• 1 whole rabbit
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, cut in 1 inch pieces
  • 2 parsnips, cut in 1 inch pieces
  • 2 carrots, cut in 1 inch pieces
  • 12 small red potatoes, about 1 inch across
  • 1 bell pepper, cut into large pieces
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3-4 fresh sprigs of thyme
  • 1 large fresh sprig of oregano
  • 5-6 sprigs parsley, flat leaf
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup butter, cut into tablespoon-size cubes

Braised rabbit has been on our menu throughout history and has an oddly comforting and familiar flavor, even to those eating it for the first time.  Braised rabbit is also an easy and impressive meal that will fill your home with the most amazing, delicious and comforting smell for hours.  The fork-tender result is accomplished by browning rabbit pieces in olive oil then slowing braising them in a vegetable-rich, wine-laced braising liquid.

The key here is the type of pot in which you need to cook a braised rabbit.  You need a heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid.  I use an enameled, cast-iron, 5 quart Dutch Oven for several reasons.  With cast iron, heat is evenly distributed and held, making it ideal for sauces, browning, deep frying, searing, baking and braising.  The versatility of the cast-iron pot or skillet is unrivaled; use it on the stove top, grill, or in the oven.  If you’re still not convinced, check the price.  A cast-iron skillet will cost under $10, a fraction of the price of a comparable heavy aluminum or stainless steel pan, and it should last a lifetime.

However, cast iron can become rusty if not properly cared for and seasoned regularly, a big challenge for many people.

Enter the enameled cast iron pot.  Once available only to those wishing to spend hundreds of dollars on each piece of cookware, an enameled, cast-iron, 5 quart Dutch Oven can now be had for under $50 at your local mega-mart.  These beautiful pieces of cookware give you all of the benefits of cast-iron without any of the worries attending the proper care and seasoning of traditional cast-iron cookware.  They are an absolute joy to cook with and of all of the things that I might suggest to make your time in the kitchen that much more enjoyable, this one tops the list.

Rabbit is available everywhere.  Whether you hunt them in the field or hunt them down at your nearest mega-mart, you should have no trouble finding a rabbit.  For this preparation, we’ll need the rabbit in six pieces.  Butchering a rabbit requires nothing more than a 10″ chef’s knife and no “hacking.”  Rabbit bones are easily cut through by simply pressing down firmly at the point of the cut.

The back legs can be cut off together and then separated into two.  The front legs are cut off at the end of the rib cage.  Then simply cut down the center of the rib cage, spread the front legs out flat on your cutting board, place your knife along one side of the back-bone and cut through, separating the front legs into two.  What you are left with is the back-bone and the attached belly-flap.  You’ll need to cut that into two pieces by cutting right through the back-bone.

Directions:

  1. Evenly season the rabbit pieces (see above for butchering directions) with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  2. Place your pot over a medium-high heat, cover the entire bottom of the pot with olive oil and heat to 350 degrees.  I like to drop a few popcorn kernels in the pot as it heats.  Popcorn pops at exactly 350 degrees letting you know when the oil has hit the right temperature.
  3. Brown the rabbit in the olive oil a few pieces at a time so as not to crowd the pot and set aside.
  4. Add the onion, bell pepper and celery to the pan and saute for 3 minutes.  Add the parsnips, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and oregano and saute for 4 additional minutes.
  5. Add the chicken broth and dry white wine and bring to a boil.
  6. Remove from the fire, add the rabbit and potatoes to the pot and finally lay the parsley sprigs on top the rabbit.  Cover and place in a 350 F oven for 1 1/2 hours.
  7. Carefully remove the rabbit and vegetables from the pot and place on a serving platter.
  8. Strain the remaining braising liquid and return it to the pot.
  9. Reduce the strained braising liquid over a medium-high heat until there is just a cup remaining.  The braising liquid will begin to darken during the last part of the reduction.
  10. Without reducing the heat, begin adding the butter one cube at a time, whisking each cube in thoroughly.  We are building an emulsion here, like a salad dressing, and if we add all the butter at the same time, it will separate.  Once all the butter has been incorporated, remove from the heat and serve the resulting gravy along side the rabbit and vegetables.