Braised Rabbit with Mustard and Tarragon
A whole rabbit browned and braised in wine and cream until the meat gives up the bone on its own, mustard and tarragon keeping it from tasting like plain chicken.
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 30 min
- Written
Method
-
Season the rabbit pieces with salt and pepper, then dust them in the flour, shaking off the excess.
-
Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high and cook the bacon until crisp, then remove it with a slotted spoon.
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Brown the rabbit in the bacon fat in batches, turning once the underside is deep gold, and set it aside with the bacon.
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Add the onion and carrots to the pot and cook until the onion turns translucent.
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Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
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Pour in the white wine and scrape up the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.
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Return the rabbit and bacon to the pot, add the stock, and bring to a simmer.
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Cover and braise in a 325°F oven until the meat pulls easily from the bone, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
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Transfer the rabbit to a platter, then whisk the mustard and cream into the braising liquid and simmer until it coats the back of a spoon.
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Stir in the tarragon, spoon the sauce over the rabbit, and serve.
Notes
Rabbit is lean enough that a quick cook turns it stringy, which is exactly why it wants this treatment instead — an hour and change at a low simmer melts the connective tissue without drying out the meat the way it would a chicken thigh. Buy it whole and have the butcher break it down, or ask for it already cut into pieces.
If rabbit isn’t easy to find, bone-in chicken thighs work in the same braise, though they’ll need closer to 45 minutes rather than the full hour and change. Serve it over egg noodles or mashed potato — something that can sit under the sauce and soak it up.