If you have another type of meat, go ahead and use that. If it’s very fatty (duck, or a piece of fatty lamb or pork) leave out some or all of the duck fat.
By Rikke Oestergaard
The whole process, including the consumption, took hours and that is really what rilette is about, and why its such a great representation of the food I love. Simple, easy, slow and incredibly satisfying.
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Rabbit Rilette
- Total Time: 3 hours 30 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
If you have another type of meat, go ahead and use that. If it’s very fatty (duck, or a piece of fatty lamb or pork) leave out some or all of the duck fat.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 whole rabbits
- 400 grams of duck fat
- 2–3 litres of chicken stock
- 15 juniper berries
- 15 black peppercorns
- 5 star anis
- 10 whole cloves
- A big bundle of fresh herbs of choice
- 4 bay-leaves
- 1 whole garlic
- 1/2 of a grated nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons of dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard
- Salt & black pepper
Instructions
- Chop each of your rabbit into 4 pieces; 2 thighs, body and upper body. Leave the bones in! Put the meat in a big, thick-bottomed pot, together with the duck fat, juniper berries, peppercorns, herbs, bay-leaves, cloves and the whole garlic.
- Pour in as much chicken stock as it takes to cover the rabbit, and bring to the boil. When it’s boiling, turn the heat down to a low simmer and put the lid on.
- Leave it cooking untill the meat starts falling off the bones. Should be approximately 3 hours.
- Separate the meat from the juices using a sieve. But keep the juices!
- When the rabbit has cooled, get down and dirty and pick of all the meat from the bones. Shred with 2 forks.
- Turn to your cooled cooking liquid; separate the fat from the stock. It should be easy, as the fat creates a solid white lid on top of the liquid when cooled. Add approximately 1/2 cup of stock and 2 big tablespoons of the fat to the rabbit. Mix well
- Season with however many of the cooked garlic cloves as you fancy, the nutmeg, mustard, thyme and salt and pepper. Be careful with the seasoning – it will be a bit bland in the beginning, but after a few days in the fridge the flavours will really come out.
- Sterilise your glasses with boiling water, and spoon the mixture into the jars. Press out all the air with your spoon, making sure the mixture is packed tightly. Leave a bit of space on top.
- Heat the remaining fat in the microwave or in a pot until it is steaming hot. Pour it over each of the glasses untill it forms a lid of approximately 1 centimeter.
- Put in the fridge and eat anytime! If the jars are properly sterilised and sealed without any air pockets, this can keep for several months in the fridge.
- Serve with crusty bread, accompanied by dijon mustard, cornichons and maybe a chutney of your choice.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Category: Main
