Rabbit civet "à la normande"


Rabbit civet "à la normande"
In French cooking, "à la normande" means there are apples involved, as Normandy is famous for them. In this twist on the classic civet, the rabbit meat is cooked on the bone in cider, after marinating overnight.

The sauce is made at the end with the cooking juices and cream.
72 K 4.5/5 (28 reviews)
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Last modified on: March 26th 2017
For 6 people, you will need:

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Times for this recipe
Preparation: 12 hours 35 min.
Cooking: 2 hours 30 min.
All in all: 15 hours 3 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 - 10 min.
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 1

Prepare the marinade

Peel 1 carrot and slice into rounds.

Prepare and chop 1 onion.

Set aside.

Stage 2 - 2 min.
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 2
Have your butcher joint 1 kg 500 g rabbit meat for you.

Stage 3 - 2 min.
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 3
Take a large bowl and add the carrot, onion, 2 bayleaves and 1 bouquet garni. Lay the pieces of rabbit on top, then pour in 1 litre cider.

Stage 4 - 12 hours
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 4
Cover with plastic film and refrigerate overnight.

Stage 5 - 3 min.
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 5

Cook the meat

Next day, drain the pices of rabbit and keep the marinade for later.

Stage 6 - 15 min.
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 6
Pour 30 g olive oil into a large casserole or saucepan on high heat. When hot, fry the pieces of meat until browned on all sides.

Stage 7
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 7
It is much easier to do this in batches.

Stage 8
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 8
Return all the pieces of rabbit to the pan and turn the heat down a little.

Stage 9 - 2 min.
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 9
Dust the meat with 2 tablespoons flour...

Stage 10 - 5 min.
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 10
...and stir well until evenly fried.

Stage 11 - 2 min.
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 11
Pour the marinade (and all it contains) into the casserole, then salt and pepper.

Stage 12
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 12
Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to its lowest setting. Cover...

Stage 13 - 2 hours
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 13
...and leave to simmer for about 2 hours.

Please note: the cooking should be long and slow, but this can be done in the oven, at 300°F (150°C), just as well as on the hob.

Stage 14 - 5 min.
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 14
Meanwhile, fry 200 g small pieces of smoked bacon in a frying pan with no added fat.

Set aside.

Stage 15 - 10 min.
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 15
Peel 300 g mushrooms and cut into chunks.

Stage 16 - 5 min.
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 16
Sauté the mushrooms in the frying pan used for the bacon, using the fat left.

Stage 17
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 17
After cooking for 2 hours, remove all the pieces of meat from the casserole.

Stage 18 - 2 min.
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 18

Prepare the sauce

Strain the liquid from the casserole through a sieve. DIscard everything strained out and keep just the liquid.

Stage 19
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 19
Pour the cooking liquid back ito the casserole, add 250 ml liquid cream, salt and pepper, then check the seasoning.

Bring back to the boil.

Stage 20
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 20
From here on, there are 2 possible methods:

- Either leave the sauce uncovered to thicken on low heat for about 1 hour,

- Or use a whisk to incorporate 2 tablespoons cornflour mixed with 3 tablespoons water (cold) to thicken the sauce quickly.

Stage 21
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 21

Finish the civet

In both cases, once the sauce has thickened sufficiently, return the pieces of rabbit to the sauce, along with the bacon and mushrooms, until ready to serve.

Stage 22
Rabbit civet "à la normande" : Stage 22
Your rabbit civet à la normande is ready. You can serve this with any accompaniment you like: mashed potato (shown here), pasta, rice, vegetables...
Remarks
For the cider, opt for a dry farmhouse type. You can use a perry instead (made with pears instead of apples), as this will also give a really good flavour.
And to drink?
The same cider (or perry) as you have used for the marinade and cooking.
Keeping: Several days in the fridge, covered with plastic film. Reheats very well..
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe470 RDI=180 %150 RDI=20 %180 RDI=30 %4,150 RDI=210 %17,390 RDI: 210 %
Per 100 g10 RDI=5 %4 RDI=0 %5 RDI=1 %120 RDI=6 %510 RDI: 6 %
Per person80 RDI=30 %30 RDI=2 %30 RDI=5 %690 RDI=40 %2,900 RDI: 40 %
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: Celery, Gluten, milk
How much will it cost?
  • For 6 people : 40.70 €
  • Per person : 6.80 €

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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.
This recipe uses (among others)
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