"Stuff is eaten by dogs, broken by family and friends, sanded down by the wind, frozen by the mountains, lost by the prairie, burnt off by the sun, washed away by the rain. So you are left with dogs, family, friends, sun, rain, wind, prairie and mountains. What more do you want?"
Federico Calboli
Pretty much the same as in a post of two years ago after my first attempt.
I've since started using jackrabbit, but only after years of believing the conventional wisdom that they're inedible. (Of course thy're hares, and have been on the menu elsewhere forever.)
No secrets but some tips: Simmer the jack for about 45 minutes before putting in the andouille sausage, cottontails and veggies to make the stock. Then simmer all together another 1.5 hours or so, until the meat is tender and some falls off the bone.
The jack at this point has the texture, color and taste of beef brisket.
I cheat on the roux. I've made it from scratch now but without any better results (in terms of taste) than using my staple "Zataran's Gumbo Mix with Rice" instead. I'm all for tradition, but Zataran's is one too...
Once you've strained and reserved your stock and made a pile of meat, just follow the recipe on the box. :-)
Oh--and the "holy trinity:" Bell peppers (2), onions (1) and celery (1 bunch). I sweat them down separately and season to taste before putting in the gumbo.
For the stock I use the celery tops, carrots, garlic, onions, bay leaves and whatever else I have handy---except bell peppers, which I'm told make for bitter stock.
Makes me feel so much better to hear you say that, Matt. Zatarain's is a tradition, and puts decent Cajun cooking within reach of borderline competent cooks like myself.
Mark I figure after training the hawk and driving 13 hours and running across the Texas panhandle to catch the rabbits; then cleaning them and lugging them home; chopping veggies, making stock and pulling meat from bones for a few hours... well what's a litle Zataran's between friends?
Also figure that if the Acadian settlers had Zatarans in a box they would have used it!
8 comments:
Recipe!
Pretty much the same as in a post of two years ago after my first attempt.
I've since started using jackrabbit, but only after years of believing the conventional wisdom that they're inedible. (Of course thy're hares, and have been on the menu elsewhere forever.)
No secrets but some tips: Simmer the jack for about 45 minutes before putting in the andouille sausage, cottontails and veggies to make the stock. Then simmer all together another 1.5 hours or so, until the meat is tender and some falls off the bone.
The jack at this point has the texture, color and taste of beef brisket.
I cheat on the roux. I've made it from scratch now but without any better results (in terms of taste) than using my staple "Zataran's Gumbo Mix with Rice" instead. I'm all for tradition, but Zataran's is one too...
Once you've strained and reserved your stock and made a pile of meat, just follow the recipe on the box. :-)
Oh--and the "holy trinity:" Bell peppers (2), onions (1) and celery (1 bunch). I sweat them down separately and season to taste before putting in the gumbo.
For the stock I use the celery tops, carrots, garlic, onions, bay leaves and whatever else I have handy---except bell peppers, which I'm told make for bitter stock.
Makes me feel so much better to hear you say that, Matt. Zatarain's is a tradition, and puts decent Cajun cooking within reach of borderline competent cooks like myself.
Mark I figure after training the hawk and driving 13 hours and running across the Texas panhandle to catch the rabbits; then cleaning them and lugging them home; chopping veggies, making stock and pulling meat from bones for a few hours... well what's a litle Zataran's between friends?
Also figure that if the Acadian settlers had Zatarans in a box they would have used it!
I've made my share of jackrabbit chile, but frankly, after a while the taste wears on me. Maybe the gumbo would make a good change.
Chas it would wear on me too, likely. But I'm sure there are enough hare recipes out there to keep things interesting.
Don't forget this jackrabbit recipe that Steve posted in 2006. Delicious. I serve this one to special guests.
http://stephenbodio.blogspot.com/2006/01/recipes.html
I think it's time for another jackrabbit hunt.--Matt
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