10 Rabbits from Paddle River

I rarely question the origin of a bag of green onions. The kitchen isn’t unlike a video store that gets new releases, or an auto-body shop that gets front fenders. Scallions simply arrive on my cutting board and I cut them—thinly, on a bias—into garnish…easy. I don’t question where they’re from or what species they are. Actually, I sometimes find it hard to regard them as plants at all; they are just “green onions.” Sometimes, though, we get a fresh product in the kitchen that reminds me that food isn’t grown in bags. It grows in the ground and was built by a gazillion years of evolution (or was intelligently designed; pretty cool either way). This reminder recently came in the form of ten rabbits from Paddle River. They actually did come in bags, but, since they were whole, it was pretty easy to make the connection between these skinned ones and the living ones that lay chocolate eggs on TV this time of year. I think it was Gerry’s idea to get them in. He was inspired by THIS Thomas Keller bit.

Gerry swiftly went to work on them. Hind and Front legs were removed from the body at the joint, kidneys and liver removed from the body cavity, carcass split into two with a cleaver between the first and second ribs, tenderloins were cut free, Saddle split, loins removed, and finally, the Ribs were split to make two racks.

Gerry: One thing I find satisfying about using whole rabbits is being able to use the entire animal. Not a scrap was wasted. All the bones and trim were kept and made into stock. The livers went into a Rabbit liver and fig Pate. I braised some of the legs in olive oil and then turned them into rillettes. After talking with Brad about the possibilities for the rabbit, we decided to make a cold smoked Rabbit Chorizo, and in went the remainder of the legs and the reserved kidneys.

Christine was able to use the loin/tenderloin roulade, racks of rib and chorizo sausages in the Thursday night special: Trio of rabbit on caramelized butternut squash and apple with a pan jus.

Which was excellent—especially the tiny one bite rack. My favorite dish to come from the rabbits, though, was the rabbit liver and fig pate.

Gerry: I enjoy working with whole animals. At home I only ever buy whole chickens and cut them up myself. Although it is time consuming, messy and sometimes unpleasant, I find butchering deeply satisfying and it leaves me feeling more connected to the food. The legs are more than just “ meat,” bought at the store and dumped into a pan, but part of an animal. To get that leg I had to force a bone until it popped from the joint and then cut it free. Every cut when butchering reminds that I’m working on the body of something that was a living creature and deserves respect.