Favorite Hasenpfeffer
Submitted by biggun
Favorite hasenpfeffer marinates rabbit for three days in red wine, vinegar, and pickling spice, then braises slow with onions and finishes the gravy with sour cream. Old-world German classic.
YIELD
16 servingsPREP
½ hrsCOOK
1½ hrsREADY
3 daysFavorite hasenpfeffer is the German rabbit stew that built its reputation on a three-day marinade. The acid in the dry red wine and apple cider vinegar tenderizes the lean rabbit meat, while bay leaf, pickling spice, and onion infuse it with the savory backbone that defines the dish. Skip the marinade and you have plain rabbit stew, not hasenpfeffer.
Dredging the rabbit in flour before browning gives both crust and a thickener for the sauce. The flour caramelizes in the butter for fond, then dissolves into the marinade as it simmers down to a glossy gravy.
Sour cream goes in last, off the heat. Bring it to a simmer with the cream in the pan and it curdles into ugly clumps, and there’s no recovering.
Chef Tips
- Use a glass or ceramic bowl for the marinade. Metal reacts with the vinegar and gives off flavors.
- Pat the rabbit completely dry before flouring or the coating turns gummy in the pan
- Brown the rabbit hard in batches for proper crust without steaming
- A teaspoon of currant or red wine jelly stirred into the gravy adds traditional German sweetness
- Serve with spaetzle, egg noodles, or boiled potatoes to catch the gravy
Variations
- Sub bone-in chicken thighs if rabbit is hard to source from your butcher
- Add a strip of bacon, diced, with the onions for smoky depth
- Stir a tablespoon of Dijon mustard into the gravy along with the sour cream
Ingredients
Directions
Cut rabbit in serving-sized pieces. Wash, scrape, and soak in salted cold water for 1 hour. Drain and dry.
In a glass or pottery bowl mix together the wine, vinegar, salt, pepper, bay leaf, chopped onions, and pickling spice.
Add the rabbit and let marinate in the refirgerator for 3 days. Turn the pieces occasionally. Drain the rabbit; strain and reserve the marinade. Dry the rabbit with paper towels and roll in flour.
Melt butter in a Dutch oven or deep heavy skillet; brown the rabbit and sliced onions in it. Pour off fat and add sugar and 1½ cups marinade. Cover and cook over low heat 1½ hours or until rabbit is tender.
Turn the pieces occasionally and add more marinade if needed. Taste for seasoning. Mix the sour cream into the gravy just before serving.
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