Lapin Chasseur is a classic French stew of rabbit meat with mushrooms, wine, tomato and herbs.
Cooking Garden Pests
I planted my first plant ever this year-a squash. There was a problem though. As my little squash grew, I wasn't the only one watching it.
The squash was just one in a ¼ acre or so garden filled with other cucurbits, of all colors, sizes and shapes, but it seemed the bunnies from the warren under the hill were only interested in one-mine.
I made sure to check the squash a few times a week to ensure it was getting everything it needed, but every week, leaves would be eaten, and eventually a few baby musque became rabbit fodder. After losing a few squash, rabbit and pumpkin curry was sounding more delicious by the day.
I lucked out one night at dusk, and caught mr. cottontail nibbling leaves. After missing at least 5 times with my adult bb gun (.177 pellet rifle) I scored, and meat was back on the menu.
Unfortunately, I'd planted the squash too late in the season, and they would never mature to their full size (a healthy 30 lbs or roughly the size of a small baby carriage) so cottontail and pumpkin curry would have to wait. Next year, musque.
Mushrooms
It was late fall, so I grabbed some of the few blewits and shaggy manes. A perfect autumn combination would've been some shaggy parasols and black trumpet mushrooms too.
Either way, I knew a great recipe would be rabbit and wild mushrooms in a classic lapin chasseur.
A Classic Rabbit Dish
Chasseur is the famous French hunter's sauce. After the hunt the hunters would pick mushrooms to cook with the day's harvest, or so romantic stories go. It's a great one pot dish. Like fried rabbit or coq au vin, It's almost always better made at home than ordered in a restaurant.
A lot of chefs would probably say that you need to use demi to call something sauce chasseur, but I disagree. And honestly a lot of them probably just use Knorr pre-made demi, a sort of syrupy, bouillon I don't like.
True demi-glace, or stock reduced to half its volume will make a great sauce. But I really like making a good braised rabbit in one pan for dinner the same day it's harvested.
Small game stews like this, with bones and variable parts, I think of as a sort of gentleman hunter dish. It's the kind of thing Brillat Savarin would make for a hunting party at his cabin with friends.
I can just about see the cabin in the countryside. There's a pack of hunting dogs, old men with cigars and spirits, and a roaring wood fire. In the back of the room is a black iron pot filling the room with rabbit, tomatoes, mushrooms and herbs.
More French Recipes
Rabbit Chasseur with Wild Mushrooms
Equipment
- 1 12 inch cast iron pan or large skillet
- 1 Butcher knife or poultry shears
Ingredients
- 1 large or medium-sized rabbit with kidneys heart and liver, legs separated, loin/saddle/breast cut into 3-4 two inch pieces
- All purpose flour or equivalent, for dredging
- Kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 Tablespoons brandy
- 1 cup tomato juice or puree
- 1 cup chicken stock rabbit stock, or hot water in a pinch
- 2 tablespoons bacon drippings or lard or light olive oil
- 2 ounces good slab bacon cut into ½ inch pieces, or an equivalent smoked meat product
- ½ cup or ½ a medium-sized onion small diced
- 8-16 ounces fresh wild mushrooms left whole if small, quartered or halved if large (I used blewits and shaggy manes here)
- 1 Tablespoon finely sliced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
Instructions
Cut up the rabbit
- Remove the front and back legs from the rabbit. Cut the saddle and rib portion into 2-3 inch pieces.
- Finely chop the rabbit offal and reserve.
Cooking
- Season the rabbit pieces liberally with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour. Add the rabbit pieces to a hot skillet brown deeply in lard on medium-high heat.
- Halfway through, remove the rabbit pieces to a paper towel. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Add the sliced garlic to the pan and cook, adding fat as needed until the garlic is lightly browned, and aromatic.
- Add the onion, rabbit offal, and mushrooms to the pan. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until lightly browned. Add the thyme and brandy. Add the rabbit pieces, wine, tomatoes, and stock to the pan.
- Transfer to the oven and cook at 325 for 45 minutes, covered, or until the meat just moves from the bone stirring from time to time. It should not fall apart.
Serving
- Remove the rabbit from the pan and keep warm. Finish the sauce by reducing until it's thickened lightly (there will be some evaporation from baking, and you may not need to). Finally whisk in the tablespoon of butter and correcting the seasoning for salt.
- Alternately, just serve the rabbit from the pan and let people ladle sauce over their plates. Traditionally you'd probably have this with rice or pasta, but I opted for a simple quick slaw of shaved brussels with lemon and oil.
Kay Bell
I have made this once before, and it was delicious. However, I do not see where you add the brandy?
Kay
Err, there is no mention as to when put the Brandy in. Guessing with the brazing of the rabbit? Missing for the instructions. Thanks!
Alan Bergo
Thanks for catching that. I adjusted it so it reads correctly.
PMR
I am trying this tonight. I love rabbit and this sounds great. One question, when do I add the thyme? It doesn't say in the directions. Is it added at the end to the sauce or to the wine, puree, broth to bake?
Alan Bergo
Thanks for catching that I’m a terrible copy editor. Add it with the mushrooms. I adjusted the recipe.
Nina Cino
Can I use bottled rabbit? Thank you
Alan Bergo
No.
Dr. Henniger
Lapinragoût
Jagdverbot
Neue Rüsseltiere
Mastodon, Mammut, Elefant, Kanin
Ken Snodgrass
Was saving “the spiders” (dregs of a bottle) of some old Armagnac, but had to let it go to this recipe. Glad I did. This recipe is a keeper, Had to travel 40 miles to to an Amish grocery to get rabbit but I will be keeping an eye on my garden this year with my pellet gun. Many thanks!
Tatyana Beer
Rabbit is hands down my favourite meat. And there is something so satisfying about butchering and savouring the little beggars after watching them decimate one’s garden! Thank-you for this recipe!
Alan Bergo
Yes, they're an underutilized protein for sure, also squirrel.
Tommy
Hey Chef, I've seen on your website for a lot of the mushrooms species, there is a "general page" with, well, general information about the species, things to look for when foraging, flavor profile, and some best practices for prep. It would be amazing to have the same for some of the small game too like pheasant and rabbit and squirrel. Keep doing what you're doing, you have the best site on the web for elevated wild flora / fauna cooking.
Alan Bergo
Thanks Tommy. That’s a great suggestion, unfortunately it will be on the back burner for a while as I’m really busy with admin stuff on here, and the mushroom/plant content is generally what people really interact with here. Someday.
Nina
I've "sort of" made this myself but without the brandy and wine. I've also used other wild mushrooms. Now I know how to kick it up a notch. Thanks. Great recipe and a beautiful 1-pan dish.
I also feel for you when it comes to your squash. I'm a huge gardener and this year my hubby and I managed to control the rabbit population but the deer took over where the rabbits left off. It's a battle!! LOL!!
Alan Bergo
Good thing you can eat deer too!
Chris Larson
Glad to see you making something elegant out of a rabbit eating your garden. Thank you for making foraging an acceptable (even aspirational) topic.
Alan Bergo
I'd like to think foraging is acceptable too. Thanks.