Ingredients

• 1 (3 pound) rabbit, ribcage, saddle, and backbone removed, skin left intact, tenderloin reserved, kidneys and liver minced
• 1 piece (1 pound) smoked bacon, rind removed, cut into long 1/2-inch square strips
• 1/4 cup brandy
• Freshly ground salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 pound veal tenderloin, minced
• 1 pound pork tenderloin, minced
• 2 eggs
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 teaspoons thyme
• 1/4 cup clarified butter

Instructions

1. Combine rabbit tenderloin, bacon strips, brandy, salt and pepper, and thyme. Marinate for at least 1 and up to 12 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine veal, pork and rabbit liver and kidneys with eggs. Season with salt and pepper, garlic, parsley and thyme. Strain brandy out of marinating bacon and add to stuffing, beating well. Stuff 1/2 of forcemeat tightly into rabbit cavity, keeping a 2-inch clearance at either end. Lay rabbit tenderloin and bacon strips on top and cover with remaining stuffing. Truss or pin rabbit together. Tie rabbit loosely with string every 2 inches, since the stuffing will expand during roasting. Place rabbit in roasting pan, coat with clarified butter and roast for 1 1/2 hours. To serve, remove pins and string and cut rabbit into 2-inch thick slices, like a terrine. Cut shoulders and haunch in two and serve on a bed of buttered noodles.