Rabbit with mustard & bacon
See this recipe step by step

Rabbit with mustard & bacon

Barney's restaurant classic involves a bit of chef's technique and gives you a stunning result

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 40 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr

plus pressing

Freeze uncooked

Method

  1. Mash the butter with the herbs, garlic and lemon zest, then chill. This can be done up to a day in advance. Use a small sturdy knife to scrape the meat away from the thigh bone part of the rabbit leg. Try and create a pocket around the bone rather than cutting into the actual meat. When you get to the joint, cut or snap the bone away.
  2. Halve the butter, roll into two logs, then stuff into the cavity of each rabbit leg. Wrap the slices of pancetta around each leg so that they join underneath. The rabbit can be prepared up to a day ahead and kept in the fridge.
  3. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Place the rabbit on a shallow roasting tray and roast for 20-30 mins (see tip below), then leave to rest for 5 mins. While the rabbit is cooking, make the sauce. Heat the crème fraîche with both mustards and simmer for 2-3 mins until thickened slightly. Season to taste, then add a squeeze of lemon juice and set aside.
  4. To serve, spoon some sauce onto each plate and carve the rabbit into thick slices. Arrange the rabbit on top of the sauce with some steamed new potatoes on the side.
Try

Tip - Types of rabbit

The type of rabbit available is what separates the home from the professional kitchen. Restaurants generally use a larger farmed rabbit leg for this recipe. However, most butchers and supermarkets sell smaller, gamier wild rabbit, so that's most likely what you'll be cooking with. When using wild rabbit, look for the biggest legs possible and roast them for 20 mins.

Tip - Buying rabbit

If you can't buy the legs separately, buy a whole rabbit and remove the back legs or ask your butcher to do it for you. Freeze the rest of the rabbit for another recipe like the Rabbit cacciatore (see 'Goes well with' section).

PER SERVING

352 kcalories, protein 27.0g, carbohydrate 1.0g, fat 27.0 g, saturated fat 14.0g, fibre 0.0g, sugar 1.0g, salt 1.78 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, May 2011.

Try 3 issues of Good Food magazine for £3 - subscribe now!

Latest comments and suggestions

  • 29 January 2012

    SarahW rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    We rear our own rabbits for the table and tried this recipe for dinner last night. It's very easy and delicious. I totally boned out the legs to stuff them and I would reduce the amount of mustard in the sauce next time as it was a bit too much for us. A nice addition to our rabbit recipe book.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Leave a comment or suggestion

You must sign in or register to leave a comment.

Sign in / Register

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 40 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr

plus pressing

Freeze uncooked

Ingredients

FOR THE MUSTARD SAUCE

  • 3.0 tbsp crème fraîche
  • 1.0 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1.0 tbsp grain mustard
  • lemon juice
  • steamed, peeled new potatoes , to serve
Print this recipe
Add to your binder

PER SERVING

352 kcalories, protein 27.0g, carbohydrate 1.0g, fat 27.0 g, saturated fat 14.0g, fibre 0.0g, sugar 1.0g, salt 1.78 g

Advertisement

Your binder

Here are three other great reasons why to sign up:

  • You get an online binder, where you can store all your favourite recipes and create menus.

Follow Good Food

Advertisement

All about Good Food

Magazine

Good Food Magazine

Subscribe to Good Food magazine - enjoy 100+ triple-tested recipes delivered to your door, every month.

Order today, and get a free book gift

On TV

Foodie TV

See your favourite chefs on Sky Channel 249, Virgin TV 260 and find their recipes at goodfoodchannel.co.uk.

Good Food Apps

Good Food Apps

For Good Food on the go, download our apps to your phone or portable device.
Find out more here