AROUND THE KITCHEN: RABBIT STEW

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Welcome back to Let's Cook, today a real treat for you. We are going Rabbit hunting,

NAW, just kidding. I went the lazy way and bought one all ready to cut up and cook. Besides I never could kill an animal. But I will eat the damn things.

Let's get to it.

Today's recipe kind of comes from Cook Illustrated COVER AND BAKE

This is one of our FAVORITE Cook Books. Everyone should have this on their shelf.

Spoiler Alert: The MAC and Cheese recipe is to die for, Trust me, you'll thank me later.

But enough B.S. Let's Cook

The recipe we used is the Beef Stew recipe from the book, substituting Rabbit for the beef.

1 dead rabbit - cut into pieces.

AS I said, we did not shoot to kill, we went to the store.

WARDS SUPERMARKET - GAINESVILLE FL

3 TBL Veg Oil (Keep it handy you WILL need more)

2 Medium Onions Chopped Coarse (I did 1/2 Chopped-1/2 Coarse)

3 Medium Garlic Gloves - Minced or pressed (I pressed)

3 TBL AP Flour

1 CUP AP Flour (For the meat)

1 CUP DRY RED Wine (In the pot, not for you)

2 CUPS Homemade Chicken Broth

(Yeah, you can use that crap in a box, but don't yell at me when the dish tastes like cardboard)

2 Bay Leaves (I used 3)

1 tsp DRIED Thyme

1 Pound RED Taters (I used canned-see text)

4 LARGE Carrots peeled & sliced.

1 CUP frozen Peas

1/4 CUP Minced FRESH Parsley Flakes (I was too lazy to go out on the patio, so I used dried)

Adjust oven rack to the lower-middle position (Whatever the hell that means)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Dry the Rabbit thoroughly with paper towels, then season it generously with salt & pepper.

Put 1 CUP of flour in a bowl, add some salt & pepper, stir and dredge each piece.

Shake off the excess and set on a plate.

Heat 1 TBL of the oil in a large ovenproof Dutch Oven until shimmering.

Add half of the meat to the pot so that the individual pieces do not touch.

Cook, not moving the pieces until the sides touching the pot are well browned, about 3 minutes.

Be careful not to burn them.

Turn each piece and continue cooking until most sides are well browned. About 5 minutes longer.

Set aside and repeat until ALL the Rabbit has been browned up.

(The is NO fat to speak of in Rabbit, so you will HAVE TO add more oil to the pot each time.)

Reduce the heat to medium, add more oil to the pot (enough to coat the bottom)

Add the Onions and 1/4 tsp of the salt.

Cook, stirring frequently and vigorously, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits of deliciousness. Cook until the onions have softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and continue to cook for 30 seconds.

Stir in the flour and cook until lightly colored. about 2 minutes

Add the wine, scraping up the remaining brown bits from the bottom and edges of the pot and stirring until the liquid is thick.

Gradually add the broth, stirring constantly and scrapping the pan bottom and edges to dissolve the remaining flour.

Add the bay leaves and thyme and bring to a simmer.

Add the meat and return to a simmer.

Cover and bake in the oven until the meat is tender. About 1 hour.

You know what that means:

After an hour, remove the meat and place on a plate.

Working with one piece at a time, and using a fork, Remove the meat from the bones and place the meat back into the pot.

Add the potatoes and carrots.

WOAH SILVER!!

Canned taters?? Are you serious??

OK, I confess. I used canned taters. We were talking to a friend that uses them in stews and such, so we decided to try them out. And you know what? They were good.

Now back to it.

Cover and return to the oven for another hour.