Rabbit with Apricots in Cabernet Sauce

This is the kind of rabbit dish you make when the calendar shows an anniversary, a milestone birthday, or a holiday that demands something more than a roast chicken. Twelve hours in a cabernet and red wine vinegar marinade tenderizes the lean meat and stains it deep mahogany before it ever hits the pan.

Dried apricots soaked in cold water then simmered in the braising liquid soften into jammy little pockets of sweetness that play against the wine acidity. Rabbit demi-glace adds backbone, and at the very end, the soft simmered garlic cloves get mashed into the remaining butter and whisked into the sauce a little at a time to emulsify it into something silky and glossy.

Chef Tips

• Wrap the rabbit in cheesecloth during the marinade. The lean meat dries out fast if any part sits above the wine line, even in a covered dish.
• Dry the rabbit pieces really well before browning. Wet meat steams instead of searing, and you lose the fond that flavors the final sauce.
• Mount the sauce with the butter paste off direct high heat. Boiling shatters the emulsion and gives you a broken, oily sauce instead of velvety.
• Rabbit demi-glace can be hard to find. A reduced veal or beef demi-glace works as a substitute without significant loss.

Variations

• Swap dried apricots for dried cherries or prunes for a different fruit-and-wine pairing.
• Use a pinot noir in place of the cabernet for a lighter, brighter sauce.
• Add a tablespoon of cognac or armagnac to the sauce during the final reduction for a deeper, more complex finish.