Braised Rabbit with Smoked Pecan Purée

steps

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
2. Sear rabbit loins and legs in a cast iron pan over medium-high heat with olive oil.
3. Braise meat in the chicken stock with remaining ingredients, covered, for 1½ hours in preheated oven. Remove pan from heat and leave it covered for 30 minutes.
4. For pecan purée, smoke pecans over wood chips for 20 minutes at 215 degrees (can do this on a grill—add chips to an aluminum pan and place pecans in a pan next to it. Close cover to smoke). Transfer nuts to a pot and add chicken stock. Bring stock to a low simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Purée in a blender and season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. For celery juice reduction, in a saucepot set over medium heat reduce juice by half, yielding 1 pint of juice. Add 2 cups braising liquid from the rabbit and reduce to 1 cup.
6. For Brussels sprout salad, toss all ingredients together and salt and pepper to taste.
7. To serve, poach rabbit legs in remaining rabbit stock to bring to temperature for 10 minutes. After 7 minutes, add the loin to cook through, about 3 minutes. Serve with celery reduction over Brussels sprout and pear salad and top with pecan purée.