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Rabbit Adobo
The Happy Ending team was walking around the LA Farmer’s Market when we happened upon the succulent rabbits at Puritan Poultry. While we were planning on posting our chicken adobo recipe (the inspiration for our chicken adobo bon-bon), the rabbits in the butcher’s case were too tempting and Easter was too close around the corner for us to resist putting this deliciously sacrilegious spin on the traditional Filipino dish.
In traditional Filipino adobo, chicken or pork is stewed in white vinegar and soy sauce with garlic, black peppercorns, and bay leaves. Stewing creates a rich savory-tart sauce which is spooned over white rice.
Our take on adobo replaces white vinegar with rice wine and champagne vinegars, which add complexity to the sauce. A splash of beer and apple juice round out the tartness of the vinegars, while the rabbit, which is all white meat, skinless, and contains more bones than chicken or pork creates an incredibly flavorful, yet lean dish.
We served ours with forbidden rice, blanched carrots, and roasted garlic. YUM!
Ingredients:
1 rabbit, cut into pieces (we got ours at Puritan Poultry 6333 West 3rd St.)
1 cup soy sauce
¾ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup champagne vinegar
1 ½ cups water
¼ cup apple juice
¼ cup lager-style beer
½ onion thinly sliced
4 large garlic cloves, crushed
3-4 bay leaves
10 peppercorns (5 crushed, 5 whole)
lemon-pepper
olive oil
chives for garnish
optional: 1/4 tsp ginger root, peeled and minced
thin slices of jalapeno
Procedure:
- Season rabbit generously with lemon-pepper. Let sit for at least 15 mins.
- Heat olive oil in dutch oven on medium-high. Sautee garlic, onions and ginger (if using) till they begin to brown.
- Reduce heat to medium, add rabbit and lightly brown.
- Add peppercorns, soy sauce, vinegars and water.
- Cover and cook for 30-35 minutes turning it over only once at 15 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low and add bay leaves, apple juice, beer and jalapeno (if using).
- Continue cooking on very low for 5 more minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Serve with rice and vegetables, garnish with thinly sliced chives.
