Rabbit civet


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.
89K 3.1/5 based on 9 reviews
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Last modified on: May 10th 2023

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For 4 people, you will need:

Change to the quantities for:
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.
Rabbit civet

Prepare the marinade


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

Stage 2 - 2 min.
Rabbit civet
Put into a bowl: 2 cloves garlic crushed, 1 bayleaf cut into pieces, 1 sprig rosemary, 1 sprig thyme, salt and pepper.

Stage 3 - 1 min.
Rabbit civet
Place the rabbit pieces on top.

Stage 4 - 12 hours
Rabbit civet
Cover with the red wine.

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

Stage 5 - 10 min.
Rabbit civet

Preliminary cooking


Heat 5 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.
Rabbit civet
Use the same pan to fry 150 g small pieces of bacon briefly.

Set aside.

Stage 7 - 7 min.
Rabbit civet
Still in the same pan, take advantage of the fat from the lardons to cook 350 g mushrooms that you will have prepared beforehand.

Reserve.

Stage 8 - 5 min.
Rabbit civet
Prepare 250 g onion and chop finely.

Stage 9 - 2 min.
Rabbit civet
Still using the same pan, heat 4 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.
Rabbit civet
Return the bacon and mushrooms to the pan and mix well.

Stage 11 - 1 min.
Rabbit civet
Sprinkle in 2 tablespoons flour...

Stage 12 - 1 min.
Rabbit civet
...then mix well.

Stage 13 - 2 min.
Rabbit civet

Begin the main cooking


Add the rabbit pieces to the pan...

Stage 14 - 2 min.
Rabbit civet
...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.
Rabbit civet
Bring to the boil on high heat...

Stage 16 - 2 hours 30 min.
Rabbit civet
...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
Rabbit civet
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
Whole recipe
Energetic valueProteins CarbohydratesFats
5,091 Kcal or 21,315 Kj323 gr77 gr246 gr
255 %124 %7 %37 %
Per 100 g
Energetic valueProteins CarbohydratesFats
147 Kcal or 615 Kj9 gr2 gr7 gr
7 %4 %<1 %1 %
Per person
Energetic valueProteins CarbohydratesFats
1,273 Kcal or 5,330 Kj81 gr19 gr62 gr
64 %31 %2 %9 %
% are calculated relative to a Recommended Dietary Intake or RDI of 2000 k-calories or 8400 k-joules by day for a woman (change to a man).
Possible allergens in this recipe: Sulfites, Gluten
How much will it cost?
  • For 4 people : 35.10 €
  • Per person : 8.78 €

Change currency:

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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