Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi all,

Would any of you have a few rabbit recipies please?

In the past I have bought bunnies whole and jugged them or just made a simple casserole, but I have always had some idea of the age of the bunny and how long it has been hung.

This year my local butcher has a load of bunnies but they have been jointed and skinned so I can't tell how old they are. Does this make much difference in how I should cook them?

Thanks

Terry

If you don't know how old they are, I would err on the safe side and casserole. There's a nice Mary Berry recipe I used to use when I had a lot of rabbits to deal with, basically chuck in a casserole with sweated onion and some prunes and cook slowish - really yummy.

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Dwell simply ~ love richly

Doesn't matter how you cook them, you MUST say it's chicken, not bunny

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

this is from cook on the wild side not tryed it yet

2 young rabbits
a knob of butter or goats cream butter
clove of garlic
1/2 150ml bitter
1 table spoon runny honny
salt and pepper

Heat the butter in a pan and brown the rabbit pieces (fairly gently so as not to burn the butter

throw the garlic in

add the bitter honey salt pepper and bring to the boil then simmer for 30 40 min if the rabbits is older cook for about 1 hour

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Some things in their natural state have the most VIVID colors
Dobby

This is from one of the Dairy cookbooks. We call it chicken bunny stew because if we haven't got rabbit we use chicken. The important accompaniment is loads of runner beans.

RABBIT CASSEROLE WITH DUMPLINGS

4oz streaky bacon rashers rinded and chopped
4 rabbit portions
4 celery stick chopped
2 leeks, trimmer, and sliced
1 bay leaf
8oz carrots sliced
2tbsp plain wholemeal flour
1 pint chicken stock
salt and pepper

Fry the bacon in a flameproof casserole until the fat runs. Add the rabbit and fry gently until browned. Remove from casserole. Add the celery, leeks and bay leaf and carrots and mix well. Sprinkle in the wholemeal flour and stir well. Cook for a minute, then gradually add stock. Bring to boil, stirring continuously. Season to taste. Return rabbit to casserole.

Cover and bake at 170C for about 1½ hours, or until the rabbit is tender.

Dumplings

3oz self-raising flour
1½ shredded beef suet
1tbsp snipped fresh chives

To make the dumplings, mix the self-raising flour, suet, chives and salt and pepper. Add enough cold water to make a soft dough. Twenty to twenty five minutes before the end of the cooking time, shape the dough into 12 balls and place on top of the casserole. Cover again and bake until the dumplings are well risen and cooked through.

Lovely recipes! Had some chaos this week so the bunny is only being cooked this evening! Hazel is ok with it being a bunny so one problem over!

I'm trying an version of valmargs recipe for tonight - must just go and put the dumplings in. (Version based on what I have in.... it is p...ing down so no chives!)

Oh yeah, and debone the rabbit now it's cooked! Can't see either Hazel or Richard copping with that!

And having done that...

I hate weighing things so the casserole is of the ... some celery, some carrots, some onion, a rabbit.....

Smells good!

I rather think from the smell of the rabbit meat that it was rather well hung and from the texture as I hacked it off the bones, somewhat on the old side!

Should still be good though.

Will try the runny honey recipe for the other bunny - currently residing in the freezer.

Ah well TP, try it with chicken thighs, and instead of dumplings - lashings of mash.

valmarg

I loved it, Richard liked it, Hazel thought it 'ok'......

Lucky you T Peers. I would just use your favourite chicken casserole recipe and add some prunes. But they would be in there anyway - wouldn't they ?

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

Ahh.... no, probably not..... none of us like prunes all that much!

Dried Apricots.... now that's a different matter!

They taste totally different when used with meat. I used to push a few prunes under the skin of chicken before roasting (when I ate meat, that is) - wonderful.

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Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson

www.vegheaven.blogspot.com

Updated November 30th - Mr Stinky's Excellent Adventure (and a Christmas Cake)

If you haven't tried prunes with your savouries TPeers you could try this. Next time you make chicken soup put a portion in a small pot, drop in a few prunes and simmer for 10 minutes and try it. That way if you don't like it you haven't ruined anything and maybe you'll find what a treat you've been missing. Cock - a - leekie without prunes - not the same thing at all in my book.

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

I'll give it a try.

Terry

So it was a buck rabbit then?

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Ha Ha, Snadger, very witty indeed...

This recipe I make quite a lot with Bunny, so if you're 'all ears'... I'll begin:

CASSEROLE OF RABBIT WITH WHITE WINE AND MUSHROOMS
(from Sophie Grigson's Meat Course Cookery Book)

1 Bugs Bunny, cut into 10 pieces
225g button or shiitake mushrooms
16 pearl onions (I use shallots)
Seasoned flour for dusting
2 tblsps. oil
25g butter
120ml dry white wine (plus a glass of, for lubricating the cook)
600ml chicken stock
1 bay leaf
2 tblsps. chopped parsley
40g beurre manie (half butter, half flour mashed thoroughly together for thickening the sauce)
150ml creme fraiche or double cream
a squeeeeze of lemon juice
S & freshly ground P

1. Toss the bunny bits in seasoned flour.

2. Heat half the oil with half the butter in a wide frying pan and brown the bunny in two batches. Transfer to a flame-proof casserole. Add a little more butter and oil to the pan and saute the mushrooms over a high heat until browned. Scoop out into the casserole. Add the remaining oil and butter to the frying pan and brown the pearl onions (or shallots). Into the casserole with those too.

3. Pour the wine (only the 120ml, not your's) into the frying pan and bring up to the boil, scraping the residues from frying. Boil until reduced by half.

4. Pour this over the bunny, then add the stock, bay leaf, half the parsley, salt and pepper. Bring up to the boil, half-cover and simmer for 45 mins or until the bunny is tender. Scoop out the bunny, mushrooms and onions/shallots, and keep them warm.

5. Pour the juices into a wide frying pan and boil hard until reduced by half. Reduce the heat to a bare simmer, and add the beurre manie in small knobs (Snadger, behave....), stirring it in. Cook for a further 3-4 mins without boiling.

6. Stir in the creme fraiche or double cream and a touch of lemon juice.

7. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then pour over the bunny and scatter with the remaining parsley.

Excellent with smashed potatoes and home grown wegetables..... Enjoy!

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With Love,
Wellie

Give it some....

http://hollycottagegarden.blogspot.com
BLOG UPDATED Sunday 2nd November at 19.30hrs

we still have local butchers round here? where ????
there were 2 butchers in purley until they built that tescos - and the one in sanderstead has closed down now .......

been a long time since i had rabbit - will do a nice pie or stew for the kids one day .........

Dribble.....
Ok - townie alert - where do I buy a bunny....?

See Haze take a deep breathe and trot to Intimidating Butchers (or is it just me that's a bit rubbish when I go there??)

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Hazel
www.hazelandjanesallotment.blogspot.com
update Sun 30/11/2008......Indoor Allotmenteering too!.....

Since I could never eat a bunny (yes I am soppy) is it okay to substitute chicken in all the recipes?

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

Butcher to cook, sweetie.
Pet Shop to cuddle, angel.

Actually, Al Fresco used to sell frozen diced bunny, which was perfect for my recipe, but they don't now, more's the pity.....

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With Love,
Wellie

Give it some....

http://hollycottagegarden.blogspot.com
BLOG UPDATED Sunday 2nd November at 19.30hrs

Yes, shirl, perfectly fine to!

__________________
With Love,
Wellie

Give it some....

http://hollycottagegarden.blogspot.com
BLOG UPDATED Sunday 2nd November at 19.30hrs

They used to reckon (in Manchester where I grew up) that you should only buy rabbit from a butcher who sold them in their skins and then skinned them for you. That way you could be CERTAIN it wasn't cat!

__________________
Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson

www.vegheaven.blogspot.com

Updated November 30th - Mr Stinky's Excellent Adventure (and a Christmas Cake)

You're putting me off now, Flum!

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Hazel
www.hazelandjanesallotment.blogspot.com
update Sun 30/11/2008......Indoor Allotmenteering too!.....