The German Rabbit

I’m back.  It’s been a while.  In the last two years a lot has changed.  I got married to my best friend.  I earned my Ph.D..  I started my first “real” job.  And probably the most important thing, at least as far of the content of this blog is concerned, is my family and I (my husband, and our two cats) moved to Heidelberg, Germany, seven months ago.  

The move to Germany has completely changed my approach to food and cooking.  I no longer take my weekly drive to a large box grocery store.  I no longer truck home my large haul to be stored in my American-sized refrigerator and freezer.  Here, my German neighbors and I grocery shop every day or every other day, bringing home our goods to be stored in a refrigerator one half to two thirds the size of those found in the US.  I no longer have access to any and all ingredients my heart could desire, and I’ve found myself having to quickly change plans and improvise when I can’t find butternut squash, avocado, or green beans at the grocery store.  The city grocery stores are sized to match the German refrigerators, and they carry a much more seasonal selection of produce and meat.  I can buy inexpensive chanterelle mushrooms, chestnuts, endive, strawberries, or white asparagus, as long as they are in season.  A lesson I’ve learned: if you see something interesting at the grocery store, buy it, because it may not be there next week or even the next day.  So when I recently found a whole, fresh rabbit at my neighborhood grocery store, I didn’t hesitate.

I had never cooked rabbit before. In the US I wasn’t accustomed to finding it, outside of the freezer section of some gourmet grocery stores. And it certainly wasn’t something I came across frequently in rural Mississippi or middle Wisconsin, where I spent the last 11 years. Rabbit is a very mild tasting meat, similar in flavor and texture to chicken, although unique in its own right.  I chose a recipe for braised rabbit in mustard, like the ones found here, here, and here.  The most challenging part was butchering the rabbit into individual pieces, but Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook does a nice job of explaining the process, step-by-step.  In the end, we had a delicious meal of braised rabbit, green beans with shallot vinaigrette, and roasted pumpkin.  I will continue to look for new and different ingredients in Germany. There will be failures and successes, but exploring unusual food is part of my new great adventure, though you don’t have to live in a foreign country to be adventurous with food.  Don’t hesitate to snap up any unique ingredients you find back home.  You never know, you may discover a new favorite dish.