Old Fashioned Rabbit Stew

Hunting is a tradition in my family and something I want to pass down to my children (even though I rarely do it myself and am a vegetarian 95% of the time). There is something very satisfying about going out on a hunt and returning with that night’s dinner. It is a feeling you just don’t get buying cellophane wrapped meat at the grocery store. If you have never done it, it is quite difficult to explain how it feels. Our last hunt was short and only resulted in one rabbit. With such a small bounty, my son was worried there wouldn’t be enough rabbit meat to go around.  But I told my son that my grandma used to make a delicious rabbit stew and that one rabbit was plenty for that. The problem is that my grandma died when I was 16 and I have no idea how she made the stew. My mom couldn’t recall either so I had to wing it. I scoured the Internet to find the right recipe but they all seem too fancy and complicated. I wanted a recipe for rabbit stew without wine and I couldn’t find one. This attempt at rabbit stew was really just an experiment that turned out to be very tasty. It is a little different from my grandma’s recipe but very similar and very satisfying.

Old-Fashioned Rabbit Stew

Ingredients

• 1 rabbit, small to medium (see note below)
• 2 tbs butter
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp thyme
• 3 tsp salt
• 4 carrots, diced
• 4 celery ribs, diced
• 2 potatoes, diced (NOT russet)
• 5 cups cold water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbs red wine vinegar (optional)
• 1 tsp of bouillon (chicken or chicken flavored)
• 1 pinch brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cold water

Directions  

1. Cut the rabbit meat into 8-10 pieces, leaving the bones in.
2. Melt butter in large stew pot or Dutch oven and add onion and garlic. Cook until golden brown.
3. Mix together flour, rosemary, oregano, thyme, and salt. Coat the rabbit with the flour mixture, reserving the leftover flour.
4. Place rabbit into the pot and lightly fry it until it is fully cooked.
5. Add the vegetables and cook for 5 minutes more.
6. Add the water and once heated through, add the bay leaf, vinegar, bouillon, and brown sugar.
7. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.
8. Mix 1/2 cup of cold water with remaining flour mixture and stir until smooth. Add this to the stew.
9. Simmer for 2-5 minutes to desired thickness.
10. Remember! The rabbit has bones in it. Carefully remove them and watch for them while eating (just like with fish!).

NOTE: We made our rabbit the day we shot it and it was pretty tough. After researching why the rabbit was so tough we discovered that it really needs to cure in the fridge for 2-3 days before cooking it. If you don’t have time to do that, that’s okay. The meat will still taste good but will be tough. Our smaller pieces were tender, but the larger pieces were not.

Oh, and before I wrap this up, here’s me hunting. No, I didn’t get anything. Apparently, when I had the gun everyone could see rabbits but me.