SUNDAY 17 DECEMBER, 2017 –
UWI TODAY 100
TH
ISSUE
17
AT HOME WITH NOVECK
I opened my mouth and those three
, seemingly insignificant
words managed to land me in hot water. Innocent maybe, to
the passing bystander, but in the context of a field trip to The
UWI’s Faculty of Food and Agriculture’s Field Station and a
wonderful discussion on Trinbagonian Christmas foods with
expert veterinarian Dr. Corinne Wong and the charming
secretary, Mrs. Cassandra Lewis, those three words were the
bane of my existence for a few days.
I had never cooked rabbit. I had never eaten rabbit.
Everyone I asked said that it tastes like chicken, which was not
very helpful. Everything new “tastes like chicken.” That’s a lie
we chefs tell to get someone to try something new. So I knew
when I was being sold the farm, so to speak.
Through the kind graces of the Dean of the Faculty, Dr.
Wayne Ganpat, I scored a gratis cleaned and butchered animal,
that I must admit looks like chicken in its little styrofoam boat.
It’s taking every ounce of my creative abilities to figure out how
to do justice to this animal. It must not have sacrificed its life in
vain. It will become a star on a Christmas lunch menu.
With my primal cooking instinct kicking in, I defaulted
to my safe space and I thought about a stew. Quintessentially
Trinbagonian, a stew is perfect for almost any type of meat, but
this would relegate it to the ranks of a river-lime-wild-meat
cook… an informal dish. While a fine addition to any party, it
won’t really be a star standout. I needed to dress this up with
simple, yet powerful ingredients to achieve that double-take on
the first morsel. Turn up the je ne sais quoi to eleven, one might
say. But not too much – because we have a bit of an aversion
to the overly-fancy.
I brought it up in the place where a lot of arguments are
either created or settled; the lunch table at work – and although
“Why not Rabbit?”
Something different on the menu
B Y N O V E C K G O W A N D A N
Inspiration:
UWI TODAY
and the eating local
challenge from the Faculty of
Food and Agriculture.
Style:
Trinbagonian
Serves:
4
Est. Prep Time:
30 minutes to rinse and season.
24-hour marinating time and
about 65-70 minutes of cooking.
Ingredients
3 LBS RABBIT, CUT INTO EIGHTHS
1 CUP ROUGHLY CHOPPED CHADON BENI,
DIVIDED INTO TWO
1 HEAD GARLIC, MINCED
6-8 PIMENTO PEPPERS, FINELY CHOPPED
2 PAPRIKA PEPPERS, FINELY CHOPPED
1 MEDIUM GREEN PEPPER, FINELY CHOPPED
3 TBSP. GRATED FRESH GINGER
1 1/4 CUPS MATOUK’S TOMATO KETCHUP
2 TBSP. YELLOW MUSTARD
JUICE OF 1 LARGE LIME
1/4 CUP OLIVE OIL
1 TBSP. FRESH THYME
1/3 CUP BROWN SUGAR
1 TBSP. MOLASSES
1/3 CUP WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
1/3 CUP CELERY LEAVES/STEMS, CHOPPED
SALT AND BLACK PEPPER
Method
Rinse rabbit pieces with cold running water. Pat dry.
Season with salt, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce,
ginger, half the chadon beni, garlic, celery and thyme.
Mix well and place in a covered bowl, refrigerate and
allow to marinate for up to 24 hours.
For the sauce, pulse green pepper, pimento peppers,
paprika and the remaining chadon beni in a food
processor until chunky. Fold in ketchup, molasses and
brown sugar. Add lime juice and mix thoroughly.
Let sit for 10 minutes. Divide into two.
Remove meat from marinade, place into a large baking
dish. Reserve remaining marinade.
Massage olive oil onto rabbit pieces, and arrange on
the tray so that there is enough space between each
piece.
Pour marinade in space between the pieces.
Liberally spoon BBQ sauce over each piece.
Smother it.
Cover dish with foil and bake in preheated oven for 35
minutes at 325°F.
Remove foil, spoon on the remaining sauce and bake
for another 25-30 minutes at 375°F.
Remove from oven and let sit in the dish for about 5-10
minutes before serving.
BAKED
RABBIT
with a
SWEET AND TANGY
BBQ SAUCE
most of themwere on board with the idea of rabbit, they agreed
that too fancy simply won’t cut it. At least they were on board
with the idea. At home, the concept of rabbit simply wasn’t
getting any traction for inspiration.
What’s more bourgeois than stewed rabbit, but less booge
than perhaps a browned butter and rosemary braised rabbit?
The answer is a preparation that is synonymous with Sunday
lunches across the country, as well as most tables at Christmas.
We’re gonna bake it. Baked rabbit with my special sauce it is.
Clearly, a whole lot of thought (or overthinking) went into
today’s preparation, and I haven’t even started cooking yet.
Fast forward one week. The dish is now in the oven and
the house smells fantastic.
I present to you a Baked Rabbit, with a sweet and tangy
BBQ sauce. First impressions are that it looks exactly like
chicken. First bite, it tastes just like chicken, although a bit
gamier. Quite a lot of hard bones, similar to turkey, but not a
lot of fat. My instincts paid off.
Since rabbit meat is naturally lean, it needed a lot of
moisture and some added fat, cooked at a lower temperature
to keep it tender. Admittedly, it is a bit chewier than chicken,
but this initial low-and-slow technique allowed the viscous
BBQ sauce to work its magic all the way down to the bone.
Mildly tart, but cloyingly sweet with deep notes and a fruity
undertone, the sauce complemented the gaminess of the rabbit
wonderfully.
To be quite honest, I was not sure what to expect, but I
was pleasantly surprised.
Notes: Fresh rabbit, as well as a plethora of other local
meats and dairy can be found at the UWI’s Faculty of Food
and Agriculture (FFA) Field Station in Mt. Hope. The freshly
harvested peppers and other produce are available at the FFA’s
weekly produce sale on the St. Augustine Campus.
