cook the noodles in boiling water for a few minutes, drain and set aside. If you decide to pre-cook noodles way ahead of time put them in a pot of cold water to keep them from sticking to each other.
Sauté a small chopped onion in about 3 tablespoons of butter. Quick note: butter that says it has “natural flavoring” in it will generally spatter all over the place at a low temp because of the additional water it contains from additives. Good butter that is made of cream, culture, and perhaps salt, does not do this. Buy the good stuff and your food will taste better while your kitchen stays cleaner. Back to the recipe, when the onions become translucent, add minced garlic, and a thinly sliced pepper (I like chimayo for this). Sauté for a few more minutes and add 2 or 3 sliced porcini mushrooms (I sliced mine thin on a mandolin, but I think I’d go thicker next time to give some more meatiness to the dish). After another minute or two add a few spoonsful of wheat flour. Mix this into the whole works and cook until you see the flour brown a bit. Add the reduced simmering liquid from the rabbit, and a can of coconut milk (13.5oz). Stir this until well mixed and allow to simmer on low heat until a bit thickened. Mix this in with the noodles and shredded meat.
Garnish with chiffonaded parsley.
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