Hugo Ehrhardt's rabbit confit and smoked eel terrine

Hugo Ehrhardt, winner of the Jeune Talent Grand Est 2023 trophy, offers an original terrine recipe combining confit Alsace rabbit and smoked eel with woodruff and fresh radish.

This recipe by Hugo Ehrhardt, chef at Restaurant Partage in Andlau, is taken from the 2024 edition ofBook 109: The new blood of French gastronomy. Discover the ingredients and preparation steps to make it a breeze.

Serves 6
Preparation time: 1 h 30
Cooking time: 5 h
Resting time: 12 h

Ingredients forHugo Ehrhardt 's rabbit confit and smoked eel terrine

8 Alsatian rabbit legs
200 g smoked eel fillets
1 kg duck fat
2 yellow lemons
5 g fresh horseradish or horseradish paste
10 cl hazelnut oil
salt and pepper

For the pickles

1 bunch radishes (feel free to play with shapes and colors)
25 cl honey vinegar
125 g sugar
5 g salt

For the woodruff condiment

15 cl woodruff liqueur
5 cl lemon juice
2 g agar-agar

Steps for Hugo Ehrhardt 's rabbit confit and smoked eel terrine

Prepare the pickles (the day before): wash the radishes and, depending on their size, cut them lengthwise into 2 or 3 pieces. Combine 50 cl water, vinegar, salt and sugar in a saucepan (spices, seeds or peppers can be added as required). Bring to the boil, then plunge in the radishes. Bring back to the boil briefly, then leave to cool and refrigerate overnight.
Prepare the terrine (the day before): place the rabbit in a medium-sized dish, lightly salt both sides, then cover with the duck fat. Place in the oven at 120°C for 4 to 5 hours, lowering the temperature to 80°C.
At the end of cooking, the legs should be candied and flake easily. Leave to cool slightly, then carefully remove the flesh from the bones and place in a salad bowl. Zest the lemons, add the hazelnut oil, salt, pepper, grated horseradish or horseradish paste and mix.
Line a small rectangular or square baking tin with cling film, then arrange half the rabbit evenly on top. Cover with the smoked eel fillets, then arrange the other half of the rabbit so that the rabbit/eel/fillet overlap evenly. Cover with cling film, then place a weight on top to press the terrine together. Keep in a cool place overnight.
Prepare the woodruff condiment: bring the woodruff, lemon juice and agar-agar to the boil, stirring with a whisk. Strain and leave to set in the fridge.
Once gelled, blend with an immersion blender until smooth and dense.
To serve: remove the terrine from the mold and cut lengthwise into slices, then arrange the radish pickles on top. Using a piping bag or pipette, pipe the woodruff condiment onto the terrine. Decorate with radish shavings, edible flowers and wild herbs.