If you're looking for a cozy, filling meal, and you want to try cooking some wild game meat, Hasenpfeffer, or German rabbit stew, is the recipe you want. We've given you a list of places to purchase wild game, so once you have your rabbit meat, it's time to get cooking.
Start by marinating the rabbit. Mix garlic, scallions, red wine vinegar, dry red wine, water, salt, black peppercorns, bay leaves, a sprig of thyme and rosemary, juniper berries, and allspice berries together in a large pot and bring the mix to a boil, then let the marinade cool to room temperature. Place the rabbit pieces in a large storage container with a lid, then pour the cooled marinade over it. Refrigerate for at least four hours, up to 24 hours.
When you're ready to cook the marinated rabbit, take it out of the marinade and pat dry, then dredge them in all-purpose flour and set aside. In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until the fat has rendered, then add the shallots and sauté until softened and translucent. Take the bacon and shallots out, and put the rabbit pieces in to brown. Once browned on all sides, set the rabbit aside again while you prep the rest of the stew.
Pour the marinade into the pot and bring it to a simmer. Return the rabbit to the pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the meat is ready to fall off the bone. The liquid will turn into more of a sauce; when the rabbit is cooked, place it in a serving dish and strain all of the solids out of the sauce. Stir the bacon, shallots and sour cream into the sauce. Serve the rabbit and sauce over roasted potatoes or spätzle.
Hasenpfeffer (German Rabbit Stew)
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 rabbit, cleaned and cut into 8 pieces (About 3 lbs)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbs salt
- 1 tbs cracked black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig Thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
- 1 sprig rosemary (or 1 tsp dried)
- 1 tbs juniper berries, crushed
- 2 cloves
- 4 allspice berries, crushed
Stovetop
- 1/3 lb bacon
- 1-2 shallots, diced
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- Flour, to dredge
- Salt and pepper, if desired
Instructions
- Bring all the marinade ingredients, except the rabbit, to a boil then let cool to room temperature. Place the rabbit in a large storage container with a lid, then pour the cooled marinade over it. Refridgerate for at least 4 hours, up to 24 hours.
- Remove the rabbit from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Keep the marinade. Season the rabbit with salt and pepper, if desired. Dredge in the flour then set aside.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until the fat has rendered, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add shallots and sauté until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon and shallots, and set aside.
- If necessary, add more oil to the pot, but only enough to brown the rabbit pieces. Working to avoid crowding, brown the rabbit on all sides, then remove from pot and set aside.
- Pour marinade into the pot and bring to a simmer. Return the rabbit to the pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the meat is ready to fall off the bone, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours (a bit longer if using wild meat).
- Remove the rabbit to a serving dish, then strain the sauce of the solids. Stir in the bacon, shallots, and sour cream.
- Serve over roasted potatoes or spätzle, and enjoy!
