This post is definitely a proud moment of a goal reached. I had set a goal for myself to go from the decision to raise rabbits for meat all the way to the stew pot. On Labor Day weekend we had a feast with family and friends to enjoy the “meats” of our labor. I normally would not have done such a complicated recipe but it was a day for a little something extra. Thank you to my wonderful brother-in-law and my sister for supporting me in my crazy ideas and helping me turn them into something delicious.
Before I could start cooking I had to learn to cut my rabbit into pieces ready to cook. I followed this video . Consequently the man in the video reminds me so much of a dear friend of mine, that has passed through to heaven, that I sobbed/smiled through the first viewing. After I got my emotions under control I learned a lot and I hope you do too. If you cannot conceive of killing and eating an animal this post is not for you.
The following is the recipe I used. I cooked up the meat from four rabbits, which fed eleven people. Because most people don’t have a family that large I have cut the recipe in half.
- The meat from 2 rabbits cut into bone in sections
- rice(for gluten free option) or wheat flour spiced with salt and pepper
- milk to dip rabbit pieces in
- Veggies for gravy:
- 1 onion
- 1 bell pepper
- 3 carrots
- 1 qt jar of chicken broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- Dip rabbit pieces in milk and dredge in flour.
- Fry in skillet in batches, in oil ,on medium heat until brown on both sides.
- Reserve some flour for making gravy.
- After removing rabbit pieces from skillet. Saute vegetables until caramelized 15-20 min on high.
- Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil. In a small bowl add some chicken broth to reserved flour until it forms a thick liquid. Whisk a few table spoons of this flour liquid into skillet with veggies and broth. Cook while whisking until liquid thickens a bit into gravy. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Place rabbit pieces back in skillet spooning gravy onto each piece. Cover and cook on med/low heat for 1 hour.
- Ideally, if you have an oven proof skillet with lid, cook in oven at 200 degrees, covered for 45 min.
Although some had eaten rabbit before it was the first time tasting rabbit for most of us. We found it delicious and not unlike chicken. As we ate my daughter tried not to think of anything, but as for the rest of us, we thought of the 4 months slogging about in the rain, rounding up escaped rabbits, feeding and watering even when we didn’t feel like it. All the work that goes into raising meat for the table and doing it humanely made us really appreciate the food and farmers/ranchers everywhere. Will we do it again? Yes, I believe we will!
This post was shared on From the Farm Hop and Simple Saturday’s Blog Hop
Hello there, Dash! So nice to meet you! I had rabbit once when I was a teenager and loved it, so I’m not sure why I haven’t eaten it since. ?? Maybe my husband and I should take up raising meat rabbits! We do plan to raise chickens, so rabbits might be another good source of protein. However, we do have some local rabbits that visit our compost pile daily, although my husband says they wouldn’t be good eating because they are Jack Rabbits. Oh well. Thanks for the recipe. I am going to print it out and put it in my homestead cooking file! Have a great weekend!