Journal of a Minnesota Angler

I don’t really consider myself an “outdoorsman.” I don’t really do anything “outdoorsy” except fish. But recently, I’ve taken to dispatching rabbits because of their destructive behavior. My wife surprised me last year when she wanted to try to cook them. I learned how to skin them via the classic Joy of Cooking cookbook and she made hossenfeffer last summer for our neighborhood wild game feast. It didn’t turn out too bad, but the meat was very gamy.

This time, she decided to try a different recipe and it turned out much better. It tasted like… turkey (you were thinking something else, weren’t you).

We used a recipe we found in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and altered it slightly. The article said this recipe could be used for all kinds of game like pheasant, grouse, and game hen. Here’s the recipe:

4c low sodium chicken stock
1/2 celery rib, halved
1/2 carrot, peeled and halved
1 small onion, peeled and halved
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 rabbit, quartered
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a dutch oven, add celery, carrot, and onion to chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Sprinkle rabbit with salt and pepper. Place in skillet and cook until golden brown.

Add browned rabbit meat to chicken stock mixture in dutch oven. Add water until rabbit is covered. Cover dutch oven and cook for 2 hours until meat begins to fall off bone.

We used the homemade chicken broth we made earlier in the day as a base and after two hours, the meat was cooked perfectly. I was the first to taste it. It turned out really good. It wasn’t gamy at all. It’s a recipe we’ll try with other meats as well.

Wild Rabbit
Oven Braised Rabbit