Whenever it appears on a daily menu, rabbit is one of those dishes that I will probably choose by default.
Unless it’s already sold out, which is usually the case. Coelho remains a go-to game dish in Portugal, as well as much of the continent (take Italy’s Coniglio alla Cacciatora, or Lapin a La Cocotte in France), popular on family dinner tables and tascas alike.
Due to it being a lean white meat, rabbit isn’t quite as gamey as other game meats like venison, boar or even lamb (with the exception of wild rabbit). That doesn’t make it as plain as chicken, though; with the right seasonings and a slow, steady braise, rabbit stew is simple country cooking in a decadent way.
Sourcing a rabbit
In Portugal you’ll find rabbit in most butchers. It’s sold by the rabbit, not by the kilo. That’s one rabbit, two rabbits, three rabbits, four. Don’t ask for a kilo of rabbit like I did. But do ask the butcher to chop it into medium-sized pieces for you, unless you want to be severing a rabbit’s head in your kitchen.
Another option is to link up with a farmer, supplier, friend or foe who can source a wild rabbit for you. Wild rabbit makes for darker, gamier and more luxurious meat, and is the preferred protein in the most traditional of rabbit preparations.
If you go down this route, make sure to keep the blood of the animal aside, mixed with a little vinegar to stop coagulation. Add this at the very end of the braise and bring to boil for a few minutes to give a sanguine kick to your stew.
Here’s a 19th century-style preparation given by the municipality of Amadora in Lisbon, based on the original recipe of a one Pedro dos Coelhos (Pedro of the Rabbits), renowned for his rabbit stew at the time. This preparation adds the blood of the animal at the very end of the cooking (and then uses the resulting liquid to cook the rice in).
Since it’s no longer the 19th century though, the recipe below skips the blood and uses ingredients you can get in a normal market.
Marinate it
Some say you should marinate the rabbit for at least 24 hours. Others say skip the marinade altogether, since rabbit meat takes on seasoning so easily. I opted for a couple of hours in a simple marinade of garlic, red wine, cloves, bay leaves, mace, and piri-piri.
To be frank, I wouldn’t be keen on marinating for much longer than this, since these flavours came out quite strong in the end. Experiment, though, and see what works for you.
Rabbit rice, please
You wouldn’t quite call it arroz de coelho, but the braising liquid produced from this recipe is an amazing concoction to cook a pot of rice with.
About 15 minutes before the end of the cooking time, throw about 3 ladles of the stewing liquid into a small pot of arroz agulha, then add plain water to cover. Since the liquid is already well-salted, this makes for truly delectable rice. Highly recommended.
The other bits
Rabbit from the butcher will usually come with miúdos – the internal bits like the heart and liver. You can either add these into your stew along with the bacon and chorizo for a bit of extra texture, or keep them aside and make a luxurious rabbit paté as a chef’s treat or appetiser. It’s not that hard. Well worth the extra effort.
You might have some trouble getting massa de pimentão – red bell pepper paste – outside of Portugal. If that’s you, you can make your own at home, or substitute for tomato paste mixed with 1tbsp sweet paprika.
Stovetop, then oven
My preferred way of doing most braises is to start on the stove by searing the meat and then building up the base from the residue of the sear. Since rabbit overcooks quite easily, I then moved the pot into the oven to cook evenly for about 50 minutes. Result: stunning, tender meat in a sea of dazzling crimson liquid. And it reheats wonderfully the next day.
Portugues Rabbit Stew (Coelho Guisado)
Ingredients
The marinade
- 0.5 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 2 bay leaves torn
- 3 drops Portuguese piri-piri oil
- 3 cloves
- 1 blade mace optional
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground mixed pepper or black pepper
- 25 ml red wine
The stew
- 800 g rabbit bone-in and chopped
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic diced
- 30 g chorizo sliced and cut into quarters
- 30 g bacon toucinho, or pancetta, in lardons
- 1/2 tomato roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp chili flakes
- 1 tbsp massa de pimentão Portuguese pepper paste
- 1 liter chicken stock
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbso parsley chopped
The rice
- 1 clove garlic thinly sliced
- 300 ml rabbit cooking liquid
- 200 g long-grain rice arroz de agulha (or another long-grain rice)
- 100 ml water
Instructions
The seasoning
- In a large bowl, mix 800g of bone-in rabbit, chopped into medium-to-large pieces, with the salt, mixed pepper, olive oil, garlic, bay leaf, cloves, mace and piri-piri. Add enough red wine to cover the meat half way, mix well, and set aside for two to six hours.
The stew
- Preheat the oven to 190°C / 370°F.
- Bring a large dutch oven or oven-proof pan over moderately high heat, add a tablespoon of good olive oil, sear the rabbit pieces for 1-2 minutes each side. Keep the remainder of the marinating liquid aside. The meat should sear, not steam, so work in batches if necessary. You’re looking for a dark brown outer colouring, but don’t spend too long on this step since the majority of the cooking time will be in the oven.
- Keeping a high heat, add the reserved marinading liquid to the pan and scrape up any dark residue on the base of the pan.
- Once the liquid has mostly evaporated, lower the heat to medium and add the onions, garlic, bacon and chopped chorizo. You want the vegetables to cook in the fat from the pork; if yours doesn’t have much fat, then add a tablespoon of olive oil first. Sautée, stirring regularly, for 2-3 minutes or until the onions have softened.
- Add the chopped tomato, a touch of salt, and sautée for a further 1-2 minutes.
- Add the chili flakes and massa de pimentão, and stir constantly for about 30 seconds, taking care not to burn the contents of the pan.
- Mix 1.5tbsp tomato paste with the chicken stock and add to the pot, then return the seared rabbit pieces.
- Season very lightly with salt (since there should already be plenty of salt in the pot from the other ingredients), then add 1/2tbsp whole black peppercorns, 1 bay leaf, cover, and place in the oven.
- Cook for 45-50 minutes, tasting halfway through for seasoning.
- When the rabbit meat is just tender, transfer the rabbit pieces a serving platter, add a few ladlefuls of the liquid over, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve alongside the rice.
- If you have too much liquid in your pan and want a thicker sauce, just take out all the meat, turn the heat to high and simmer down to your desired consistency.
The rice
- About 15 minutes before the end of the cooking time, take out 3 ladles (about 300ml) of the stewing liquid and set aside.
- In a fresh pan, add 1tbsp olive oil and the sliced garlic clove. Sautée for 30 seconds to a minute, taking care that the garlic doesn’t darken.
- Remove the garlic slices, add the rice and mix well. Add the reserved cooking liquid, and make up the rest of the cooking liquid with boiling water (to a 2-1 water-to-rice ratio). For 200g of rice, that would be 400ml of liquid.
- Cover the pan and cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn off the heat but keep the lid on to steam the rice for a further 5 minutes or until done.
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