SC - rabbits

[Robert Newmyer]

Rather than let a perfect opportunity pass me by, I decided this evening to
find out if fetal rabbits are edible.I removed one of the  embryonic pouches
from the "string" of pouches leaving 3 intact. 

(Amazingly, the entire structure of the string of embryos when held out in
front of you with two hands reminds you of a necklace with jewels hanging
down.)

For the actual cooking process I chose to "parboil" it. I based this decision
on the personal observation that most of the period recipies, with which I am
familiar, call for the parboiling of offal when some form of precooking is
indicated. Other possibilities would have been cutting up raw embryo into
small pieces or forcing it through a sieve. Neither of the last two seemed to
be viable alternitives to parboiling. One of the best reasons that I can think
of is appearance.  This dish, if it existed, would have been very expensive.
For every serving of cooked rabbit embryos , a total of at least 5 rabbits
would have been sacrificed-the doe and the 4 potential rabbits she was
carrying.. If I were doing that, I certainly would want something more than
mush on a plate for all my efforts. :-)

So I thawed out the embryonic pouch that I had cut from the frozen string. I
brought two inches of water in a small saucepan to a boil then reduced the
heat to a slow simmer. At this point , I put  the pouch into the water. I
allowed it to simmer for 20 mins.

I removed the ouch from the water with a slotted spoon and allowed it to cool
to room temperature. I sliced it in half. Apparently this embryo was not as
advanced as it could have been because I noticed no "white bits". :-) The
appearance was sort of crumbly textured, not surprisingly somewhat similar to
clotted blood although the color was noticably different. The flavor was
similar to liver. There were of course little nuances that make it impossible
to describe it's flavor as anything other than cooked embryo but to simplify
things, I think liver is a good compromise. :-)

My impression was that it was immenently edible. but then again, I do like
organ meats of all types, so I may be  naturally drawn to those types of
flavors. If I were to serve them, I would most likely choose any of the sauces
recommended for testicles.

At the very least we now know they are edible. Unfortunately this experiment
didn't prove they were eaten in the Middle Ages. However, I now know that if
the recipe is ever found or if they are ever served to me I won't hesitate to
eat them. :-)

Yours in Service to the Dream,
al-Sayyid A'aql ibn Ras al-Zib, AoA, OSyc
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