Rabbit in Cream Sauce

Instructions

• 1
  Finely chop the vegetables. Portion the rabbit, i.e., separate the front and hind legs, the head, and finally halve the saddle. (Use the head and belly part for broth or another dish).
• 2
  Season all parts thoroughly with salt and pepper. In a pot over high heat, melt 30g of butter and all the lard, add the meat, and brown it on all sides until golden. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
• 3
  Reduce the heat by half, add celery, carrots, and parsley, and sauté them, stirring frequently, until golden. Add the onion and sauté it, stirring frequently, until golden. Add sugar and let it dissolve. Pour in the vinegar, stir, and let it evaporate. Add mustard and stir.
• 4
  Add the broth and return the rabbit to the pot. Bring to a boil, season with salt and pepper, and add the spices. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat to below one-third, and simmer covered for 1 hour or until tender.
• 5
  Remove the tender rabbit and stir the roux into the sauce. Grate half a teaspoon of lemon zest. Add to the sauce, stir, and cook uncovered over low heat for another 15 minutes.
• 6
  Peel the lemon and, using a small knife, cut out individual segments between the membranes to obtain clean lemon "flesh" without the membranes that connect the individual segments. Cut the bacon into 1 cm cubes.
• 7
  In a pot over medium heat, sauté the bacon, add the lemon segments, stir, and remove from heat.
• 8
  Strain the finished sauce through a fine sieve into the pot with lemon and bacon, stir in the cream, and season with salt, and possibly a few more drops of lemon juice.
• 9
  Gradually whisk in the remaining cold butter cut into cubes and return the rabbit to the sauce to warm through.
• 10
  Along with the vinegar, you can add 100 ml of dry white wine to the base, letting it completely evaporate with the vinegar back to fat. This will give the sauce another interesting flavor. If necessary, you can thin the sauce a bit with broth. It must not be thick! Serve with wide noodles or a dumpling, which you can prepare according to Roman Vaněk's recipe. You can find it on Rohlík Chef in the side dishes category.