When channeling one’s inner Julia Child, one must never forget that nothing quite has the affect of a hearty, savory, warms-your-soul-on-a-winter-day bowl of slow cooked goodness.
With this in mind, we are going to put a wild game spin on a mainstay of French cuisine, the beautiful beef bourguignon. In place of the beef though, we are going to dispel the prevalent myth that jackrabbits aren’t worth a damn on the dinner plate. While it may be true that they are not as naturally tender as a cottontail, jackrabbits (they’re actually hares) hold immense potential to be worthy of the finest occasion, provided you know what you’re going.
With that said, let’s jump right into making a spectacular jackrabbit bourguignon that will be sure to convert even the most stalwart nonbelievers!
Rustic Jackrabbit Bourguignon
Ingredients
- 2 Jackrabbit Legs
- 3 oz Bourbon
- 2 cups Stock (or bone broth)
- 1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
- 4 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 4 tbsp Olive Oil/Tallow
- 3 Bay Leaves
- 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme
- 2 tbsp Rosemary
- 3 tbsp Oregano
- 1 bunch Carrots
- 4 Shallots
- 12 Small Potatoes (any variant)
- 1 lb Baby Bella Mushrooms
Instructions
- Take your rabbit legs, dry them thoroughly, and hit them with your favorite dry rub.
- Brown in a skillet using your favorite oil/fat until you’ve got great color on them. Deglaze with bourbon!
- Place the browned legs and skillet scrapings into your braising pan.
- Add stock (I used wild hog bone broth), cabernet and worcestershire.
- Add three bay leaves, three sprigs of fresh thyme, and rosemary.
- Braise at 300 degrees (covered) for 4 hours, or until meat is soft and a fork passes through it with little to no effort.
- While braising, chop carrots, shallots and potatoes, and place in a cookie sheet with baby bellas, and coat them all in olive oil, coarse sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, and oregano.
- Roast veggies while meat braises, until veggies are cooked well but not dry.
- Once meat is done, remove meat from braising pan and whisk in flour sparingly until broth thickens. Place meat back in, and add veggies.
- Place back in oven (covered) until it returns to a steady simmer.
- Remove from oven, uncover, allow to rest for five minutes, and serve with a bold red wine!