Rabbit Gumbo
Rabbit gumbo is a Cajun specialty. Spicy and smoked with hardwood, rabbit gumbo, a dish you’ll want to have during the winters.
You’ll need the whole rabbit, dismantled in serving-size cuts. You should have the hindquarters, foreleg, and the saddle cut in half. You’ll also need to make a roux, although you can also use jar roux if you don’t have the time. Using a long list of vegetables, hot spices, pork sausage, ham, and more, cooking this gumbo takes about two and a half hours. But the wait is worth it!
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 small green pepper, chopped
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 dressed rabbit (about 3 pounds), cut into pieces
- 1/2 pound smoked sausage, halved and cut into 1/4-inch slices
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup sliced okra
- Hot cooked rice
Directions
- In a Dutch oven, saute onion and green pepper in oil until tender. Add rabbit and enough water to cover. Cover and simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until meat is very tender.
Add the sausage, salt, thyme, pepper and cayenne. Simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes. Remove rabbit. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones; discard bones. Cut meat into bite-size pieces; return to pan. Stir in okra; bring to a boil. Serve in bowls over rice.
Jambalaya
This is a hearty dish, but we guarantee that just one bowl will not satisfy you.
Jambalaya is one of Louisiana’s best culinary creations and typically involves smoked meat or sausages. You’ll find Creole or Cajun variations of the recipe with different ingredients. But if you have a specific recipe you love, you could incorporate rabbit meat instead of the other meat and adjust your cooking times.
Since you’ll be using about 2–3 rabbits, cut the meat into little pieces, and slow cook all the pieces so the meat can become tender.
SEASONING
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground red sandalwood (optional)
MAIN INGREDIENTS
- 3 pounds rabbit or chicken
- 4 tablespoons margarine
- 1 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
- 1 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
- 1 1/2 cup finely chopped green bell peppers
- 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- 1 2/3 cup chopped tasso or smoked ham
- 3/4 cup canned tomato sauce
- 2 cups uncooked rice, preferably converted
- 3 cups rabbit or chicken stock
- Cut meat away from rabbit or chicken bones and chop into 1/4-inch pieces; use scraps, bones, and giblets (excluding the liver) to make the stock. Refrigerate meat until ready to use.
- Combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Melt the margarine in a 4-quart saucepan. Add half each of the onions, celery, and bell peppers, then stir in the seasoning mix, Tabasco, and tasso. Cook over high heat until onions are dark brown, about 20 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add the remaining onions, celery, and bell peppers. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomato sauce and simmer about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add the rabbit and cook over high heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the rice, mixing well. Reduce heat and simmer for about 12 minutes.
- Add the stock. Bring the mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer covered over very low heat until rice is tender but still firm, about 15 minutes.
- To serve, mold rice in an 8-ounce cup. Place 2 cups on each serving plate for a main course or 1 cup for an appetizer.
Braised Rabbit Pie
Who doesn’t love a good homemade pot pie? Well here’s a little twist with some rabbit! This recipe serves 6, but you could easily double the recipe to include more of the family.
Ingredients:
- 1 rabbit, jointed
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 3–4 carrots, sliced
- 2 or 3 rashers of chopped bacon
- 1 tbsp flour
- Pinch powdered marjoram
- Salt and pepper
- 600 ml chicken stock or half stock, half cider
- 1 beaten egg
For the pastry:
- A store bough pie crust OR
- 250g plain flour
- 170g very cold, butter (cut into small cubes)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
- 30ml ice cold water
- Pat the joints dry. Heat the oil and fry the joints on all sides until brown. Lift out and put into a casserole.
- In the same oil lightly fry the vegetables, add the marjoram, sprinkle a little flour over and stir. Add the stock gradually, stirring until smooth, then stir in a few tablespoons of the marinade.
- Pour this over the rabbit, cover and cook in a moderate oven at 180°c/350°F/ gas mark 4 for about half an hour, then lower the heat to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2 for a further 1 1⁄2 hours or until tender.
- While the rabbit is cooking, place the flour and butter in a bowl and using a butter knife, cut the butter into the flour until you have a rough pebble mixture.
- Whisk together the egg with the balsamic vinegar and sea salt. Add this to the butter and flour and using two forks gently toss through until the dough begins to come together. Add a little cold water to bring the dough to a rough ball.
- Turn the pastry out on to parchment paper or cling film, parcel up and place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
- Take the meat when cooked from the bones, add 2 or 3 rashers of chopped bacon and fill the stock to come up to within 2.5 cm (1 in) of the rim of the dish. Roll out pastry until it's 0.5 mm thick. Brush the edges of pie dish with a beaten egg.
- Lay pastry on top and prick the edges with a fork. Brush the top of pie with remaining egg wash and cook for about half an hour, until golden brown.