Rabbit with Mustard and White Wine

Well, this was quite the dish. I’m new to this whole-animal cooking thing, and I had rabbits as pets when I was a kid, so this was kind of a stretch for me. I got the rabbit from my free-range chicken and egg provider, who delivers to our apartment every Wednesday morning.

They had assured me that it would be cleaned and skinned. It was skinned, but it arrived whole, with its head on (The horror! The horror!). This is what the little guy looked like when I was preparing to marinate it overnight. I would say “not for the faint of heart,” but honestly, if you eat meat you’ve got to know it comes from dead animals. So if you’re not vegetarian, check him out (the little tongue, OMG):

When I was getting it ready to bake, I noticed that the liver, kidneys, and heart were also intact, so I had to perform some major surgery before putting it into the oven. The chickens come with all the internal stuff in a little baggie, so I had assumed the rabbit would too, but no such luck.

Also, every recipe I found online called for cutting the rabbit into pieces before baking, but The Official Animal Dissecter was at work, and I had absolutely no clue as to how to cut it into pieces, so it just went in whole. He cut it once he got home and the rabbit was out of the oven. It baked just fine, so I’m not sure what the point is of cutting it up, aside from the fact that the whole body is more than just a little bit freaky.

Ingredients:

1 Rabbit
4 T. Mustard (I used half Dijon and half Maille Old Style mustard)
2 T. Black peppercorns
3 T. Olive oil
1 bottle White wine
2 large Leeks, sliced
3 small Oranges, juiced
3 Carrots, sliced
3 Potatoes, cubed
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Marinate rabbit overnight in white wine, black peppercorns, and mustard.

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.

Season the rabbit with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Line your oven’s roasting pan with potatoes, carrots, and leeks. Place the rabbit on top, in the center of the pan. Pour the white wine around the pan, and drizzle the olive oil on top.

Bake for 30 minutes, then turn the rabbit over and pour the freshly squeezed orange juice over everything. Bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until rabbit is tender.

Enjoy!

Update: Oops!! Totally forgot: I also cut the rabbit’s head off before I baked it. First, I broke its neck and then chopped off its head. Not too hard.