Recipe for wild rabbit?

[hollow_legs]

Hi everyone,

I have a wild jointed rabbit. I've never cooked rabbit before, does anyone have any favourite recipes?

Thanks in advance.

[themags]

Google Civet de Lapin - traditional french recipe w/red wine. A civet can be made with any game - rabbit, hare, wild boar or venison - in fact I am making a venison civet for Valentine's Day (couldn't get baby wild boar to replicate the Civet de Marcassin the husband and I had in Paris last year).

[dxs]

I made a greek style rabbit stew (stifado) just this weekend. I actually wished the meat were more gamey though, it was a bit mild for my taste. So your wild rabbit would have been perfect!

(The recipe comes from Claudia Roden's Mediterranean Cookery btw, and she in turn got it from some greek villager, so it's pretty authentic).

I marinated the rabbit pieces overnight in 500ml red wine (shiraz is nice for this), 60ml red wine vinegar, 60 ml olive oil, black peppercorns, 5 cloves, 1/2 tsp allspice.

The next day, poured it all into a dutch oven, added 2 bay leaves, salt, 1/2 kilo pearl onions, 6 peeled and diced plum tomatoes. Added enough water to just cover. Put lid on then cooked it in the oven at 325 F for 5 hours.

Served it with creamy polenta and lightly boiled carrots tossed in butter.

[dxs]

Funny, I just realised I forgot the garlic too - I guess it's just such a standard ingredient it's easy to overlook! I added 2 cloves chopped garlic at the same time as the onions etc.

And while I'm at it, here's a photo of the end result...

[OCEllen]

Bunny Marengo!
Saute rabbit in olive oil, add chopped onion, bell peppers in all colors, season with thyme and black pepper, then a couple cans of fire roasted tomatoes, a bit of wine of your choosing, red or white, cook for about 45 minutes....rinse and add green and kalmata olives and some oregano and basil...cook for about half an hour or until rabbit is tender. Serve with plain rice. Yum!

[OCEllen]

Forgot the garlic!

[Will Owen]

My mother had two ways she cooked the rabbits my dad would bring home, either hasenpfeffer or plain braised. I do not have a recipe for hasenpfeffer (though I need to find one because I loved it!). For the braised version there was no recipe, either; she just dredged the pieces in seasoned flour, browned them in fat with some onions, then poured in a cup or so of liquid - she used milk, as I recall, though I'd use chicken stock - and baked it covered until done. It came out covered in its own thick gravy, and was served with plain boiled potatoes. Our giant Midwestern squirrels (about the same size as rabbits, sometimes bigger) were cooked the same way, as was a young raccoon one time, all utterly delicious.