Bones_ Recipes, History, and Lore - Jennifer McLagan [97]
Rabbits can be cooked whole but are more commonly cut into 6 or 7 pieces, depending on size (2 forelegs, 2 back legs, and 2 or 3 pieces of saddle). This is easy to do (see page 215), or your butcher will do it. Rabbit can be cooked like chicken, but keep in mind that it is leaner. Hare and wild rabbit have dark, strong-flavored red meat. I have not been able to buy either of these animals ranched or farm-raised. If you wish to cook wild rabbit, try it Flemish-Style (page 214) or Rabbit with Cider and Mustard Sauce (page 220). Hare will fare better if treated like venison: roast the saddle, keeping it rare, and serve with Poivrade Sauce (page 211). Or braise the legs following the Venison Osso Buco recipe (page 236).
Risqué bones: To jump a person’s bones is slang for sexual intercourse, and a boner is North American slang for an erection.
Game Cooking Temperatures
Because of the range in size of game, particularly venison, your cut may not weigh the same as that specified in the recipe. Use the recipes as a starting point and reduce or increase your cooking time accordingly. With slow-cooked dishes, timing is less critical, as the meat is cooked until it is tender and falling off the bone. Grilled or sautéed meat, though, must be cooked rare or medium-rare. For roasts, check the weight and time per each pound (450 g) roast in the recipes to use as a guide. For the most accurate results, use an instant-read thermometer.
Venison Roasts or Chops
Wild Boar
Be sure to let the meat rest before carving, and remember that during this time the temperature will rise by 5°F (2°C).
Game Stock
Venison bones are the most readily available game bones. You can mix and match all types of venison bones and even add some rabbit bones if you don’t plan to make a separate stock with them (see page 207). You can also make up the weight by adding a few veal bones.
The bones and vegetables are first roasted in the oven to give a rich brown stock. There’s no need to peel the vegetables, just rinse them. The onion skin will add color to the stock. You can make a white stock by skipping the initial roasting, but I find a dark stock is much more useful because it reinforces game’s strong flavors.
2 carrots, sliced
1 large onion, unpeeled, cut into wedges
1 celery stalk, sliced
4½ pounds (2 kg) game bones and trimmings, cut into 2- to 3-inch (5- to 7.5 cm) pieces
1 large tomato, halved
6 garlic cloves 1 bay leaf
3 thyme sprigs
3 flat-leaf parsley stems ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
6 juniper berries, crushed
Kosher salt, optional
1.Preheat the oven to 425°F (22o°C). Scatter the carrots, onion, and celery over the bottom of a large roasting pan. Rinse the bones well under cold running water, pat bones dry, and place them on top of the vegetables.
2.Roast, turning the bones once or twice, for 1 hour, or until they are well browned.
3.Using tongs, transfer the bones and vegetables to a large stockpot. Discard any fat from the roasting pan. Add 2 cups (500 ml) water to the pan and bring to a boil over medium heat, deglazing the pan by scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Add this liquid to the stockpot, along with the tomato, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, and parsley. Pour in 10 cups (2.5 1) cold water, or enough to cover the bones, and bring slowly to a boil. As soon as the stock begins to boil, reduce the heat so that it simmers. Using a soup ladle, skim off any scum that has risen to the surface (rotate the bowl of the ladle on the surface of the stock to make ripples: these will carry the scum to the edges of the pot, and you can then use the ladle to lift it off). Add the peppercorns and juniper berries and simmer, uncovered, for 5 hours, skimming from time to time.
4.Strain the stock through a sieve into a large bowl. Discard the debris left in the sieve and cool the stock quickly by placing the bowl in a larger bowl or a sink filled with ice water; stir occasionally as it cools. When you taste this stock,