Owen's Left-Handed Hasenpfeffer Recipe

May 3, 2021

Well, you asked for it. I’ve (ahem) “adapted” my recipe from the recipe of the one and only chef Alfons Schuhbeck who is an absolute G. He’s got a Michelin star, so It’s kind a fancy. Check out “The German Cookbook”, it's an absolute classic.

I’ll admit the ingredients for this recipe are a bit of a shopping list, but it’s really not that difficult to execute. You can literally have everything all chopped up and ready to go before you even turn on the stove, so timing and execution are really loosey-goosey. You can also, if you so choose, chop up the veggies nicely and leave them in the stew, but I really enjoy the clean and silky texture of the sauce with the veggies strained out - just remember to use a cheesecloth sachet for the spices! Biting into allspice berries sucks.

Drinking while cooking is encouraged but not necessary. The video above may suggest the ingestion of hallucinogens, but they are also not required. You do you, I’m a Knife nerd, not a cop. Enjoy!

Ingredients

-1 Whole Rabbit, or one rabbit broken into primal cuts (ask a butcher!)

-1 large yellow onion, diced

-½ celeriac root, peeled and cleaned, diced

-4 small carrots, roughly chopped

-1 L Stock (chicken, veggie, whatever)

-2 teaspoons tomato paste

-2 teaspoons sugar

-1 cup red wine

-¼ cup brandy

-4 cloves garlic, minced

-12 Cherry Tomatoes cut in half

-2 teaspoons coriander

-8 allspice berries

-1 teaspoon juniper berries

-20 grams chopped dark chocolate

-2 teaspoons red currant jelly

-12 prunes, cut in half

-2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

-Olive Oil

-Salt + Pepper

-Chopped Parsley

-3 + 2 tablespoons butter

-3 tablespoons flour

-Mashed potatoes, dumplings, spaetzle, or whatever you want to serve it on!

Process

If using a whole rabbit, break into primals. Two hind legs, saddle, shoulders, and foreshanks. Discard spine, ribs, and neck (freeze for stock if you like!). Keep the chunks of rabbit large and easy to remove from the pot later!
Saute your onion, celeriac, and carrots in a bit of olive oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Meanwhile, in a stockpot or large dutch oven, sprinkle in the sugar and lightly caramelize over medium heat until golden. Add tomato paste and cook until just a little bit darker, but be careful not to burn your concoction.
Deglaze the pan with your red wine, brandy, and stock. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce heat, and add your sauteed veggies and rabbit chunks. Make sure everything is covered in liquid, add more wine, stock, or water if necessary. Honestly, I wouldn’t even be mad if you chucked some dark beer in there. Prost!
Cover the dutch oven with a lid and allow to cook slowly over medium-low heat at a gentle simmer for around an hour.
After an hour, add your minced garlic, cherry tomatoes, coriander, allspice, and juniper berries. Return the pan to heat for another 30- 45 minutes
Remove your chunks of rabbit from the pot with a pair of tongs. Strain the liquid from the veggies, using a colander, into a large bowl. Gently press on the veggies to ensure you get all the delicious juices and discard them. Pour your jus back into the dutch oven along with the chocolate, red currant jelly, prunes, and red wine vinegar.
After the rabbit meat has cooled slightly, pull all of the meat off of the bones and shred it up gently with your fingers before adding back to the dutch oven - watch out for cartilage and spices! Discard the bones. Return the dutch oven to the stove over low heat.
In a separate pan, add 3 tablespoons of your butter and melt over medium heat. Once melted, add your 3 tablespoons of flour and mix it up to form a roux. While stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, allow the roux to cook until it becomes slightly pourable - imagine kinda runny cream of wheat. Scrape all of the roux into the pan with your rabbit and Jus, allow to cook over low heat for 5-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and add two more tablespoons of whole butter and allow to melt. Serve immediately with your choice of sides and a sprinkling of freshly chopped parsley! Slam a beer.