Zisu's Kitchen (1): Fool Proof Braised Rabbit

Rabbit meat is one of the leanest meat and can be used as a substitute for chicken as a source of lean protein. For health conscious diners, please refer to the nutrition fact of rabbit meat.

And, rabbit meat is delicious! Since we spend most of our weekends watching the World Cup recently, I need to prepare some easy dishes for dinner that needs as little attendance as possible. One of these dishes is braised rabbit. It was a huge success and unbelievably simple. So I'd like to share the recipe here. Can't find rabbit in your local grocery market? Chicken drumsticks work just as fine.

After cut and clean the rabbit meat, marinate it in a container for at least 2 hours or overnight in the fridge.  Marinate is really where you show off your personal taste. I used red wine, soy sauce, Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute, minced onion, minced garlic, dried bay leaves, and a touch of paprika. Rabbit meat is gamy, so I would go a bit heavy in seasoning. If you prefer gamy taste or use less gamy meat (e.g. chicken), you may want to go with a lighter seasoning.

About 20 mins before the soccer game starts, take the marinated rabbit out of the fridge. Cut some vegetables: carrots, onion, celery sticks. Heat a pan (with oil, if needed) and brown the rabbit meat on both sides. Move the browned meat into a Dutch oven. Stir fry chopped vegetables in the same pan until the onion turns golden and throw them into the Dutch oven. Add the marinate, olive oil and some water into the Dutch oven, mix well, and put on the lid. Bring it to boil on the stove. Preheat the oven to 350F, and put the Dutch oven in it.

Now you are ready to sit back and enjoy the first half.

At the half time break, check out the rabbit meat if you want. If it seems too dry, add some water or white wine. I also prepared the side during the break - steamed green beans and eggplant. They are easy dishes too. I steamed them, and put them aside when it was done. They cooled down to about the room temperature while I was watching the second half.

About 30 minutes into the second half, I turned off the oven and took the Dutch oven out. Let the meat sit for a while. When the second half was over, both the rabbit and the side were ready to serve.

Tips:

1. This is the Dutch oven I used for cooking. We also have a far more expensive one. Honestly I didn't notice any difference in terms of quality between Lodge and La Creuset. If you have extra money to burn and love the French brand, go for it. For me, La Creuset price is absolutely a rip-off. For a 3-pound rabbit, 3-5 qt is about the right size of Dutch oven you need. 
2. Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute is awesome! 
3. If you don't have an oven at home, it is OK to braise the rabbit on the stove top. Two main benefits of using an oven: 1) cook evenly, and 2) avoid the side effect of heating up the room. If you cook on the stove, make sure that you turn the stew once in a while so that the food is cooked evenly.  

Whether you choose to cook in the oven or on the stove top, there’s nothing more satisfying than the aroma of meat gently simmering in a rich broth. :)