A Few of My Favorite Things

So last week, I had a friend ask if I knew anyone who would take some rabbit. Someone had given it to her and she had no one to cook it for her. Not going to lie, at first, I thought of my nephew and checked to see if he wanted it. He and his dad have always been hunters and I thought he might be interested. In the end though, I told her I would take it before I ever heard back from Tyler. I figured even if he didn‚t want it, it would make a great column for this week. He ended up not taking it because no one would eat it but him so I kept it all and let me tell you it was sooooo good! It‚s a white meat that has a similar taste to chicken.

It‚s considered a specialty meat in the U.S., but people do hunt it and there are some rabbits specifically raised for meat. It has a lot of health benefits and it‚s worth picking up if you do manage to find some. Nutritional facts do vary depending on the age of the rabbit and whether it‚s wild or domestic so I am going to go with the lowest options here. In just 3 ounces of meat, you get 56% recommended daily intake or RDI of protein, 21% RDI of iron and 15% RDI of B6 just to start with. Rabbit has the highest percentage of digestible proteins compared to other meats while also having the lowest amount of fat AND being lowest in cholesterol and calorie count. Rabbit meat is rich in vitamins B12 and E, while also having a higher concentration of most minerals. It contains higher levels of selenium, phosphorus and calcium, all incredibly beneficial to you.

I‚ll be honest, when it came to cooking the rabbit, I pretty much ignored the original recipes. Amanda suggested I slow cook it so it would be easier to debone and that‚s exactly what I did. I have a large Crock Pot and two rabbits fit in it at a time so it made it super easy to cook them. AND they were just falling off the bone! Place 2 rabbits in Crock Pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add 4 cups water and set to low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Make your grocery list and see if you can find some rabbit. Then, meet me in the kitchen for some easy recipes to cook this simple meat!

Orange Rabbit

2 whole rabbits, cooked, shredded and deboned 1/2 cup orange juice or enough to submerge rabbit 2 Tbsps. unsalted butter 1/2 medium onion, diced 1/2 cup orange marmalade Salt and pepper to taste Place rabbit in bowl or large zip top baggie. Pour orange juice over cooked rabbit enough to completely cover meat. Marinate meat for at least an hour. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté about 5 minutes or until translucent. Pour meat and juice into skillet. Add salt and pepper to taste. Top with marmalade and mix well. Bring to light boil and simmer, stirring often, until orange juice has evaporated and rabbit is heated through. Serve over bed of rice.

Rabbit Pot Pie

1 whole rabbit, cooked, shredded and deboned 1/2 medium onion, diced 1 cup shredded carrots 1 12oz bag frozen green beans 2 cups rabbit broth, separated For Pastry 6 Tbsps. unsalted sweet cream butter 2/3 cup milk 3/4 cup self-rising flour 3/4 tsp baking powder 3/4 cup milk Preheat oven to 350°F. Place rabbit meat, onion, carrots and green beans in large casserole dish. Lightly stir to combine. Add 1-2 cups broth. You don‚t want it too soupy but the extra moisture is necessary to keep it from drying out completely. In large bowl, melt butter, mix in flour and baking powder. Add 3/4 cup milk and mix well. Pour over top of vegetables. It will appear thin but will thicken as it cooks. Bake 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Rabbit Gumbo

1 small onion, chopped 1 yellow pepper, chopped 1/4 cup unsalted butter 2 whole rabbits 1lb smoked sausage, halved and cut into 1/4-inch slices 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. dried thyme 1/2 tsp. pepper 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper 1/2 cup sliced okra Hot cooked rice In large slow cooker, place rabbit and 4 cups water. Add onion and pepper. Cover and cook on high 1-1/2 to 2 hours or on low 3-5 hours, until meat is very tender. Add sausage, salt, thyme, pepper and cayenne. Cook for another 30 minutes on high or 1 hour on low. Remove rabbit. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones and discard. Cut meat into bite-size pieces or shred and return to slow cooker. Stir in okra and cook another hour on high or 2 hours on low. Serve in bowls over rice.

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.

Rabbit and Dumplings

1 cup onion, diced 1/2 cup chopped leeks 1 8oz pkg. carrot chips 1 12oz bag frozen green beans 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 rabbit cooked, shredded and deboned Rabbit broth 3 bay leaves 1 bunch thyme 1 bunch tarragon 6 dash of hot sauce 8 black pepper corns 4 Tbsps. unsalted butter 1/4 cup all-purpose flour Salt and pepper For Dumplings 3 cup self-rising flour 1 tsp. salt 4 ½ Tbsps. cold unsalted butter 1 cup buttermilk (or just enough to make the dough stick together) Note: I still cooked the rabbit in the crock pot and just used the broth from the slow cooker to make the liquid in this stew.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper. In large bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut butter into flour mixture with fingertips until it resembles small peas. Add buttermilk, 1/4 cup at a time, and stir until a ball of dough just begins to form, being careful not to overmix. Form 2-3 inch balls with dough. Place dumplings on prepared pan. If needed, divide layers with parchment paper. Let dumplings rest in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes while preparing stew. In heavy bottom pot, add butter and allow to melt. Add flour and stir it in for five to eight minutes. Cook on mediumlow. Add vegetables and cook for 5 minutes or so until they become tender. Add garlic and cook another two minutes. Fill pot about half full of rabbit broth from slow cooker. Bring to a simmer and add hot sauce, and all seasonings. Simmer for 30 minutes. Taste the broth and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add shredded rabbit and more broth if needed filling the pot no more than 3/4 full. Add dumplings and cook for another 20 minutes or until dumplings are soft. Serve hot.

Recipe adapted from thedailymeal.com.