Baked Spiced Rabbit with Carrots and Bacon
Print RecipeIngredients
- 1 4-5 lb wild young rabbit
- 1 tbsp Juniper berries
- 6 Rosemary Springs
- 3 Whole Aniseeds
- 1 whole sliced lemon
- 1 tbsp Ghee
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- freshly grated Nutmeg
- 3 tbsp Veal & Duck demi-glace
- salt & freshly ground pepper
- 12 organic young carrots, stems on
- 4 pieces of uncured bacon, cut in half
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F
Take the rabbit and quickly rinse in cold water before patting dry with paper towels. In the middle of a heavy iron cast baking sheet that is roughly 15 x 9", lay down whole rosemary springs, aniseeds, juniper berries, and slices of lemon so that it forms a straight line.
Place the rabbit cavity directly over the herb and lemon line you just made, the legs and arms of the rabbit should be pointing towards each corner of the pan. Use your fingers to rub the Ghee on the skin. In a separate small bowl, mix the cinnamon and nutmeg and sprinkle it all over the rabbit ( the Ghee will help it stick). On the sides on the iron cast baking dish, place all the washed carrots and season the entire dish with salt and pepper before covering with 2 pieces of aluminum
Bake for 1 hour, adding the demi-glace after 30 min on top of the rabbit
Remove the aluminum foil and drape the bacon over the rabbit top and place back into the oven, this time placing the broiler on high for 5-8 minutes until the bacon releases its fat and turns crispy.
Once the rabbit is done, remove the bacon to a separate dish while you plate.
Serve by dividing in 4 equal pieces ( ie. 1 leg is a portion and , 1 arm and rib meat is another) with 3 carrots each and top with sauce from the pan and 2 pieces of bacon
Rabbit is a very lean meat, additional fat is required to ensure it stays moist and tender. Its not typical to see a fully oven baked Rabbit recipe, they are usually stewed or braised before but here at Toasty Cupboard, things are always done a bit differently. This recipe is perfect for a special dinner or a holiday meal and is a cinch to make. Make sure you have the proper roasting pan, you want it to hold the rabbit rather compactly so that it does not dry out and arrange the carrots where you find space. Once everything is assembled in the pan its just placed in the oven and cooked covered in aluminum foil to keep the juices from evaporating. Half way through the baking process, a nice demi-glace ( for example pre made store bought from the company D’artagnan) is basted over the meat before the finishing touch of the broiler turning on to crunch up the added bacon and toast the carrots. Its a elegant light dish, and will ensure that expensive over the top cheese plate you have waiting will be throughly enjoyed as well.
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