Preparation Notes: plus marinating for 6 hours or overnight
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Total Time:
2 hrs 10 mins
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 kg (3lb) rabbit joints
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 600 ml (1 pint) red wine
- 350 g (12oz) each onions, carrots and fennel
- 2 celery sticks
- 75 g (3oz) streaky bacon rashers
- 30 ml (2 level tbsp) plain flour, plus a little for dusting
- 60 ml (4tbsp) olive oil
- 150 ml (1⁄4 pint) medium-dry sherry
- 600 ml (1 pint) chicken stock
- 15 ml (1 level tbsp) redcurrant jelly
- Sprigs of fresh chervil or flat-leafed parsley to garnish
- Step 1
Crush the garlic and place in a bowl with the rabbit, thyme, bay leaves and red wine. Cover, refrigerate and marinate for 6hr or overnight.
- Step 2
Roughly chop the onions, carrots, fennel and celery. Roughly chop the bacon. Drain the rabbit pieces, reserving the marinade. Pat dry with absorbent kitchen paper, season and dust lightly with flour. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based, flameproof casserole, add the rabbit and fry in batches until well browned. Remove and set aside. Add the bacon, fry for 2-3min, add the vegetables with more oil if necessary and cook, stirring, for 10min or until the vegetables are soft and beginning to colour. Add the remaining 30ml (2 level tbsp) flour and cook for 2-3min.
- Step 3
Return the rabbit to the casserole with the reserved marinade, sherry and stock. Bring to the boil, cover and cook at 170°C (150°C fan) mark 3 for 1hr or until very tender (see tip).
- Step 4
Lift the rabbit out of the cooking liquid, then cover and keep warm. Strain the sauce, pushing as much of the vegetable mixture through the sieve as possible. Add the redcurrant jelly, bring to the boil and bubble for 5min or until syrupy. Return the rabbit to the casserole and simmer for 5min. Season to taste and serve, garnished with chervil.
- Step 5
Prepare ahead. Complete the recipe, cool quickly, cover and refrigerate for up to two days. To serve. Bring the casserole to the boil slowly. Cover and reheat at 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4 for 20-25min or until hot.
- Step 6
To freeze. Complete the recipe, cool quickly, pack and freeze. To serve. Defrost at room temperature overnight; bring the casserole to the boil slowly. Cover and reheat at 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4 for 20-25min.
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Cook's tips
Pre-packed rabbit joints are available from most supermarkets. If you're buying from your butcher, choose the larger hind leg and saddle joints as they have more flesh on them.
The cooking time given is for farmed rabbit. If using wild rabbit, allow at least 30min extra cooking time as it has a darker flesh and firmer texture.
Per Serving:
The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time
