BCJ_WINTER18 Digital Edition

BACKCOUNTRY BISTRO
WILD RABBIT JUICY LUCY
BY JACK HENNESSY
I’LL ADMIT IT: I nearly cried seconds after shooting my first
rabbit. Every youngster cutting his or her teeth on upland game
hunting must come to terms with the sport and everything it entails.
Tears are expected. However, I was 33 years old.
It’s a paradox for hunters: truly loving and admiring the natural
beauty of the creatures we kill as we choose to confront the reality
of living as carnivores. There is no convenient detachment from
an animal’s death throes and what ends up on our plate.
Since moving to Minnesota in 2015, rabbit has become my
fallback plan whenever I head afield. Still not too familiar with
the area and the people who live here, I exclusively hunt state and
public lands. I don’t own a dog and rarely hunt with folks who
do, so I work slowly and whenever I catch sight of a cottontail or
snowshoe hare, I am more than happy to add it to my bag.
I was stalking ruffed grouse in the the Cuyuna Country State
Recreation Area when I took my first rabbit. A tuft of white appeared
in the corner of my eye, and I expected a flush but instead
saw a large snowshoe. I was disappointed to return to camp with
rabbit instead of grouse until I tasted the animal. My father-inlaw
and I fried the heart in bacon grease left over from breakfast.
That simple meal remains one of my favorites to this day.
A good-sized cottontail or snowshoe can provide a lot of meat.
While many rabbit recipes call for braising, I also like to debone
my rabbits and grind their meat into burger. A tasty burger is a
great way to introduce wild game skeptics to all the flavors they
have been missing out on. A good burger may serve as the gateway
to other dishes, bolstering both the confidence and curiosity of
the formerly finicky eater.
Also, as far as burgers go, Minnesota is famously known as the
home of the “Juicy Lucy,” essentially a burger with a center of
gooey cheese. Two bars in south Minneapolis both claim credit
for inventing the burger: Matt’s Bar and the 5-8 Club. Minnesotan
and even Wisconsinites go nuts for this type of burger. It only
made sense to me that I should meld a public lands harvest with
a regional delicacy.
RABBIT JUICY LUCY
Makes two servings.
10 to 12 ounces ground rabbit
4 ounces hard cheese, preferably cheddar, finely minced
Hamburger buns
Special mayonnaise:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 ounces pink pickled ginger
1 clove fresh garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 tablespoon Sambal chili paste
Toppings:
Shredded carrots
Sliced red onions
Green leaf lettuce
To prepare and grind wild rabbit: Make certain to field dress a
wild rabbit nearly immediately after kill since they sour quickly.
Thoroughly rinse rabbit. Using a good deboning knife, separate
meat from bones and remove bones of thighs and arms. Carefully
cut loins away from lower spine and excess meat from ribs. Thoroughly
grind meat through coarse plate.
To form burger patties: Take 2.5 to 3 ounces of rabbit meat and
form into a ball. Make four balls. Place each ball on 6-by-6-inch
piece of wax paper. Form into thin, flat patties, void of cracks.
Any cracks will cause meat to split when cooking. Try to make
two of four patties slightly wider. On small two patties, sprinkle
finely minced hard cheese. Place a larger patty over each small patty
with cheese and use overlapping edges to connect patties and
seal in cheese. Ideally, the rim of completed patties should have no
holes; otherwise cheese will ooze out when cooking.
To make special mayonnaise: Add all ingredients to food processor.
Blend thoroughly. Mayonnaise should have slight pink
color. Place in refrigerator until ready to serve.
To grill burgers: Heat a flat skillet on medium heat on stove.
Caution: Burgers with rabbit meat may fall apart on an open grill,
especially if grill grate isn’t clean or at high enough temperature.
Spray both sides of burgers with canola oil spray and place in
skillet. Lightly salt and pepper top sides. Cover with lid and cook
for approximately 4 minutes, until underside is brown and liquids
start to bubble. Flip, cover and cook another 4 minutes. While
burgers cook, thinly slice red onion circles.
To serve: Toast buns. Spread special mayonnaise inside buns.
Place a piece of green leaf on bottom along with red onion slices.
Once burgers are thoroughly cooked, place on buns and top with
shredded carrots.
Jack is an outdoor writer for Brothers and Company advertising
agency and the author of the blog “Braising the Wild.”
WINTER 2018 BACKCOUNTRY JOURNAL | 21