# Cooking rabbit



## chesterchippy (Nov 16, 2004)

You guys were so helpful when I cooked that ostrich filet last weekend I hope you can help me out with the rabbit too. I've never cooked it, I've never eaten it, but I have a cut-up rabbit to defrost for the weekend that the kid requested and I want him to experience it without drowning it in stews et al. Any suggestions for our first time?


----------



## buckytom (Nov 16, 2004)

kiw da wa-a-aabbit, kiw da waabbitt!!!!   huhuhuhuhuhuhuh


----------



## Audeo (Nov 16, 2004)

Fry it, just as you would chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper, then into an egg wash, next into flour.  Make a cream gravy on the side...

Rabbit is really good and juicy!


----------



## choclatechef (Nov 16, 2004)

I can't deal with this one.  

When I was a little kid growing up in the country, I would get the cutest little bunnies at Easter time.  Then in August, they would die from the heat.  

It wasn't until I was 10 that I discovered what heat induced illness that kept killing my bunnies.  A few weeks after they passed away, I found packages in the freezer marked "rabbit'.  

I cried and cried.  No more bunnies for me!  And I never trusted what dad said again.


----------



## crewsk (Nov 16, 2004)

Chocolatechef, I feel your pain! I had an albino rabbit that died from heat stroke . He was a big baby. After that I was given a brown rabbit & a fow killed it. I don't think I could eat rabbit unless I didn't know what I was eating.


----------



## choclatechef (Nov 16, 2004)

Thanks crews for the sympathy!  

Don't let that stop anybody else from eating rabbit though.  Those wild rabbits will eat up a garden.  They have absolutely no shame.


----------



## chesterchippy (Nov 16, 2004)

Don't anyone think I'M gonna eat the thing. I like your idea, Audeo. I can make it like oven fried chicken.


----------



## Psiguyy (Nov 16, 2004)

Murderers!  Murderers!  You're gonna eat Thumper!!!   :twisted:


----------



## Psiguyy (Nov 16, 2004)

choclatechef said:
			
		

> I can't deal with this one.
> 
> When I was a little kid growing up in the country, I would get the cutest little bunnies at Easter time.  Then in August, they would die from the heat.
> 
> ...



Practically grew up on a farm.  One lesson I learned is never get emotionally attached to anything you're gonna eat.  

I think your father was cruel to not tell you the truth from the beginning.  If it's a pet, it should be allowed to live out its natural life.  I don't blame you for never believing your father again.  I wouldn't either.


----------



## buckytom (Nov 16, 2004)

my dad, raised in co. leitrim, ireland, told me the same stories of raisng turkeys and pigs and goats. he would befriend them, then cry for days when he assisted my grandfather slaughtering them for sale. no wonder he is such a hard, no-nonsense kind of man.

the best story was when he would carry meat or produce down the road to the neighbors for barter to return with 2 buckets of milk on a yolk. one night,  as he walked past a bluff, he saw the shadow of the devil looking down on him. he was terrified, and ran all the way home, spilling all of the milk. when he arrived home with the tale, my grandfather just laughed. the next morning, he walked my dad down to the new field by the bluff where he had just moved the goats. what my dad saw was an ol' billy goat looking over the bluff at him, and in the dark, in the imagination of a little boy, the devil appeared...


----------



## Psiguyy (Nov 17, 2004)

Bucky, let me guess.  The old goat wasn't dehorned.  I can just imagine what that looked like to a youngster with an active imagination.  

Farm life can be hard, especially if you're a kid and wasn't taught from early on to not get emotionally involved with the animals.  I grew up seeing hogs and chickens slaughtered.  The only pets were cats, dogs, and horses.  Anything edible was food and nothing else.


----------



## WayneT (Nov 17, 2004)

*The Portuguese absolutely love rabbit. The rabbits they sell in the  Portuguese butcher shops in OZ are better quality and better tasting than the average rabbit that is normally sold in butcher shops . Portuguese tip to temove the gamey taste when casseroling rabbit, add bay leaves, *


----------



## Psiguyy (Nov 17, 2004)

WayneT said:
			
		

> *The Portuguese absolutely love rabbit. The rabbits they sell in the  Portuguese butcher shops in OZ are better quality and better tasting than the average rabbit that is normally sold in butcher shops . Portuguese tip to temove the gamey taste when casseroling rabbit, add bay leaves, *



Bay leaves and vinegar.  For some reason, the Portuguese love vinegar.  I think it's called Vinha Dos or something like that.


----------



## Audeo (Nov 17, 2004)

Psiguyy said:
			
		

> Murderers!  Murderers!  You're gonna eat Thumper!!!   :twisted:



ROFLMAO, psiguyy!!!!

I promise I never consumed a relative closer than a twenty-seventh cousin, fifteen times removed!!!

You guys are breaking my heart with some of these horror stories.  I'm so sorry!!!!


----------



## Konditor (Nov 17, 2004)

Of all the methods for preparing rabbit, this dish is one of my favorites.  The piquant olives & touch of tomato contrast deliciously with the rich rabbit meat. I like to serve it Tuscan-style – with Polenta (plus a crisp salad of mixed greens).

*Braised Rabbit with Olives & Polenta*

One 2½ lb. rabbit
2 fl. oz. olive oil
½ cup finely chopped onion
2 tsp minced fresh garlic
good pinch of rosemary needles
8 fl. oz. chicken stock
4 fl. oz. dry white wine 
1 Tbsp tomato paste
½ cup pitted green olives
Boiling water
Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

Wipe rabbit with damp cloth.  If whole, cut rabbit into 6-8 serving pieces. Wipe dry. 

In large heavy saucepan over med-high flame, heat oil; brown rabbit on all sides for about 12 minutes.  As rabbit finishes browning, add onion & garlic to pan, and color briefly.  Add rosemary, stock, wine, and tomato paste over low flame.  Rinse olives in boiling water; add to rabbit.  Season.  (Because of the saltiness of the olives, this dish nedds very little additional salt.)

Cover and continue cooking over low heat, turning rabbit periodically, until pieces are tender – about 25 minutes.

*Polenta*, the traditional “starch” for rabbit dishes in Northern Italy, is a marvelous foil for the rich sauce.  Since polenta requires 20 minutes of constant stirring, you may want to arrange for strong & patient assistants before you begin  But oh, everyone will be rewarded amply at the table!

In medium saucepan, bring 1 quart of water to the boil; add 1½ tsps of salt.  Reduce heat to simmer and gradually add 1¼ cups of yellow cornmeal in a thin stream, stirring constantly.  Continue to simmer while adding cornmeal; continue stirring until the polenta is thick & smooth and pulls away cleanly from sides of pan.

Transfer to shallow bowl and serve in thick slices with rabbit & sauce.  A truly generous menu for elegant Fall dining.


----------

