While stationed in Fulda, Germany in the 1970s, we became acquainted with a middle class German family who kept rabbits as a food suppliment. They fed them grass clippings and commercial food during the summer. Winter time was not a problem as the rabbits did not eat then. They tasted good.
Hasenpfeffer!
2 tbs olive oil
2-3 stalks of celery w/tops, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp of whole black peppercorns
1/2 tsp of whole allspice
1/2 tsp of whole cloves
1/2 tsp of black mustard seeds
1-2 cloves garlic
3 bay leaves
2 cups red wine
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
The Rest of the Dish
1 rabbit, around 2-1/2 lbs
2 tbs each of bacon drippings and canola oil flour, for dredging
1 medium onion, cut in thin slices
1/2 tsp salt
Heat the olive oil in a deep pot. Once hot, add the roughly chopped celery, onion, and carrots. Add the salt and saute until the onions start to sweat, then add the remainder of the marinade ingredients except for the liquid. Saute another 3-4 minutes. Add the wine and the vinegar and heat until the mixture is just under a boil. Lower and simmer for another half hour. Let the mixture cool to room temperature, and then strain into a glass bowl.
Wash (and if necessary, clean) your rabbit and pat dry. Cut up your rabbit into 9 pieces: divide the rear legs at the joints, but keep the front legs intact. Divide the body into three evenly sized pieces. Once your marinade has reached room temperature, submerge the rabbit in the marinade, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for two days (rotate the meat after day one to ensure everything is well marinaded).
After two days soaking in red wine and vinegar, your rabbit will look…well, purple. Not to worry. Things are going to get nice and brown really soon. Remove the rabbit from the marinade and pat dry. Set aside your marinade.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large, stainless steel frying pan, heat up your bacon drippings and your canola oil. Dredge each rabbit piece in flour, shaking off any excess. When your oil is hot, brown each piece on both sides. You should not crowd the pan, but given the size of a 2-1/2 lb rabbit, you could probably brown all the pieces in one go.
When you are finished browning the meat, remove to a deep casserole dish. Add the sliced onions and about a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the frying pan. Cook on medium for several minutes, scraping up as much of that lovely, brown goodness as you can. When the onions have started to soften and pick up a good color, add the marinade and raise the heat to high. Deglaze the pan and keep on high until the liquid begins to boil. Leave at a boil for two or three minutes.
Transfer the liquid and the cooked onions to the casserole dish. Cover and cook in the oven for an hour and a half. Serve over dumpling noodles or spaetzle.