Rabbit and egg muffin: the ethical breakfast bap

Rabbit and egg muffin — the ethical breakfast bap

These are great for breakfast any day, but especially on a shoot day, or for elevenses

Ingredients

For the rabbit patty:

• 2 large rabbit haunches, boned, chopped and minced
• Salt and Pepper
• A little chopped thyme or dried sage (only a pinch)

Method

Mix ingredients together and shape into patties using an oiled pastry cutter ring. Ideally, these would be chilled in the fridge for an hour to firm up.

For the muffin dough:

• 200g stoneground flour
• 10g fast-acting dried yeast
• 100g warm water
• Pinch of salt
• A few knobs of butter

Method

1. Dissolve the yeast in the water and add the flour and salt.
2. Knead into a soft dough in a mixing bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Leave somewhere warm to prove until doubled in size.
3. Knock the dough out on a well-floured surface and roll out to about as thick as a little finger. Allow to rest for a few minutes.
4. Use a straight-edged cutter to cut into muffin-sized rounds. Leave the dough until it has puffed up a fair amount.
5. Heat a large frying pan on a moderate heat and add a little butter.
6. Gently, so as not to flatten them, lift the dough rounds using a floured spatula and place them gently in the pan, so that none of them are touching each other. Cook over a medium heat until a little golden on the bottom.
7. Flip and repeat the cooking on the other side.
8. Once firm and cooked, pop them on a cooling rack to cool. They will finish cooking as they do so.

For the spicy brown sauce:

• 1 tbsp of HP sauce
• 1 tsp French mustard
• 1 tsp harissa paste
• A pinch of mixed dried herbs

Method

Mix everything together in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.

Putting it all together

The recipe also needs one egg each and some grated farmhouse cheese. Put the patties in a hot frying pan with a little butter until cooked, firm and golden. Remove to a warmed plate to rest. Put the cheese on top of the warm patties to melt a little — pop the patties into a warm oven to help if needs be. Begin frying two eggs. Cut two muffins in half and top with a patty. Spread a little of the spicy brown sauce on to the other half of the muffin and pop a fried egg on top of the patty. Top with the saucy slice of muffin and devour.

Thoughts on breakfast

Breakfast. It’s not something that I tend to do on the go, but I know a lot of people often do. One dish that shares the dubious title of ‘iconic breakfast dish’ is that of the good old muffin filled with a fried egg, a slice of processed cheese and something apparently from a pig, termed a ‘sausage’.

The makers are definitely on to something here. The soft muffin, the fired egg with the soft yolk, the counterpoint of the meaty, salty patty topped off with melted cheese. You are almost, but not quite, in heaven. So, here is my version using rabbit for the patty, though you could definitely use pheasant, mallard or even goose breast meat.

Rabbit is best, though, as it echoes the pork and provides a nice, ethical contrast to the original fast-food-in-a- bag version — rabbit being one of the most free-range and sustainable meats you could think of, while the pork from who knows where in the alternative version might be enough to make even the most hard-hearted, thoughtless carnivore think twice.

You can use shop-bought muffins, but I do like to make my own. These are great for breakfast on any day, but especially on a shoot day, or even for elevenses, perhaps. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Maddams Bunny Muffin. Enjoy.