Rabbit Sauce Piquante

This is what I made for dinner the other night.  Boy, it was tasty! The recipe is for chicken, but I had splurged and bought a box of rabbit.  WHY is rabbit 9.00 a lb? I have no idea, except for meat is getting more and more expensive. Even "value beef" at HEB is over $3 a pound.  I was going to make shanks, but those were almost $4  a lb.

Makes 8 servings

ingredients

4 tablespoons cajun spice ( like Emeril's or Prudhomme's)

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 (2 1/2 to 3-pound) fryers, each cut in 8 pieces (I used 1 box of rabbit

Vegetable oil for frying

1 3/4 cups chopped onions

1 3/4 cups chopped celery

1 3/4 cups chopped green bell peppers

1 3/4 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes

3 tablespoons finely chopped jalapeno peppers 

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 3/4 cups canned tomato sauce

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons pepper sauce (I used Dave's Insanity Sauce!)

4 cups chicken stock

Hot cooked rice

Use fresh jalapenos. Don't make the mistake I did the first time I read this - I mistook 3 jalapenos, and then I figured, Hey, Let's make it really spicy! and put in 7 minced jalapenos.  BIG mistake! 3 tbsp jalapenos is about 1 big jalapeno.  If you're feeling in the mood for HEAT, add a second jalapeno. 

In a paper or plastic bag, mix 1 tablespoon of cajun seasoning into the flour.  Remove excess fat from the chicken pieces and sprinkle the remaining seasoning evenly on the chicken pieces.  Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour until well coated.

In a large skillet heat ½ inch oil to 350º.  Fry chicken (large pieces and skin side down first) until browned and crispy on both sides and meat is cooked, about 5 to 8 minutes per side.  Do not crowd.  (Maintain temperature as close to 350º as possible, but turn heat down if drippings start getting dark red-brown; don't let them burn.)  Drain on paper towels.  Carefully pour the hot oil from the skillet into a glass measuring cup, leaving as much sediment in the pan as possible; then return ¼ cup hot oil to the skillet.  Turn heat to high.  Using a spoon, loosen any particles stuck to the pan bottom and then add the onions, celery and bell peppers; cook until sediment is well mixed into the vegetables, stirring constantly and scraping pan bottom well.  Add the tomatoes, jalapeño peppers and garlic; stir well and cook about 2 minutes, stirring once or twice.  Add the tomato sauce and cook about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in the pepper sauce and remove from heat.

Meanwhile, place the chicken pieces and stock in a 5½ quart saucepan or large Dutch oven and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook 5 minutes.  Then stir half the tomato mixture into the stock; cover and simmer over low heat 5 minutes.  Stir in the remaining tomato mixture, cover, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and serve immediately over rice. 

This is really good, wehther you use rabbit, chicken, you could use squirrel too, or some other little woodland creature you have :P

Other than being creative with dinners, not a whole lot going on in S. Texas.

I went fishing and crabbing Saturday with a friend, but we caught nothing.  There was a couple on the other side of the bridge in the shallows - a crab got hold of her finger, she was jumping around and screaming that a crab had gotten her.. . we laughed quite a bit at that!  

It is finally starting to cool off nicely at night here - gets down into the lower 70s, with a lower humidity. Fall is on its way!