Bachelor Chow 06 – Elmer’s Folly
By Gabriel Hall
Most people use the holidays as an excuse to get together with friends, spend “quality time” with their families, and celebrate the arrival of spring. Usually, a feast is usually prepared to celebrate. People would be buzzing around in the kitchen, and kids would be running in and out trying to sneak advance taste tests of the food.
Most North Americans I’ve talked to have a nostalgic memory of a roast ham brought out of the kitchen, with the skin scored into squares, cloves pressed into the cracks of the skin, and pineapples pinned on to the outside. If you grew up in the old world, the ham would be replaced by a roast lamb and maybe some honey pastries or hot crossed buns. Both are great, but a bit boring.
Recently, The Aimless Cook [http://www.theaimlesscook.com/] and I put our heads together in order to provide you with an eyebrow raising alternative. Rabbit.
If your initial reaction was to pop out of your seat, point at the screen and shout, “But bunnies are pets!” you’d be partially correct. Rabbits and hares were food sources that people would raise in order to provide for their families for centuries before we thought of them as pets. It is a traditional meat in almost all parts of the world, often found hung next to pheasants and other small game in old school butcher shops windows.
Rabbit meat is very lean, leaner than chicken, and has a very mild taste. This makes it an exceptionally healthy choice and an alternative for people that do not like the game-y taste that is often present in venison or lamb. Hence, you can treat it very much like chicken; braising, frying, roasting, almost any technique or ingredient will work with rabbit.
Just because something is traditionally served on a holiday doesn’t mean that you have to serve the same thing, the same way every year. Mix things up a bit, use some shock and awe techniques on your friends, family, and/or significant other to make this holiday one to remember.
Have a look at the The Aimless Cook and LVG’s Rabbit Stew video. Then pop down to the market to pickup everything you will need. It’s all there, you might have to search a bit but I’m pretty sure I left at least one rabbit in the freezer at Greens, Eggs, and Ham.
What do you serve on Easter? Tweet us at @voyagegourmand, @theaimlesscook, and @kingslandFM to let us know what your favourite Easter dish is and what the craziest dish you’ve ever made for Easter dinner!
Gabriel Hall is a business and technology strategist, a freelance writer, a world traveler, a seeker of gastronomic experiences, and a lover of all things hedonistic. His site, Le Voyage Gourmand and twitter @voyagegourmand is a catalogue of his global experiences and thoughts.
