Germany | Meats | Rabbit | Fall | Winter | Braising

Hasenpfeffer Recipe

Hasenpfeffer

(German rabbit fricassee)

Yield: 3-4 servings


INGREDIENTS PREP AMOUNT
Bacon diced 1/3 pound
Shallots or onion diced 5 shallots or 1 onion
 
Rabbit dressed & cut into serving pieces About 3 pounds
Salt & pepper To taste
Flour 1/2 cup
 
Garlic minced 2 cloves
Lemon slice 1/4" thick 1
Cognac or brandy 1/4 cup
Red wine 1 cup
Thyme, fresh 1 sprig
Rosemary, fresh 1 small sprig
Allspice, ground or whole 1/4 teaspoon or 4 whole
Cloves, whole 2
Bay leaf 1
Juniper berries 3
Currant or grape jelly 1 tablespoon
Beef broth 1 1/2 cups
 
Butter 1 tablespoon
Flour 1/4 cup

METHOD

Basic Steps:  Sauté → Brown → Sauté → Simmer → Strain → Thicken
  1. Sauté the bacon and shallots or onion together in a large pot over medium heat till bacon is just crispy and shallots or onion are cooked through. Remove bacon and shallots and set aside in a bowl.
  2. Salt and pepper the rabbit. Spread flour on a plate and flour the rabbit pieces. Heat the bacon fat over medium high flame and brown the rabbit a few pieces at a time on all sides. Add oil as needed. Remove to a plate.
  3. Lower heat to medium, add garlic and lemon and sauté till garlic just starts to brown. Add cognac or brandy and cook out alcohol. Add red wine and rest of ingredients up to and including the beef broth. Stir well and bring to simmer. Season to taste. Add rabbit back to pan. Simmer on low heat, covered, 50-60 minutes.
  4. While rabbit is cooking, knead butter and flour together with your fingers to form a smooth dough. You will use this to thicken the sauce.
  5. Remove rabbit to a serving dish. Strain sauce through a sieve. Add bacon and shallots back to sauce. Add more stock or water to make about 2 cups.
  6. Return sauce to a simmer on the stove and whisk a small piece of the butter and flour mixture (beurre manié) into the sauce and return to a simmer. Keep whisking in pieces of the beurre manié until the sauce reaches a nice consistency.
  7. Place the rabbit in a serving dish. Pour the sauce over the rabbit and serve.

VARIATIONS

  • If you can't find or don't have juniper berries, substitute gin for the cognac. Gin gets its flavor from juniper berries.

NOTES

  • Hasenpfeffer means "hare-pepper", or peppered hare, in German. Serve it with spätzle dumplings or with boiled or mashed potatoes and blaukraut (braised red cabbage).
  • A good red wine to accompany Hasenpferrer would be a pinot noir or a cabernet sauvignon. They are full-bodied enough to stand up to a game dish.