Rabbit terrine

Remove the rabbit meat from the bones with a small knife, keeping all the meat you can, plus the liver and kidneys.

set aside.

Cut ²⁄₃ cup pork loin and 1 cup belly (streaky) bacon into pieces.

Set aside.

Prepare the onion and garlic for the marinade: Peel and chop 1 onion and 1 garlic clove.

Choose a large bowl and put all the meat into it with the chopped onion and garlic, 2 bayleaves, 1 sprig thyme and 1 sprig rosemary, then mix well.

Pour in 2 cups + 2 tablespoons dry white wine and ¼ cup Brandy (Cognac or Armagnac), cover with plastic film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or, better still, overnight.

Next day, drain the meat.

Keep about 1/3 of the rabbit meat, the better-looking pieces, and cut into morsels about the size of your thumbnail.

Set aside.

Mince all the rest of the meat with the garlic and onion, using the coarsest setting.

Mix the minced meat with the morsels of rabbit and 2 eggs.

Weigh this mixture and calculate the seasoning with the exact proportions of 20g salt and 2g pepper per kilo of meat mixture.

You can calculate seasoning with this small calculator:

Mix : grams
Recalculate

Add 2 pinches "Quatre-épices" spice blend, fine (or table) salt, pepper and ½ cup Brandy (Cognac or Armagnac) and mix well.

Yout terrine mixture is now ready to be cooked.

Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).

Pack the terrine mixture into dishes, making sure to dome the tops, as the terrine will sink a little when cooked.

If you wish, add a bayleaf from the marinade in the bottom of each dish before filling.

Cook the terrines the oven, standing them in a bain-marie: a large tray filled with boiling water.

Leave to cook for a good 2 or 3 hours, half with the lid on, then uncovered for the remaining time.

When cooked, take out of the oven and leave to cool before frigerating.

Do be patient - it's best to wait for several days to allow the terrine to develop its full flavour before eating.

You can fill any space that has appeared between the edge of teh terrine and its dish with a little jelly, but this is not essential.

Nothing goes to waste

It's quite likely, if you are a beginner, that you will leave quite a lot of rabbit meat on the bones when preparing it, as mentioned above. Here's a way to get all that meat:

Put all the bones into a cooking bag, salt and pepper them, add a bayleaf, a sprig of thyme and a glass of the leftover marinade.

Seal the bag, sit it in an ovenproof dish and cook in the oven at the same time as the terrine.

Take the bag out of the oven after 1 hour, leave to cool and you will then be able to slip the meat easily from the bones, giving you lots of small pieces to add to a salad, pilau rice, or other recipe of your choice.