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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 Flour1 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 Thyme1 Pound RED Taters (I used canned-see
text)
4 LARGE Carrots peeled & sliced.1 CUP frozen Peas1/4 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 minutesAdd 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.
Add the peas, cover, and let sit for 5
minutes.
Fish out the bay leaves, stir in the
parsley and SERVE!So how was it?
This was really GOOD!!!!
As good as it was, I doubt that I will make it again. I will probably stick to regular Beef Stew.
Unless I run into a cut and wrapped up dead bunny.
It was a fun cook. The moral of the story is, "don't be afraid of wild game."
See you next time on Let's Cook.
God Speed, Mother Nature
