Why I Love This Recipe
“I want people to sit at that table and be sick with longing.”
- Chef Adam Jones (as played by Bradley Cooper)
CHEF WAREING TIP #2: Go to an experienced butcher and buy wild rabbit if possible.
Ingredients You'll Need
4 rabbit loins, brined for 30 minutes in a 7% brine solution
2 tbsp olive oil
25g unsalted butter
Rabbit sauce
100g rabbit bones, roughly chopped with a cleaver
2 tbsp vegetable oil
½ tsp table salt
½ carrot, peeled and cut into 4
½ stick celery, cut into 4
1 small onion, peeled and cut into 4
1 clove garlic
4 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs tarragon
1 bay leaf
100ml white wine
25ml Madeira
400ml chicken stock
Rabbit croquette
1 rabbit leg, salted for 2 hours with rock salt on each side, then rinsed
500g duck fat
3 sprigs thyme
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp tarragon, chopped
1 egg
25g flour
25g panko breadcrumbs
Watercress purée
1 bunch watercress, leaves only
20ml Chardonnay vinegar
½ tsp English mustard
25ml extra virgin olive oil
1 raw beetroot, peeled and finely julienned
Mustard mayonnaise
2 tbsp homemade mustard
½ tsp Pommery mustard
3 heritage beetroot
100g rock salt
50g toasted oats
4 slices Guanciale
Directions
For the watercress purée, blanch in salted water then refresh in iced water. Blend together with the vinegar, olive oil and mustard. Pass through a fine sieve, place in a piping bag and refrigerate.
For the mustard mayonnaise, whisk all ingredients together and season if necessary. Place in a piping bag and refrigerate.
To make the beetroot coleslaw, salt the beetroot for 10 minutes then rinse lightly and pat dry. Mix with ½ tbsp of the mustard mayonnaise.
For the rabbit sauce, heat the vegetable oil in a pan. When hot, add the rabbit bones and cook until golden brown. Remove and set aside. In the same pan, add the carrots, celery, garlic and onion and cook until golden. Add the wine and madeira and simmer until it resembles a syrup. Add the bones, salt, garlic, herbs and stock and simmer for 45 minutes, skimming any fat off the top. Strain through a fine sieve and bring to a simmer to reduce by half.
For the croquettes, preheat the oven to 100˚C. Melt the duck fat and cover the leg, in a dish just large enough to fit both. Add the thyme and garlic, cover with foil and place in the oven for 3 hours. Remove and allow to cool in the duck fat until you are able to pick the meat, discarding the bones and skin. Mix with the chopped tarragon and enough sauce to bind. Adjust seasoning if necessary then set in a square mould lined with clingfilm, refrigerate. When completely cold, cut in half then dust evenly with flour. Dip into the egg wash then coat with the panko crumbs. Place in the fridge until ready to serve. When ready to serve, deep fry in oil at 165˚C until golden and warmed through.
For the cooked beetroot, preheat the oven to 160˚C. Wrap the beetroot with the salt in foil and bake for 3 hours or until soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Peel whilst still warm then refrigerate. Cut into neat wedges. When ready to serve, remove from the fridge an hour before. Dress with olive oil and Maldon salt.
For the crispy guanciale, preheat oven to 180˚C. Place the skin on a sheet of parchment paper, season, then place another sheet of paper on top. Sandwich between two baking trays and cook for 4 - 6 minutes until golden and crispy. Remove and allow to cool.
To cook the rabbit loins, heat the vegetable oil in a pan. Season the loins and brown all over. Add the butter and when foaming, baste until the legs are just cooked through. Add the rabbit glaze and cover the loins until they have the sticky glaze all over. Remove from the pan and cover with the oats.
To serve, dot the watercress purée around the plate, with the mustard mayonnaise. Add the dressed beetroot and beetroot remoulade. Finish with the crisp guanciale and rabbit. Garnish with bulls blood cress and serve.
