Sirloin of Devil’s Gulch ranch rabbit wrapped in Hobbs’ applewood smoked bacon recipe

Ingredients

• 1 whole rabbit saddle, racks attached
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 12 thin slices Hobbs’ applewood smoked bacon
• Canola oil

• 120 g canola oil
• 700 g rabbit chopped into 1" pieces
• 750 ml water
• 750 ml chicken stock
• 125 g onions cut into ½" mirepox
• 90 g leeks cut into ½" mirepox
• 135 g carrots cut into ½" mirepox
• 60 g tomatoes cut into ½" mirepox
• 500 ml veal stock

• 60 g small lima beans or peeled fava beans, germs removed
• 60 g Hobbs’ Applewood smoked bacon, cut into N-inch dice
• 60 g corn kernels, cold granulated sugar
• Kosher salt
• 15 g unsalted butter
• 380 g corn juice (from about 8 ears of corn)
• 60 g diced (¼") peeled red bell pepper
• 60 g diced (¼") peeled yellow bell pepper
• 20 roasted cherry tomatoes canola oil
• 15 g unsalted butter
• 15 g vegetable stock or water

Rabbit
1. Remove the kidneys from the saddle and peel off the outer membrane. Refrigerate.
2. Separate the racks from the saddle, but leave the last rib from each rack attached to the saddle. Using kitchen shears or a sharp heavy knife, split each rack crosswise in half. Refrigerate until cold.
3. Use a sharp boning knife to remove the loins from the saddle, leaving the flank (flap) attached to one of the loins. The other flank can be trimmed away and used for another purpose or discarded. Clean the attached flank of excess fat and trim it to be the same length as the loin.
4. Score the flank in a ¼" crosshatch pattern. Season the loins with salt and pepper.
5. Lay the loins side by side with the trimmed loin lying on the flank. Roll the flank around both loins to form a compact cylinder. Lay the strips of bacon side by side on a piece of parchment paper, overlapping the slices by about ¼". Lay the rabbit cylinder over the bacon, running crosswise to the strips of bacon, and roll up. Trim off any excess bacon.
6. Lay a 20" long piece of food-safe plastic wrap on the work surface with a short side toward you. Lay the wrapped loins across the center and roll up in the plastic to form a compact cylinder. Tie the ends of the plastic, keeping them tight against the loin.
7. Refrigerate until cold, then place in a bag. Vacuum-pack on medium high.
8. Cook the rabbit at 64°C (147.2°F) for 18 minutes (the rabbit will be finished cooking as the bacon is crisped). Place in an ice bath to chill.
9. Refrigerate until 30 minutes before you are ready to complete the dish.
10. To complete: Heat a film of canola oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Remove the rabbit loins from the plastic and add to the pan, seam side down. Cook, turning to brown the bacon well on all sides, for a total of about 5 minutes; tilt the pan occasionally and baste the rabbit with the accumulated fat. Drain on C-fold towels, then slice the loins.
11. Season the racks with salt and pepper, and wrap the bones in aluminum foil. Heat oil in a sauté pan over high heat. Place the racks meat side down in the pan and brown quickly, lowering the heat if necessary to cook to medium. Add the kidneys to the pan, and cook for 3-4 minutes, turning the kidneys to cook evenly. Drain on C-fold towels.
12. Slice the racks into individual chops.
Quick Rabbit Sauce, Warmed
13. Heat the canola oil over high heat in a wide heavy pot large enough to hold the bones in one layer. When it just begins to smoke, add the bones and brown them, without, stirring, for about 10 minutes. (They should be well browned before they are moved, or they will give off their juices and begin to steam rather than brown.) Turn the bones and cook for about 10 minutes longer, or until evenly coloured.
14. For the first deglazing: add 250 ml of the water to the pot. You will hear the water sizzling as it hits the hot pot; then, as it reduces, it will become quiet. Stirring with a wooden spoon, scrape up any glazed juices clinging to the bottom of the pot and cook until the liquid have evaporated and the pot is glazed an sizzling again (don’t worry about the oil still in the pot; it will be removed later.)
15. For the second deglazing: deglaze the pot with 250 ml of the chicken stock and cook as above. As the stock boils down this time the colour of the bones and liquid will become deeper and the natural gelatin in the stock will glaze the bones.
16. For the third deglazing: Add the onions, leeks and carrots; the water content of the water of the vegetables provides the liquid for this deglazing. cook as above until the moisture has evaporated and the vegetables are lightly caramelised.
17. For the fourth deglazing: Add the tomatoes and cook until the moisture has evaporated.
18. For the fifth deglazing: Add the remaining 500 ml chicken stock, veal stock and the remaining 500 ml water. Deglaze the pot, then transfer the stock and bones to a taller, narrower pot so that it will be easier to skim. Bring to a simmer (with the pot set partially off the burner to force the impurities to one side) and ladle off the oil as it rises to the top. simmer for 45 minutes, skimming often, until the stock as reduced to the level of the bones.
19. Strain the sauce through a china cap and the again through a chinois or fine-mesh conical strainer; do not force and of the solids through the strainer or they will cloud your sauce. You should have about 450 ml of liquid. Pour the liquid into a small pot, reduce to about 200 ml, and strain again. Refrigerate the sauce for up to 3 days, or freeze for longer storage.
Corn Pudding and Succotash
20. Blanch the lima or fava beans. Chill in an ice bath. If the beans are larger than ¼", cut them into ¼" brunoise. Sauté the bacon until it is richly browned. Drain on C-fold towels.
21. Place the corn in a bag with a pinch of sugar, a pinch of salt, and the butter; spread the corn out in an even layer. Vacuum-pack on medium-high.
22. Cook at 85°C (185°F) for 1 hour.
23. Meanwhile, heat the corn juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat until it comes to a simmer and the starch in the juice begins to thicken it.
24. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 7 minutes, until thickened. Add salt to taste and cook for another minute. Strain the pudding and keep warm.
25. To complete: Reserve 16 pieces each of the red and yellow peppers, corn, limas or favas, and tomatoes for garnish. Heat a film of oil in a saucepan. Add the remaining red pepper and sauté for about 1 minute, or until the oil begins to take on a bit of color from the peppers. Add the bacon, the remaining yellow peppers, corn, beans, tomatoes, the butter and vegetable stock and heat through. Season with salt.
To Serve
26. Spoon some of the corn pudding and rabbit sauce onto each plate. Sprinkle the kidneys with salt and pepper.
27. Arrange the rabbit loin, chops, and kidneys on the plates and scatter the reserved vegetables around them. Serve the succotash on the side.