Rabbit Crepinette
Source: Ryan Farr, 4505 Meats
Recipe Type: Entrees | Seasons: Autumn, Spring, Summer, Winter
This recipe was demonstrated for CUESA’s Market to Table program on October 18, 2014.
A crepinette is a small, disk-shaped sausage that is wrapped in caul fat instead of stuffed into a casing. These rabbit “meat pillows” are some of my favorites; green olives and mustard complement the mild meat. I like to include the rabbit liver and heart, but if you don’t have access to those cuts, you can just increase the amount of rabbit meat in the recipe.
Yields 3 pounds
INGREDIENTS
1 pound boneless rabbit, cut into 1-inch cubes
⅕ pound rabbit heart and liver
1 pound pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
⅕ pound boiled pork skin
½ cup green olives, such as Picholine or Lucques, pitted and finely chopped
2 tablespoons ice water
½ cup finely chopped green onions, both green and white parts
2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
2 tablespoons finely diced fennel bulb
2 tablespoons white wine
2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard
⅙ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
1½ teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
Caul fat, soaked
PREPARATION
1. Place the rabbit, rabbit liver and heart, pork shoulder, and pork skin on a rimmed baking sheet; transfer to the freezer; and chill until crunchy on the exterior, but not frozen solid.
2. In a medium bowl, add the olives, ice water, green and red onions, fennel, wine, mustard, parsley, salt and black pepper and stir to combine.
3. Nest a large mixing bowl in a bowl filled with ice. Grind the meat through the small die of a grinder into the bowl set in ice.
4. Add the spice mixture to the meat and stir with your hands until well incorporated; the mixture will look homogenous and will begin sticking to the bowl.
5. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the mixture into a non-stick frying pan and spread into a thin patty. Cook the test patty over low heat until cooked through but not browned. Taste the sausage for seasoning and adjust as necessary.
6. Press a sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap directly on the surface of the meat to prevent oxidation, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
7. Form the meat mixture into 4-ounce patties, about ½ inch thick, and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Position the caul fat on your surface and, with a sharp knife, cut the caul into 12-inch diameter circles. Wrap each patty in caul fat. The crepinettes are best grilled over indirect heat or cooked in an oiled pan over medium heat; start the crepinettes seam-side down, turning once midway through cooking, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 145°F.
Excerpted from Sausage Making: The Definitive Guide with Recipes by Ryan Farr (Chronicle Books). Copyright © 2014. Photography by Ed Anderson
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