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Hasu Cook Session I:
Saute Rabbit
Introduction
Hello fellow Liquidians! I'm Newbistic, the same dude behind the Ghetto Cook series of blogs. This is the beginning of a new series of blogs, the "Hasu Cook" series. This series is a continuation of my cooking journey featuring ingredients that are a bit too expensive to be considered "ghetto".
The change of pace is brought about by necessity. Recently my room mate (who likes to buy a lot of organic/super healthy stuff) has commissioned me to help her cook her rabbit meat. I've never eaten or cooked rabbit before, so of course I immediately thought it would be a really cool thing to cook and then blog about. The thing is, these furry lagomorphs clock in at roughly $8 per pound. I had a vague hunch some people would not appreciate the irony of having a TGC blog about how to cook rabbit.
So, saute rabbit. This is the cooking method I decided upon after much research on the subject of lagomorph cookery. It is a method suited for cooking a young, tender rabbit (or fryer rabbits). The recipe is lifted directly from Larousse Gastronomique (the bible for French cooking; 2004 First American Edition, page 375 of the Meat, Poultry and Game volume). Here is the exact text of the recipe:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/3cZwe.png)
Jesus fuck that's one tiny paragraph.
It's the simplest recipe in the book for rabbit with the least amount of ingredients. From what I have read on rabbits from the internet, the flavor of the meat is somewhere between chicken and turkey. It certainly seems possible to re-create a cheaper version of this dish using chicken.
A NOTE BEFORE I BEGIN: I'M A TOTAL FUCKING NOOB AT FRENCH COOKING. I FOLLOW THE RECIPE TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY USING WHAT I KNOW ABOUT COOKING MEAT. IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT MY PHOTOS AND THINK THAT IT LOOKS LIKE SHIT, PLEASE JUST FOLLOW THE RECIPE DIRECTLY WITHOUT GOING ALONG WITH WHAT I'M DOING.
Ingredients
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/yWHK8.jpg)
Looks like dis wabbit is vewy vewy dead.
Total prep/cooking time: 25-30 minutes.
1.25 to 1.5 pounds (~600g) of rabbit
1/2 cup white wine
~2 tbsp lemon juice
2.5 tbsp butter, divided into 1.5 tbsp and 1 tbsp
4-5 tablespoons of stock*
1 small shallot
salt
pepper
parsley**
*The recipe did not specify what type of stock, so I assume any type is fine. I actually did not have any stock on hand, so I used the trimmings from the rabbit to create a tiny batch of makeshift stock.
**Italian parsley pictured, since it looked significantly fresher than the other parsley at the supermarket. You need only about 1/4 of what is pictured here.
Also worth noting is that this is a recipe for young rabbit. Do NOT use this recipe for hare or older rabbits.
Cooking
We start with the prep work as always. Give your parsley some gentle chopping and thinly slice your shallot. Roll your lemon around to loosen its juices for easy squeezing.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/30BM0.jpg)
Complement your dead animal matter with some dead plant matter. It'll taste better.
On the rabbit side of things, wash and rinse off your rabbit pieces. Trim off any excess fatty bits. Rabbits are quite lean so you shouldn't have to cut off too much fat. Pat the pieces dry with a paper towel. This is important so that your pieces will brown while they saute instead of steam. Salt and pepper the pieces after you have pat them dry.
Meanwhile, prepare a lightly oiled, oven-safe vessel and pre-heat your oven to 200F. This step isn't directly in the recipe, but the recipe did say to keep the rabbit warm once they are pulled off the saute pan, and the oven is my chosen receptacle for when the rabbit is finished sauteing.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/d2lr3.jpg)
Elmer Fudd can learn a thing or two from whoever killed this rabbit. No need to go digging for buckshot here.
Over medium-high heat in a non-stick saute pan, melt 1.5 tablespoons of butter. The butter should be smoking before you put the rabbit pieces into the pan. If you place your rabbit into the pan and do not immediately hear sizzling, take the rabbit out and let the pan heat up more.
Saute your rabbit pieces on one side until it is brown, then saute it on the other side. From hindsight, I think I did not completely brown the pieces thoroughly enough (it's difficult to judge because the recipe did not provide pictures, but from the text it seems as if you are supposed to completely cook the rabbit through simply by sauteing. I had to finish cooking the rabbit in the oven at 300F for about 6 minutes). Cover your pan with a lid while sauteing to keep the heat from dissipating.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/dhlAl.jpg)
If you think about it, before a dish passes into the annals of history, it also had to pass through the anals of history.
When the rabbit is done, transfer the pieces into your oven-safe vessel and stick them into the oven for warm safe-keeping. Pour 1/2 cup of wine into your pan and dump in your chopped shallot. The wine should help loosen up all the stuck bits of meat, which will form the flavor base for the sauce.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/T0C6r.jpg)
Like the French, good Starcraft players always enjoy a bit of fine whine and cheese
Keep the pan uncovered and boil away the wine until it is at almost nothing. Then, add your stock, and reduce again to a few tablespoons. At this point add your last tablespoon of butter along with a squeeze of lemon juice. Melt the butter until you get a congruous looking sauce.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/6Z62t.jpg)
When I die, I'll ask to have a sauce prepared like this one poured all over my dead body too
Plate your rabbit. Pour the sauce over it and sprinkle on some parsley. Serve warm with potatoes or rice or salad or whatever constitutes a meal.
The Result
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/OhZEh.jpg)
Don't think about Bugs Bunny. Don't think about Bugs Bunny. God dammit. Looks like he took the wrong turn at Albuquerque and ended up done like dinnah.
?? / 5 Well I didn't eat it, I cooked it for someone else. This is what French cooking is about, right? Right? Oh, well. I should probably eat out more at restaurants that serve this type of thing so I know what I'm dealing with. There certainly is some appeal about this type of cooking: it is simple in principle and uses few ingredients, but the amount of depth, skill, and possibilities to master the dish is tremendous to behold. Here's hoping it turns out good enough for me to have another chance at cooking something like this.
Conclusion
Learning to cook is both exciting and daunting. You can be putting your best foot forward at all times, yet never be satisfied with each dish you make, because you know the next time you make that dish, it will turn out even better.
This concludes the first installment of Hasu Cook. Questions and comments are welcome. This entry, future entries of Hasu Cook, and all entries of my other blog series The Ghetto Cook, can be found at my main blog http://foodinmind.wordpress.com
Until next time, feel free to shoot the next furry bastard that crosses your path (unless it's Robin Williams or something like that), because it'll certainly be delicious. Happy cooking.
EDIT: as per request, you can also find the Ghetto Cook series (and all of my TL blogs) at
http://www.teamliquid.net/blog/Newbistic1
Listed in reverse chronological order.
 
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gg nice build order!
Edit: could you link the other series in your OP? would like to read your previous work too!
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How much does rabbit cost in general? Where can you get it?
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On April 18 2012 12:57 Froadac wrote:
How much does rabbit cost in general? Where can you get it?
I don't buy rabbit. From what my room mate says, she gets it from PCC, which is some kind of coop farm goods supermarket. Ostensibly you can get it from certain high-end supermarkets (maybe Whole Foods? But I don't shop there either).
The rabbit chunk I worked with was 1/2 of a rabbit, or 1.39 pounds for $11.11. That works out to roughly $8 per pound.
Fryer rabbit (young rabbit) meat is supposed to taste somewhat like chicken and turkey, except more tender and delicate in flavor.
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On April 18 2012 13:02 Newbistic wrote:Show nested quote +On April 18 2012 12:57 Froadac wrote:
How much does rabbit cost in general? Where can you get it? I don't buy rabbit. From what my room mate says, she gets it from PCC, which is some kind of coop farm goods supermarket. Ostensibly you can get it from certain high-end supermarkets (maybe Whole Foods? But I don't shop there either). The rabbit chunk I worked with was 1/2 of a rabbit, or 1.39 pounds for $11.11. That works out to roughly $8 per pound. Fryer rabbit (young rabbit) meat is supposed to taste somewhat like chicken and turkey, except more tender and delicate in flavor.
OK, thanks for the info. I have a couple super high end supermarkets nearby. I probably won't make it, but oh well.
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United States11637 Posts
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On April 18 2012 13:11 boesthius wrote:
unnnhhhgggggg that sauce looks so good I want to bathe in it. i love these blogs, i should post some of my own cooking adventures in my next few blogs. inspired!
5/5~
What do you enjoy cooking boes? 
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Cool new series! I've always wanted to try rabbit, maybe one day I'll catch one and cook it.
I have a couple ideas for what you can do for another Hasu Cook: duck, venison or a braised/roasted veal shank. Or you could do a beef brisket or pulled pork, but you might be able to figure out how to do those ghetto style.
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United States11637 Posts
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Why would you name yourself "terrible cook"?
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On April 18 2012 13:11 boesthius wrote:
unnnhhhgggggg that sauce looks so good I want to bathe in it. i love these blogs, i should post some of my own cooking adventures in my next few blogs. inspired!
5/5~
I'll hold you to that 
On April 18 2012 13:15 Daikas wrote:
I have a couple ideas for what you can do for another Hasu Cook: duck, venison or a braised/roasted veal shank. Or you could do a beef brisket or pulled pork, but you might be able to figure out how to do those ghetto style.
I can definitely do beef brisket or pulled pork, but the veal, that's a bit expensive for me and my room mate doesn't strike me as the type of person who'd bring home a slab of Bambi. Thanks for the ideas.
On April 18 2012 13:32 TheKwas wrote:
Why would you name yourself "terrible cook"?
I thought "Hasu" meant "medium skill" in Korean, as Chobo = noob, Hasu = average and Gosu = highly skilled.
I could be wrong though. "Hasu" is so that I can remind myself (and others) that I'm not quite "there" yet.
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haha not quite.
Hasu = terrible or trash (literally means 'sewer water')
Chobo = beginner
jungsu = intermediate
gosu = Elite skill
Good blog though ^.^
I've been meaning to try out your ramen recipe for a while now, looks better than normal ramen.
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5/5
That looks so good .___.
(If I supply the necessary alcohol that is going to be consumed before, during, and after dining, can you fly here and cook for me? :3 )
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a non-french trying our cuisine ?? Blasphemy !
just a small advice, here we cut shallot in little pieces, not ring-like things, because it taste beter taht way =) And if you want to try something a little different, you can replace the wine with cider (the french one : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cider#France) Seriously, rabbit cooked in cider ("lapin au cidre") is the best thing that ever happened to mankind !
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screw french cuisine and throw it in the fryer :D
No, seriously. It looks really tasty although I would have liked to see it with fixings and not only the rabbit lonely on the plate.
Will check out your other blogs and maybe try some myself.
5/5
But next time I want to know how it tasted.
Also liked the pictures
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On April 18 2012 18:19 oGoZenob wrote:a non-french trying our cuisine ?? Blasphemy ! just a small advice, here we cut shallot in little pieces, not ring-like things, because it taste beter taht way =) And if you want to try something a little different, you can replace the wine with cider (the french one : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cider#France) Seriously, rabbit cooked in cider ("lapin au cidre") is the best thing that ever happened to mankind !
Thanks for the tip
All it said in the recipe was "chop shallots" and not how it should be done. I oscillated between a fine dice and thinly sliced, but went with sliced. Next time I'll cut it into little pieces.
Would you recommend making any other changes to the recipe besides just swapping out the wine for cider?
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You made me hungry! Ahrgh! That looks terrible delicious!
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Cool. Only thing is you should really mince the shallot to make the sauce, as in cut them into very fine pieces. Best way is to tail the shallot, make fine vertical cuts up it, then fine horizontal cuts down it. This way you end up with tiny pieces that disappear into sauces and can just throw away the head and not risk chopping off your fingers.
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On April 18 2012 14:56 TheKwas wrote:
haha not quite.
Hasu = terrible or trash (literally means 'sewer water')
Chobo = beginner
jungsu = intermediate
gosu = Elite skill
Good blog though ^.^
I've been meaning to try out your ramen recipe for a while now, looks better than normal ramen.
So Adebisi > HasuObs? o.O
Anyways, this looks absolutely delicious O.O I started to salivate
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wow good job!
I was surprised, in the US, not to find rabbit everywhere (like in French markets). Any reason why it's so hard to find? Also what's with the "rabbits are too cute" thing? aren't sheep cute to?
If you want to cook more rabbit, I'd recommend recipes of rabbit with mustard, its very very good, and in my opinion, easier to make than the wine sauce one.
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On April 18 2012 18:49 Newbistic wrote:Show nested quote +On April 18 2012 18:19 oGoZenob wrote:a non-french trying our cuisine ?? Blasphemy ! just a small advice, here we cut shallot in little pieces, not ring-like things, because it taste beter taht way =) And if you want to try something a little different, you can replace the wine with cider (the french one : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cider#France) Seriously, rabbit cooked in cider ("lapin au cidre") is the best thing that ever happened to mankind ! Thanks for the tip All it said in the recipe was "chop shallots" and not how it should be done. I oscillated between a fine dice and thinly sliced, but went with sliced. Next time I'll cut it into little pieces. Would you recommend making any other changes to the recipe besides just swapping out the wine for cider?
As an actual French chef (well a chef in a french restaurant) i think the rings are fine in this sauce, if you mince them you release a bit more flavor by virtue of greater surface area, but since you are not straing the sauce and serving it more rustic the bigger peices are merely a stylistic change.
The method given (ala minute) meaning basicly cooked at the moment is one that can easily be applied to almost any protein. Often i see the sauces in these preperations finished with heavy cream, creme fraiche, or sour cream to add a richness to the dish that would also go well with the parsely finish.
I would recomend this method generally for white fleshed protein though, and cuts of beef or duck or other red meats benifit more from methods such as a braise, or rendering out of fat in the case of duck. Another variation with the exact same ingredients would be cooking the sauce seperatly (adding a bit of cream at the end), which is called sauce vin blanc (usually), and cooking the protein seperatly. Say if you wanted to serve this with poached fish, or roasted chicken.
Branching further, you could consider replacing white wine with red, something not too tanic (think tempernillo), to add a more earthy element to the rabbit. Another varitation would be the replacement of parsley for something more exotic, say tarragon.
One of the basic things about french cooking is that from one preperation you can extrapolate many with varitations on ingredients with the sae techniques.
hope you continue your path down the fench side of cooking.....now get to work on yor brunoise...commis these days.....
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Why jodized salt why why why  ? Regular salt tastes much better.
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"Like the french sc players like whine and cheese"
i see what u did there
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just some advice but i think you can rub the meat with the salt and pepper ^^
instead of just sprinkling it on top
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On April 19 2012 11:01 pigtheman wrote:
just some advice but i think you can rub the meat with the salt and pepper ^^
instead of just sprinkling it on top
its better to rub it in makes sure it gets in there instead of jsut lying on top imo
for future refrence, to chop is like dicing but in general you dont really bother with getting the perfect squares you want for dicing, generally you chop things that isnt going to be visible to the customer like if your going to strain it
if you ever get the chance its alot of fun to take apart a whole rabit, its pretty easy butchering its built almost exactly like a chicken and seeing those huge giant front teeth is something else
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I love your old series, and I love your new one ^^, can you cross post these from your blog a la Haji?
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Great blog, looking forward to more. Looks delicious.
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RABBITS ARE NOT RODENTS!
nice blog btw
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That looks delicious! There's just one thing though:
+ Show Spoiler +Rabbits are in the order lagomorpha, not rodenta. Sorry, that was really bothering me for some reason.
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On April 19 2012 14:47 PenguinWithNuke wrote:That looks delicious! There's just one thing though: + Show Spoiler +Rabbits are in the order lagomorpha, not rodenta. Sorry, that was really bothering me for some reason.
yea man! we OCD people just can't stand watching an obviously false piece of information lying around!
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On April 19 2012 02:34 Shymon wrote:Show nested quote +On April 18 2012 18:49 Newbistic wrote:On April 18 2012 18:19 oGoZenob wrote:a non-french trying our cuisine ?? Blasphemy ! just a small advice, here we cut shallot in little pieces, not ring-like things, because it taste beter taht way =) And if you want to try something a little different, you can replace the wine with cider (the french one : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cider#France) Seriously, rabbit cooked in cider ("lapin au cidre") is the best thing that ever happened to mankind ! Thanks for the tip All it said in the recipe was "chop shallots" and not how it should be done. I oscillated between a fine dice and thinly sliced, but went with sliced. Next time I'll cut it into little pieces. Would you recommend making any other changes to the recipe besides just swapping out the wine for cider? + Show Spoiler +As an actual French chef (well a chef in a french restaurant) i think the rings are fine in this sauce, if you mince them you release a bit more flavor by virtue of greater surface area, but since you are not straing the sauce and serving it more rustic the bigger peices are merely a stylistic change.
The method given (ala minute) meaning basicly cooked at the moment is one that can easily be applied to almost any protein. Often i see the sauces in these preperations finished with heavy cream, creme fraiche, or sour cream to add a richness to the dish that would also go well with the parsely finish.
I would recomend this method generally for white fleshed protein though, and cuts of beef or duck or other red meats benifit more from methods such as a braise, or rendering out of fat in the case of duck. Another variation with the exact same ingredients would be cooking the sauce seperatly (adding a bit of cream at the end), which is called sauce vin blanc (usually), and cooking the protein seperatly. Say if you wanted to serve this with poached fish, or roasted chicken.
Branching further, you could consider replacing white wine with red, something not too tanic (think tempernillo), to add a more earthy element to the rabbit. Another varitation would be the replacement of parsley for something more exotic, say tarragon.
One of the basic things about french cooking is that from one preperation you can extrapolate many with varitations on ingredients with the sae techniques.
hope you continue your path down the fench side of cooking.....now get to work on yor brunoise...commis these days.....
That's a monster post, I'd 5/5 it if I could. Btw rabbit is white meat, right?
On April 19 2012 14:47 PenguinWithNuke wrote:That looks delicious! There's just one thing though: + Show Spoiler +Rabbits are in the order lagomorpha, not rodenta. Sorry, that was really bothering me for some reason.
Damn, you are right. I thought something was wrong in the back of my head when I wrote "rodent".
I should know this because in Final Fantasy VI Setzer had the "Lagomorph" spell when he does this slot machine ability, wherein a rabbit pops out and heals the entire party for about 200 hitpoints. Lol. I will fix this.
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Did somebody mention FFVI? Can't believe that game is 18 years old now. Nice post, will definately have to steal some of your build orders.
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Love cooking blogs, this one was great
I'm sad you didn't get to try it though! What kind of friend lets you cook for them and then you don't to have some
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I like how you even upped the picture quality for the higher quality series. =P
Looks awesome and well done, I think I remain your #1 vegetarian fanboy. <3
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The build order was clean and crisply executed. Perfect metagaming serah. Grandmaster!
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*que mouth watering* Man that things looks great, also i'm not sure why this is so hard to find in America, our rabbit population is pretty large here too, and despite them being cute, there are a lot of those guys here. I'm not for killing all of them, but some population culling may happen soon, so you might see some of these guys in your supermarkets. If you want them any other way, i'd suggest buying from selected specialty markets.
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EPT
