Rabbit Roulade by Skip Scanlin Page 1 Rabbit Roulade by Skip Scanlin You wanted a recipe for rabbit roulade, you got it! If you didn't see the original post, this is the recipe that you are going to want to use to trick friends and loved ones into eating rabbit for the first time. Step one: De-bone a rabbit. Ok, so step one is hopefully breeding, rearing, growing out, dispatching, butchering, and resting a rabbit, but however you got the rabbit you will need to de-bone it first. Don't be afraid, it doesn't have to be pretty, it's all going to be wrapped up in cured pork. Nobody will know if you cut holes in it or left the rabbit in several dozen pieces. It will all work out in the end. The rest of the instructions will be comments under the photos for each step, otherwise this post would be longer than War and Peace. 1 De-bone your rabbit! WARNING: The rabbit will be useless as a pet after this step 2 Lay out a piece of saran wrap, and then lay out several over-lapping pieces of panchetta, prosciutto, or cured pork of your choosing. You're going for as long as your deboned rabbit is, and about ten inches tall.
Rabbit Roulade by Skip Scanlin Page 2 3 Or, if you don't want to drop $40 on silly Italian cured meats, may I suggest store brand black forest ham, sliced as thin as the deli can get it? It costs only a third of the fancy stuff, and works just as well. You may have to lay it out differently because it won't be as long as the prosciutto is cut. If you aren't sure about the quality ask for a sample and then stretch it with your fingers to see how well it holds together without crumbling. As a bonus, this will confuse and bewilder the butcher and the rest of the customers. Nod knowingly in approval and say "Yes, this will do," and they will be wondering what exactly your ham will do for the rest of the day. 4 Put your rabbit on the pork! Make it a rectangle. Make it as evenly thick as you can. A 1/4 inch is good. Butterfly the thick parts of the legs and loins, or smash it all with a hammer. Whatever it takes to make your rabbit a rectangle slightly smaller than your pork rectangle. 5 If you have the time and the ethnic grocery stores available, definitely ask a polish person what they would put inside a rabbit and then buy whatever they say. In this case we have a soft smoked swiss, a soft smoked "kurpianka" cheese, and a "kiskyia" blood sausage. But you know what? Velveeta and hamburger helper would also taste great. You don't have to go fancy or crazy, just remember you want deeply rich flavors, some good fat content, and something that's already salty. 6 Take a moment to giggle at the used blood sausage casing. If you have roommates definitely leave this laying out in the open, preferably in the bathroom or somewhere else they'll least expect it.
Rabbit Roulade by Skip Scanlin Page 3 7 You know what I don't trust? Blood sausage imported from the Soviet Union. Let's simmer that a second, ok? 8 While your meats are cooking (and seriously, if you're gonna use ground beef, bacon, or any other raw meat product as a stuffing, you MUST cook that completely first), chop up some vegetables. I opted for cremini mushrooms and some peppers that grew in my garden this year. I dunno what kind they are, they are red and green kind. Also slice up some cheese real thin, but do that at the last moment so you don't eat it all before it makes it into the dish. 9 STUFFINGS! ASSEMBLE! Here we have a layer of smoked swiss and crumbled blood sausage resting on the aforementioned rabbit rectangle. About a 1/4 pound of sausage. Use your brain. Don't put too much. Don't put too little. 10 FORM OF A CHEESE AND MUSHROOMS AND PEPPERS! If you don't use a meat, use a cheese. You do need to put fat in the middle in some form. Don't just put vegetables, that will be dry and wet at the same time and it will be gross.
Rabbit Roulade by Skip Scanlin Page 4 11 PEPPERS, MUSHROOMS, RABBIT PATE! I CHOOSE YOU! I had to hide the pate from view in this shot because I roll it between my palms into long cat-turd looking coils to lay it down evenly. It works really well, but don't let anyone see it while you're cooking. 12 Think for a second about what you put inside and decide if you want to add salt and pepper. I did not, because everything I put inside was very salty/peppery/garlicky/flavorful already. If you're using more straight ingredients definitely throw down a half teaspoon of salt and pepper inside before you roll the rabbit rectangle up. 13 Then lay down some side wings of your pork (see it on the right there?), grasp the saran wrap, and roll up the pork around the rabbit roll. Tuck your wings up tight, under the pork, before you roll past them. They'll keep stuff from comin' out. 14 Smoosh and roll, smoosh and roll, until you're all the way to the end. Keep rollin' to wrap that saran tightly around the whole deal, then twist up the ends of the saran wrap. Lay the log on the side where the pork flaps are (you know, the seam? the place the pork ends?), and tuck the saran under. Let this sit somewhere for a few minutes to set up and stick together.
Rabbit Roulade by Skip Scanlin Page 5 15 Pause for a moment to contemplate the beauty of meat wrapped in meat wrapped in meat. 16 Pan sear those puppies! Put some oil that can get pretty hot in a pan, make a pan really hot, then sear the roll on all sides. Try not to think about the fact that a cylinder actually has infinite sides, just turn it over four or five or six times until it's beautiful and browning all over. This should take about five minutes, thirty seconds to a minute per side. Oh my goodness yes. Remove the saran wrap after 10-20 minutes of resting, and place them seam side down first on the hot pan. EDIT: The ham is gonna contract and help hold it all tight and together once it's seared. As long as you can baby it until then it will be ok. And honestly, if it falls apart, the ends are going to fall apart. Keep cooking like normal, and only the end slices will be messed up. Doesn't matter if the ends are messed up because you will eat those yourself in secret when nobody is looking. 17 Put your roulade(s) into a 400 degree oven and wait. One roulade on its own will take about ten minutes, if you load them up in a dish you're lookin at closer to 20-30 minutes. Check for an internal temperature of 140-150 degrees, depending on how dangerous you choose to live. I like 140 better, because I have lots of leftovers that I'm going to cook again, so it's better to avoid overcooking the first time.
Rabbit Roulade by Skip Scanlin Page 6 18 Take the roulades out and let them rest. Go drink one of those beers on the counter. Possibly pan fry all the meat scraps from the bones with the little bits of peppers and mushrooms you had left over, then deglaze the pan with your second beer and eat a bowl of scrap stew. Whatever you do, let them cool off a bit before you cut in. When they're ready use the SHARPEST OF ALL KNIVES, and cut into 1/4-1/2 inch slices. arrange tastefully on a platter, and watch your guests' determination to not eat rabbits break down before your eyes. 19 Ha ha, oh yeah, I guess you could eat vegetables too. You know what else? You're gonna have a casserole dish full of drippings, turn those into a gravy or sauce to serve over the slices. I'm saving my drippings for a very special breakfast tomorrow, so you'll just have to imagine a peppery mustard gravy is drizzled over this dish. Liver Pate I went super simple with the pate, cuz I'd never made that before either. For each liver use 1 TB butter, 1 clove garlic, and 1/3 of an onion. Get the butter pretty toasty in a large pan, finely dice the garlic and onion, and sear the onion, garlic and livers in the butter. When they're *just* done remove them all from heat and pour the pan into a wide-mouth jar (for an immersion blender) or into a food processor. Blend til smooth, pack into little bowls or crocks or whatever (moosh out all the air bubbles), then pour enough melted butter over the top to cover it all up. Pop it in the fridge overnight, then it's ready to crack the butter and spread all over everything you eat for the next three days.