Vogtland roast rabbit

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 rabbits, each approx. 1.5 kg or hares
• 200 g bacon
• 4 slice(s) bacon, about finger thick
• 3 cups of sour cream, 200 g each
• 1 cup whipped cream, approx. 200 g
• 10 juniper berries
• 1 pinch(s) of salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp mustard
• 5 tbsp chicken broth powder
• 1 liter of water
• 2 onions
• 3 cups of buttermilk, 500 ml each

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 15 minutes

Clean the rabbit or hare and, if not already done, cut it up. Place it in a large roasting pan, pour the buttermilk over it, and let it stand in the buttermilk for at least 24 hours, but 48 hours is better. After marinating, wash the rabbit, pat it dry with a kitchen towel, and rub it with pepper and salt. Rub the inside of the saddle of rabbit with pepper and salt and, if desired, mustard, and secure it with wooden skewers or roulade pins. Briefly fry the bacon sides in the roasting pan until the fat renders. Fry the seasoned and dried rabbit parts in the fat until browned on both sides. If the bacon sides are getting too dark, remove them and set them aside. Once all the rabbit parts are browned, remove them. Add the diced bacon to the roasting pan and fry. Peel the onions, halve them, and fry them cut-side down in the hot fat. When the juices form on the bottom of the roasting pan, add the sour cream and heavy cream and let them brown. When the cream thickens, pour in the chicken stock you’ve made in the meantime and loosen the juices. Using a tea strainer or heatproof mesh, add the juniper berries to the stock. Add the hare pieces and the bacon and let everything simmer for at least 60 minutes. I let them simmer slowly in the heat for at least 90 minutes, until the meat becomes buttery tender. Season the sauce with pepper and salt, always at the end, as the bacon also adds a lot of salt. We serve the hare with Vogtland green dumplings and red cabbage.