Best Rabbit Pojarski Recipes

CHICKEN CUTLETS POJARSKI WITH PAPRIKA SAUCE

Steps:

• CHICKEN CUTLETS:.
• Chill a medium sized mixing bowl in the freezer.
• Place the boned chicken meat on a board and chop thoroughly with a sharp knife until fine or grind the meat in a meat grinder. (You can use a food processor for this but you must take extreme care not to over-process the meat as the texture of your cooked cutlets will be too heavy.).
• Add the meat to the chilled bowl. Add salt and white pepper to taste, the nutmeg and 5 tablespoons of the butter, melted. Mix well. Return the bowl and mixture to the freezer to chill once more while you prepare the dredging station. Do not freeze.
• Season the flour with salt and white pepper and place on a length of wax paper. Break the egg into a pie plate and beat with the vegetable oil and water. Place the bread crumbs on another length of wax paper.
• Divide the chilled mixture into 6 to 8 portions and shape each into a 1/2 inch thick cutlet. Dip one cutlet at a time into the flour, then in egg, then in bread crumbs. Press the crumbs gently into the cutlets then chill them until ready to cook. ( The cutlets may be made several hours ahead to this point. Keep cutlets refrigerated until ready to cook.).
• Heat the remaining butter in a large skillet and careful add the cutlets. Cook until golden brown on one side then turn and cook on the other.
• Serve with the Paprika Sauce.
• PAPRIKA SAUCE:.
• Melt one tablespoon of the butter in a small saucepan and cook the onion until wilted. Sprinkle with the paprika, flour and thyme, stirring. Stir in the chicken stock, using a whisk and simmer about 3 minutes. (The sauce may be made several hours ahead up until this point.).
• Add the cream and bring to a boil. Add the lemon juice, salt and white pepper to taste and the cognac.
• Strain the sauce through a sieve. Return to the heat and stir in the remaining butter and the sour cream. Heat the sauce through but do not bring to a boil.

HASENPFEFFER (RABBIT STEW)

Steps:

• Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Sprinkle rabbit with salt and coat with 1/3 cup flour, shaking off excess. Brown rabbit in remaining bacon fat. Remove from skillet, along with all but 2 tablespoons of the fat, and reserve.
• Saute shallots and garlic in skillet for about 4 minutes, until tender. Stir in wine, 1 cup water and bouillon. Heat to boiling, then stir in jelly, peppercorns, bay leaf, and rosemary. Return rabbit and bacon to skillet. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer about 1 1/2 hours or until rabbit is tender.
• Remove bay leaf and discard. Place rabbit on a warm platter and keep warm while preparing gravy.
• To Make Gravy: Stir lemon juice into skillet with cooking liquid. Combine 3 tablespoons water with 2 tablespoons flour and mix together; stir mixture into skillet over low heat. Finally, stir in thyme. Pour gravy over stew and serve, or pour into a gravy boat and serve on the side.

BRAISED RABBIT WITH FRESH PAPPARDELLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 F. Season rabbit with salt and pepper. In a large pot over medium heat, add oil followed by rabbit (everything but the wings) and sear until golden brown, 15 minutes. Delicately remove the rabbit when golden brown and set aside to rest.
• To the pan, add onion, celery and carrots and cook 10 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, sage and rosemary and cook 5 minutes. Continue by adding tomatoes, vinegar, and verjus and cook 5 more minutes. Add rabbit wings and dashi and bring to a boil. Add remaining rabbit and season with salt. Cover with parchment paper (cartouche) and place in the oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Pull some rabbit meat off the bone along with braising liquid and place in a saucepan.
• Add 1 cup cooked pasta and toss with rabbit, parsley, Parmesan and butter. Gently cook pasta until glazed with sauce and appears sheen. Serve with additional rabbit and Parmesan shavings.

SALMON AND GREEN BEANS POJARSKI WITH CUCUMBER HOT SAUCE

Steps:

• Remove and discard any skin and sinew from the salmon and cut the flesh into 1-inch pieces.
• Cut away any damaged spots on the beans, wash thoroughly in cold water, and cut into 1-inch pieces.
• To make the fresh bread crumbs, break fresh bread into pieces and grind in the bowl of a food processor. You should have 1 1/2 cups. (Note: fresh bread crumbs are superior to dry bread crumbs. If, however, fresh crumbs are not available, use half the amount of dry crumbs - 3/4 cup for this recipe.) Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• Place the green beans and hot pepper in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped; the mixture should be rather granulated, not smooth and liquid. You should have about 2 cups. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• In the unwashed bowl of the processor, place the salmon and process for a few seconds, starting and stopping the machine, until coarsely chopped. Add to the bean puree with the eggs, bread crumbs, garlic, pepper, salt and shredded basil. Mix well.
• Using a spoon, make patties weighing about 3 to 3 1/2 ounces each. Wet your hands if you feel they will stick to the salmon mixture and arrange the patties on a tray lined with plastic wrap. You should have 12 patties, 2 per person, and each patty should be no more than 1 inch thick and about 3 inches across. Set aside while you make the sauce.
• To cook the salmon, use 2 large skillets, preferably nonstick. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in each skillet. When hot, add the patties and cook over medium to high heat for 2 1/2 minutes on each side. Set aside for a few minutes before serving with cucumber hot sauce.

RABBIT POJARSKI

Steps:

• Cut away and discard all traces of membrane, gristle or bone from the rabbit meat. Cut the meat into 1-inch cubes. Put the cubes into the container of a food processor or electric blender and blend until finely ground. Put the meat into a mixing bowl and add 3/4 cup of the bread crumbs and the nutmeg, salt, pepper and Tabasco sauce.
• Divide the mixture into four equal portions. Scatter the remaining bread crumbs on a flat surface. Shape the meat into four flat rounds, each about 3/4 inch thick. Coat the rounds all over, bottom, top and sides with bread crumbs. Pat with the fingers to make the crumbs adhere.
• Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a skillet large enough to hold rounds in one layer. Cook about 5 minutes until nicely browned on one side. Turn and cook the rounds about 7 minutes longer. Transfer the pieces to a warm serving dish. Pour off the fat from the skillet and wipe the skillet with paper toweling. Put the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in the skillet and when it is hot but not browned add the lemon juice. Pour this over the rounds. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.