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By Root 652 0

by the image of Bugs Bunny cleverly outwitting his would-be captors in the classic Warner Bros. cartoons. All joking aside, if you’ve never tried rabbit, you owe it to yourself to give it a whirl. It is quite mild, finely grained, and consists mostly of white meat—similar to chicken and veal. Most rabbit sold in the United States is farm-raised, and is more plump and tender than wild rabbit. Farmed or wild will do here. The bone-in rabbit is soaked in lemon brine for juiciness, and then rubbed with fresh rosemary and slowly grilled, whole. It is served accompanied by grilled fennel slices.

INGREDIENTS:

1 whole rabbit (about 3 pounds), skinned and cleaned

4 cups Lemon-Rosemary Brine

½ cup olive oil

¼ cup Rosemary-Anise Rub

2 fennel bulbs

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

DIRECTIONS:

Open up the rabbit by cutting through its rib bones near the breast bone. Remove any organs if still attached and reserve for another use. Remove any large bits of fat, but leave some fat to add moisture. Put the rabbit on a work surface, cavity side down, and flatten it by pressing down on its back.

Combine the brine and rabbit in a 1-gallon zipper-lock bag, folding the rabbit gently if necessary to fit. Press out the air, seal, and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

Combine the oil and spice rub in a small bowl. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the mixture for the fennel.

Remove the rabbit from the bag, pat dry, then brush all over with the remaining olive oil mixture.

Heat a grill for indirect medium-low heat, about 300°F. Brush the grill grate and coat with oil. Put the rabbit, bone-side down, on the grill away from the heat. Cover and cook until the juices run clear (they will still be slightly pink at the bone) and the thigh meat registers about 140°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 40 to 45 minutes, basting with the oil mixture every 15 minutes or so, and flipping over the rabbit after about 30 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, move the rabbit directly over the heat and sear the back until nicely grill-marked.

While the rabbit cooks, trim the fennel stems and reserve the fronds. Slice the bulb lengthwise about ¼ inch thick. Brush the fennel pieces all over with the reserved 3 tablespoons of the oil mixture. Grill directly over medium heat until tender, about 5 to 6 minutes per side. Remove to a platter.

Remove the rabbit to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Carve into 8 pieces and serve with the fennel. Sprinkle the rabbit with the Parmesan and garnish with the fennel fronds. Drizzle with any remaining oil mixture.

Chapter 8

Chicken & Turkey

Chicken is the most widely eaten animal protein in the United States, and yet there is probably no meat that is abused more frequently by grilling it. The problem seems to be a lack of understanding. Unlike steaks and chops, chicken needs time to cook through. Not only is rare chicken unappetizing, it’s dangerous (all mass-produced chicken harbors harmful bacteria). Because chicken has a layer of fat right under the skin, it burns easily when exposed directly to a flame (especially when doused with a sweet barbecue sauce).

And because chickens are harvested while fairly young, their meat is tender and dries out quickly, especially breast meat, which is a favorite for grilling. All of which means grilling chicken takes extra care. Is it any wonder that when we innocently throw chicken pieces drenched in barbecue sauce over a roaring blaze, we’re headed for disaster?

The challenge of grilling chicken and turkey is cooking it evenly while keeping the meat moist and the skin crisp. Breast meat is lower in moisture than the dark-meat parts, containing only about 58 percent water compared to 72 percent for dark meat. Soaking poultry in brine before grilling increases its moisture content up to 10 percent. Vertical grill-roasting (or propping a chicken on a can of beer) keeps the tender breasts farther away from the fire and evens out the heat. For the most even doneness, it’s easiest to grill poultry in parts rather than as a whole bird.

Poultry parts