Rabbit in Mustard Sauce
Print Options
Simply Recipes contributor Hank Shaw and I "met" years ago over a comment he made about rabbit on Michael Ruhlman's blog. I hounded him for a rabbit recipe back then so I'm delighted that he is sharing this French classic with us now, Lapin à la moutarde, or Rabbit in Mustard Sauce. ~Elise
This is a French country classic, and there are endless variations. All are good. Some recipes bake the rabbit, others braise it, as I do. The keys are mustard—good grainy mustard, not the bright yellow stuff you get at the ballpark—shallots, and something creamy. I use heavy cream, but some people use crème fraiche, others sour cream.
Rabbit has a mild flavor that is all its own. Think chicken breast, but with a slightly different flavor. It is one of my favorites, although I mostly use wild cottontail rabbits. Domestic rabbit is readily available frozen in good supermarkets, and any decent butcher can get you some. And yes, if you are skeeved out by rabbit, use chicken instead. But rabbit is better.
Rabbits usually come whole, and if you don’t know how to break them down yourself, ask the supermarket butcher to do it for you. This gets a little harder with frozen rabbits, so I’ve posted step-by step instructions on breaking down a rabbit here.
Rabbit in Mustard Sauce Recipe
Print Options
- 30 minutes
- 1 hour
You will probably g ay many variations, all delicious.
Posted by: Sylvie in Rappahannock on May 23, 2010 7:23 PM
Posted by: Isabelle on May 23, 2010 7:46 PM
I've made and love rabbit like this, but am looking forward to trying your version. The recipe I've used has you coat the rabbit with the dijon, and sear it, but this seems like it would make a more tender rabbit. Thanks!
Posted by: Anne Maxfield on May 24, 2010 9:44 AM
Looks absolutely delicious -- you can see the lovely little grainy bits of the mustard in the sauce. (Beautiful photo) It does seem like a great deal of mustard, but I guess the wine and cream tame it down a bit. I've only had rabbit in fricassees or stews, but I find it very tasty.
"Crusty bread and a big white wine" is just plain fine writing -- could be the first line of a poem (or a nouveau country song . . . )
Posted by: mantha on May 25, 2010 10:38 AM
ps. my first time cooking rabbit. thanks for the inspiration! (i've tried most of your food on this blog..time for me to jump to your blog, i guess ;o) my local butcher had it, no problem. much easier to find than the Achiote paste...the rest of the ingredients i had. cool. now...if i can fool my kids that its chicken...thank you, anna (seattle)
Posted by: anna on May 26, 2010 6:42 PM
Wow! What a delicious and rare recipe to have. The sauce looks so rich and yummy. I will have to look for rabbit at the specialty meat store and try this recipe for sure. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful dish!
Posted by: Lauren @ Delicateflavors on May 27, 2010 5:52 AM
Sounds great! I've never had rabbit, though, and as my folks quiver at the thought of even eating duck, I think I'll be hard pressed to get them to try. Can anyone recommend a good entry-level rabbit dish -- or is this a good one to start on?
Posted by: Zach Thomas on May 28, 2010 11:08 PM
This made a really nice change from the usual chicken, beef, lamb, seafood... Very filling too.
Posted by: Matthew on June 2, 2010 6:44 AM
Making this recipe right now and the addition of thyme seems to be missing. Might wanna update your recipe. Just added it in with the simmer, only place is made sense really.
Good catch! Yes, toss it in when you make the mustard sauce. I've updated the instructions. ~Hank
Posted by: FB on June 12, 2010 6:42 PM
Excellent!
Posted by: Susan on March 20, 2011 5:15 PM
made this tonight...yummmm.
had to search out rabbit (why don't our markets carry more fun meats like the french markets??) and bone up on my butchering skills, but it was worth it! i used fresh thyme and i wish i had used a bit more, and i think the meat could have cooked a tad longer to make it "fall off the bone" more, but this is a great recipe that i will definitely use again. i might use a tad less cream next time too...but maybe i let it simmer a tad too long and it reduced...who knows.
anyway, for those thinking about attempting this, it is a great dish to make for company...it appears impressive without a huge amount of work (once you break down the meat!).
thanks hank and elise!
Posted by: rose on May 22, 2011 11:13 PM
I made this tonight with a European hare (we have lots of them down here in Argentina) and was completely pleased with the results. Thank you so much for this wealth of information. I can't wait to try some of the waterfowl recipes next!
Posted by: Justin Witt on September 7, 2011 6:16 PM
Thank you for this simple but elegant recipe.
Just finished and my o my. Ultra tasty.
Posted by: Harald Bruckner on September 9, 2011 10:00 PM
My husband bagged a rabbit for the first time yesterday. I asked the chef at the Spanish restaurant where we had dinner last night how to prepare the rabbit, and this is almost exactly what he told me to do...I'm thrilled to find a more precise recipe :) Looks delicious. I can't wait to try it.
Posted by: Susan on November 17, 2011 3:25 AM
We tried this recipe tonight - first time cooking with Rabbit, not the last! Delicious! Thank you.
I think you could substitute thyme with tarragon if you wish. Also I agree that wild rabbit needs longer.
But still an awesome recipe - and yes it would work very well with Chicken too. :-)
Posted by: Shannon and Kath on November 19, 2011 2:29 AM
Post a comment
Link to this recipe
Bookmark this page using the following link: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/rabbit_in_mustard_sauce/
Do you have a website? You can place a link to this page by copying and pasting the code below.
<a href="http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/rabbit_in_mustard_sauce/">Rabbit in Mustard Sauce</a>
This is almost exactly the same recipe as the one my mother used to make.
Funny enough, I'd actually forgotten about it until I saw this post... I think it's a sign to find a butcher that sells rabbit so that I can dust off mumsy's old recipe. Thanks for unearthing those old memories!