Woasted Wabbit

Let me start off just picking a fight.  Okay?  All the controversy out there about eating rabbit is silly.  There.  I said it.  It's no different than eating chicken, pork, beef, etc.  It's an animal, albeit with fluffy cuteness, and if you eat meat it's up for grabs.  Having started on my soapbox, let us continue with the second point of contention:  Is rabbit tough or tender?  This, also, is silly.  If your rabbit was tough, the fault was not in the rabbit, but in the manner of cooking.  Rabbit, my friends, should be cooked in a moist heat method.  Slow cooking.  With liquid.  Got It?  And the final controversy over rabbit is Taste.  No, it does not taste like chicken.  Or pork.  Or beef.  It tastes like rabbit.  But, if I had to compare it to something, chicken would be the best comparison.  The flavor is subtle, the texture soft (it fell off the bone when cooked), and it absorbs the flavor of it's surroundings quite well.  There was tendency for the meat to take on the color of the spices, and this was slightly off-putting, but once you get past the outer layer it is white and pretty. 

I went online to a homesteading site to find a plethora of rabbit recipes.  Since I had not yet eaten any and was prone to being concerned by all the "rabbit rumors" out there, I picked a simple roast which was a little heavy on the seasonings.  I know now I would go for my subtle seasonings, myself, but taste is such an individual thing that others would think it fine. 

First step, browning the rabbit pieces.  This is slightly less than one rabbit.  I threw a section of the back in the bag with the other rabbit because it was just so much meat for our little family. 

Next step, remove rabbit from pan, brown onion and garlic (we used powdered garlic and skipped the browning for it).  Place rabbit back in pan.  Add 2 cups chicken broth.  I have a frozen container of Rooster Broth from earlier this year and in it went.  Add 1 teaspoon each of Thyme, Rosemary, Basil.  Add 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.  I added carrots so I would not have to cook a separate vegetable.  Cook for 4-5 hours at 250 degrees in a cast iron skillet with a lid.  That's it.  When done, it smelled wonderful, tasted a little spice heavy, but certainly not the fault of the rabbit, and I used the broth to make a gravy which was served on rice. 

When all was said and done it looked just like chicken and I don't think Craig would have known if someone hadn't said what it was.  At that point he announced his body was not used to rabbit.  But I meanly made him eat three bites drowned in A-1 sauce.  Ronny ate two pieces, I had one.  There is plenty left over for a soup, although I think I would add the rabbit at the last in the soup since it is already so tender.  Maybe five minutes before serving?  Also, it would be good as a salad or in a sandwich. 

I have another rabbit in the freezer which I had intended to give/sell to a brother at the Hall, but now I'm thinking twice on that.  Once you go through all that work you really just don't want to give it to someone else, you know?  Or maybe it's just that I'm selfish and stingy.  Could be.  I don't like to give my bread away either.  Same reason.  I'm kind of like "You want homemade bread?  Make it yourself!  You want rabbit?  Fine.  I've got some extra does.  You catch it, you kill it, you butcher it and I'll only charge you 5 bucks (lol) for the privilege!"  I obviously have to work on my generosity.  If angels stopped by my house unawares, would I feed them my fatted rabbit?  Hmmmm....