Rabbit Three Ways

Oh rabbit. I still believe that you have bones that connect your arms to your body. Why are you so easy to take apart? And yet not always that delicious? Such a kitchen contradiction.

On this rabbit day we watched the chef make this dish and thought we wouldn't finish before midnight for a 6 pm class. We had to take the rabbit apart and marinate its various pieces. But the legs stayed dry and you had to debone them and flatten them and make a leg roll with mushroom and truffle inside. The whole roll was wrapped in caul fat and then seared and braised. We then had to saute the shoulders and ribs and tie the loin. So I guess technically it was only rabbit 2 ways....but it was kind of 2.5 ways because we had to do some weird stuff to the loin that we didn't have to do with the other bits and pieces (mainly tie it and then untie it to cook it through...really weird). Plus we had to manchonner (french, the language and the english verb "to french") the ribs. Loyal readers will remember the rabbit rib from last session. When frenched and cut it is barely larger than a small mushroom. Its ribs are like toothpicks. Insanity.

We also had to make stuffed mushrooms (though the verb "stuffed" is up for debate when all you do is pour onion puree into them) and fondant potatos, which just take longer than they should but are quite delicious. You cut them in half and shape them lovingly...then you brown them in butter, stock to half height, cover, oven until soft....reduce away liquid on stovetop - but not too hard or you'll boil apart those soft (fondant) potatoes....so they're glossy and gooey on the outside. It doesn't sound like that much, but trust me, it was. I did finish on time. Three of us did. So Phew! But it was a challenging day. And it was a Friday. On the plate clockwise from noon: the leg roll with sauce under, the tenderloin, mushrooms, ribs, potato, shoulder.