Rabbit with braised cabbage

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 rabbit or equivalent amount of rabbit parts
• 1 white cabbage
• 2 onions
• margarine
• Sugar
• Vinegar
• 1 liter buttermilk, possibly more
• 6 slice(s) breakfast bacon (the one with the fat on the edge), more if needed
• 2 bay leaves
• Bones from smoked pork roast or chop
• salt and pepper
• n. B. Sauce thickener, dark

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest period approx. 2 days; Total time approx. 2 days 1 hour

Great-grandmother’s recipe

Two days in advance, carve up the rabbit, wash it, and marinate it in buttermilk. It should be completely covered in buttermilk. Refrigerate. One day in advance, make the broth for the sauce. Make a broth from the unused rabbit parts with the two bay leaves, an onion, and water. You can, of course, also use some of the “good” parts to make the broth; in that case, simply buy more rabbit parts. My grandmother always makes a different broth for the sauce in addition to the rabbit broth. She boils smoked pork bones. This looks like clear water, but gives the sauce a slightly salty flavor. On the day of preparation, remove the rabbit parts from the buttermilk, wash them, pat them dry, and season all over with salt and pepper. Put a wooden spoonful of margarine in a roasting pan and set the stove to high. Sear all the rabbit pieces on all sides, then cover and braise at 180°C, basting or brushing with the liquid that has been produced during the braising every 10-15 minutes. Remove the lid after 20 minutes, otherwise the pieces will not brown. If they become too dark, replace the lid halfway. When the meat is browned and cooked, place one or two slices of bacon on each piece and return the roasting pan to the oven. When the rabbit pieces have browned slightly, deglaze with the stock you previously made from the leftover rabbit and the stock you made from the smoked pork bones, and loosen the browned pieces. Season the sauce to taste and thicken with dark sauce thickener, if desired. While the rabbit is roasting, prepare the cabbage: Remove the outer leaves and the stalk and cut the cabbage into thin, fine strips. Heat a wooden spoonful of margarine in a large saucepan. First, add two handfuls of cabbage to the pot, season lightly with salt, then add another two handfuls of cabbage to the pot, season with salt, and so on until all the cabbage is in the pot. Set the heat to high and cover the pot. The cabbage should brown slightly, but not burn. Stir frequently. If some liquid has collected at the beginning, drain it off and set it aside(!). As soon as all the cabbage is slightly browned, turn the heat back to medium, add the collected liquid, and stir. This will loosen the browned residue from the bottom of the pot and recombine it with the cabbage, which will now turn beige-brown. When the cabbage is cooked, turn off the heat and season the cabbage mildly with salt, sugar, and vinegar; it should only have a very slight sour taste “at the end.” Leave the cover on the switched-off stovetop until the rabbit is cooked. We serve it with potato dumplings.