MONFERRINA-STYLE RABBIT

Gastronomers, in almost every era, have been somewhat wary of rabbit meat. It's enough to remember Pellegrino Artusi, who wrote about this animal:

"It's a meat with little substance and flavor, which can be made up for with seasonings. It's also suitable for those who, lacking the means to obtain beef, are forced to eat legumes and greens." The reason for this wariness is that the flavor of rabbit, more than any other animal, is affected by its diet. Not only large-scale farms with poor-quality feed, but also farmers who feed their rabbits unsuitable herbs can give this meat an unpleasant, bitter, and "gamy" flavor. Piedmontese cuisine has many recipes for cooking rabbit: with peppers, in red or white wine, with herbs, and more. The recipe presented here is perhaps the simplest and most popular in the Monferrato area of Asti and Casale. The use of its liver is not common despite its delicate nature. When cutting the rabbit into pieces, avoid breaking the bones, which tend to fragment easily; cut them at the joints. Generally, 8 pieces are cut (2 legs, 2 shoulders, 4 pieces obtained from the trunk with transverse cuts). Always use young animals that have been aged for at least three days.