Braised Rabbit in Wine Sauce

This dish makes me think of Spain: specifically, of Hemingway's elaborate descriptions of Spanish country food in For Whom The Bell Tolls. Maybe that's just me.

Anyways, I started with this hasenpfeffer recipe, sticking to it pretty closely, except with about twice the herbs and aromatics. It was delicious--seven people ate six pounds of rabbit, and no one saved room for dessert--but it was too tough, and I don't think the recipe did enough to tender up the meat.

So I've incorporated some steps from this coq au vin recipe, which uses the wine to soften the fibers of the meat overnight before braising. I have not yet tried it this way; expect updates.

INGREDIENTS:

• 5-6 lbs rabbit meat, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 cups flour, divided use
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
  
• 1 lb bacon, diced
• 2 medium Spanish onions (about 1 1/2 cups), finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 bottle red wine (preferably Pinot Noir)
• 3 tbsp. black currant or blackberry preserves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• Freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place 1 cup of flour and the kosher salt into a zip-loc bag. Coat each piece of rabbit in this mixture and set aside.
   
2. In a deep metal skillet, sauté the bacon over medium-high heat until evenly browned, stirring often. Remove the bacon to a bowl but leave all the grease in the skillet.
3. Fry the rabbit pieces, browning them on each side, and then remove them to a covered casserole or dutch oven.
   
4. Sauté the onions and garlic over in what's left of the grease, adding a little butter or oil if needed. (It's OK if the pan's pretty gunked up at this point.)
5. Add 1 cup of wine to the skillet and gently scrape the sides with a plastic or wooden spatula. The cooked-on drippings should yield to your spatula as if by magic. (This is called deglazing the pot.)
   
6. Pour this into a bowl and combine with the rest of the wine, bacon, herbs, pepper, lemon juice, and preserves.
7. Pour liquid over the tabbit, cover and refrigerate overnight.
8. The next day, preheat the oven to 325.
9. Cook the rabbit in the dutch oven for about 2 hours, maintaining a very gentle simmer. You want the lowest heat you can get while still having the liquid bubble slightly.
10. Transfer the rabbit to a serving plate and cover it with foil to keep warm. Meanwhile, transfer the liquid to a saucepan.
11. Remove about a cup of the liquid and combine with 1/2 cup flour. Bring the rest of the liquid to a simmer and whisk in flour mixture gradually to avoid lumps.
    
12. Simmer the gravy for a few minutes, then transfer to a gravy bowl.

Serve immediately with mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

PAIRINGS: Rabbit has an intense, almost spicy gaminess, so a robust red wine such as Pinot Noir is the obvious choice.