Marinated rabbit

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1 rabbit, approx. 2.5 kg, gutted and ready to cook
• some oil
• 1 shot of white wine
• 4 small vine tomatoes
• n. B. Fresh herbs (sage, parsley, thyme, rosemary, parsley …)
• 200 ml olive oil
• 8 garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp thyme, shredded
• 1 tsp oregano, shredded
• 1 small bunch of parsley
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 4 cl cognac
• 1 pinch(s) of cayenne pepper
• 1 pinch(s) ground pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• some saffron

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes; Total time approx. 13 hours 35 minutes

must be prepared the day before

Peel the garlic cloves. Place all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and blend with a hand blender until a thin paste forms. Cut up the rabbit (I like to remove the back fillets and do something else with them – see my profile for details – but everyone should do it their own way). Now coat the meat with the marinade. Let it rest in the marinade in the refrigerator overnight. On the day of preparation, take the rabbit out of the refrigerator at least 1 hour before cooking, coat all sides again with the marinade, and let it come to room temperature. Heat a little oil in a pan and sear the marinated rabbit pieces, one at a time, slowly, turning frequently. Then place the meat on a large, deep baking tray. Quarter the tomatoes and place them between the pieces of meat. Deglaze the pan with a very generous splash of white wine and bring to a boil. Add the remaining marinade and mix well with a whisk. Pour over the meat on the baking tray. Now cook the meat in the oven at 160°C (convection oven) for 1 hour, turning once after 30 minutes. Serve rustically with fresh herbs. Serve with white bread and garlic dip. If you don’t like rustic cooking and need a sauce, remove the meat pieces from the baking tray after 1 hour in the oven and keep them warm for serving. Transfer the meat juices to a saucepan and puree, especially the tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then serve. Note: I use rabbit from my own farm; the amount of ingredients for the marinade is calculated for a rabbit with a total weight of around 2.5 kg. Commercially available pieces are often significantly smaller, so please adjust the marinade quantities accordingly.