Rabbit Legs in Mustard Sauce
If you can't find just rabbit legs at your butcher, purchase two rabbits and use the rest to make a batch of Rabbit and Dumplings (page 163). The back legs are meatier than the front. Serve one large back leg, or one smaller back leg and front leg per diner.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 4
¼ cup Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
4 large rear rabbit legs (or 4 front and 4 rear from smaller rabbits)
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup grainy mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
Zest from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup chicken stock
½ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
Combine the Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Rub the mustard over the rabbit legs and let them rest in the refrigerator for 4–24 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place a skillet over medium-heat. Once it's heated add the oil. Remove most of the mustard from the rabbit legs and sear them for 2–3 minutes on each side. Remove them from the skillet.
Add the grainy mustard, garlic, tarragon, lemon zest, and butter to the skillet. Stir until the butter melts. Return the rabbit to the skillet and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Add the wine and chicken stock to the skillet. Return it to the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove the skillet from the oven and stir in the sour cream and chives. Cover and let the skillet rest for 5 minutes. Serve over boiled potatoes or egg noodles.
Rabbit: Another White Meat
People are trying to eliminate high-fat, high-cholesterol food from their diets without compromising on taste. Rabbit is one of the leanest, low-calorie, and high protein commercially farmed meats in the United States, even better than the white meat of chicken. Most butcher shops will carry it in the freezer section.
