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Rabbit civet

Rabbit civet is a classic dish of French cuisine. The word "civet" comes from "cive", an old word for onion.

These days, the name refers to chunks of meat, marinated then cooked slowly in red wine with bacon, mushrooms and onions.

This tasty stew or casserole, with its very tender meat, is like my grandmother Jeanne used to make for me when I was little.

90K 3.1/5 based on 9 reviews

Last modified on: May 10^th 2023

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For 8 people, you will need:

1 2 kgs rabbit meat
2 4 cloves garlic
3 2 bayleaves
4 2 sprigs rosemary
5 2 sprigs thyme
6 3 litres red wine
7 salt
8 pepper
9 10 tablespoons olive oil
10 300 g small pieces of bacon
11 700 g mushrooms
12 500 g onion
13 8 tablespoons olive oil
14 4 tablespoons flour
Total weight: 6,906 grams

Change to the quantities for:

2 people 4 people 8 people 12 people

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Times for this recipe

Preparation: 20 min.

Resting: 12 hours

Cooking: 3 hours

All in all: 15 hours 20 min.

When should you start or finish this recipe?

If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time

To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time

Step by step recipe

Stage 1 - 5 min.

Prepare the marinade

Cut the rabbit into pieces (or have your butcher do this for you).

Stage 2 - 2 min.

Put into a bowl: 4 cloves garlic crushed, 2 bayleaves cut into pieces, 2 sprigs rosemary, 2 sprigs thyme, salt and pepper.

Stage 3 - 1 min.

Place the rabbit pieces on top.

Stage 4 - 12 hours

Cover with the red wine.

Cover with a plate and leave to marinate for 12 hours.

Stage 5 - 10 min.

Preliminary cooking

Heat 10 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan.

When hot, brown the rabbit pieces all over, in batches if necessary.

Please note: this is not to cook the rabbit, just to brown the outside, so cook for about 2 or 3 minutes on each side.

Set aside the browned meat on a plate.

Stage 6 - 5 min.

Use the same pan to fry 300 g small pieces of bacon briefly.

Set aside.

Stage 7 - 7 min.

Still in the same pan, take advantage of the fat from the lardons to cook 700 g mushrooms that you will have prepared beforehand.

Reserve.

Stage 8 - 5 min.

Prepare 500 g onion and chop finely.

Stage 9 - 2 min.

Still using the same pan, heat 8 tablespoons olive oil and when hot, add the chopped onion, salt and pepper.

Fry the onion for 2 or 3 minutes.

Stage 10 - 1 min.

Return the bacon and mushrooms to the pan and mix well.

Stage 11 - 1 min.

Sprinkle in 4 tablespoons flour...

Stage 12 - 1 min.

...then mix well.

Stage 13 - 2 min.

Begin the main cooking

Add the rabbit pieces to the pan...

Stage 14 - 2 min.

...then pour in the marinade, discarding the rosemary.

There should be enough wine to just about cover the meat. If not, add a little more.

Stage 15 - 6 min.

Bring to the boil on high heat...

Stage 16 - 2 hours 30 min.

...then leave to simmer on low heat: 1 hour with the lid on and about an hour and a half uncovered to allow the sauce to thicken slowly.

Stage 17

Discard the garlic, thyme and bayleaf, then check the seasoning.

Serve by standing the pan in the centre of the table so that people can help themselves, or by plating up, like in the photo.

To accompany your civet, I suggest pasta or pan-fried potatoes.

Remarks

Rabbit civet is one of those dishes, like boeuf (beef) bourguignon or carbonnade, which just gets better with each reheating. So make plenty and keep some for another day.

For even more flavour, you can add a chicken or beef stock cube at stage 14.

And to drink?

The same red wine as you have used in the recipe. I recommend something with plenty of tannins, such as a Shiraz (Syrah).

Keeping: A few days in the fridge, protected by a plastic film.

Source: Home made.

Nutritional information

	Proteins (gr)	Carbohydrates (gr)	Fats (gr)	Energy value (in k-calories)	Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe	650 250 %	150 10 %	490 80 %	10,180 510 %	42,630 510 %
Per 100 g	9 4 %	2 0 %	7 1 %	150 7 %	620 7 %
Per person	80 30 %	20 2 %	60 9 %	1,270 60 %	5,330 60 %

The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman Change to a man

Possible allergens in this recipe: Sulfites, Gluten

How much will it cost?

For 8 people : 70.20 €
Per person : 8.78 €

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Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.

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