So there I was last week watching What's In Your Basket on CH4 when they presented a load of housewife's with a freshly shot Rabbit which they then prepared and ended up deep frying. Now most of the women turned there nose up at eating fluffy bunnies I was positively drooling (and thinking I hadn't had rabbit in ages) so Saturday off i trundled to the covered market in Oxford and picked myself up a brace or rabbits, which I stewed for Sunday night dinner.
Wasscally Wabbit Stew
Two Rabbits Jointed
250 grams or so of thickly sliced streaky bacon roughly chopped up
4-5 large carrots roughly chipped
one large Onion Roughly chopped
4 Celery Sticks you guessed it roughly chopped
Couple of Bay Leaves
Some chicken stock
some Thyme
a bottle of cider
Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the bacon and transfer it to a large casserole o pot when done, brown off the joints in the pan using the left over oil and that from the bacon adding to the casserole pot when done, slowly fly the onion until its just going translucent and add to the casserole pot. Add the celery, carrots, bay leaves and thyme. pour on the cider and top up with stock until the meat is covered.
Simmer for about 1.75 - 2 hours, serve with lovely creamy mash spuds and bobs your uncle
(if serving for small kids might be an idea to de-bone the rabbit after at 1.5 hours as they are quite bony ickle beggars and the meat should fall fairly easily off the bone)
No pics I'm afraid but i can assure you it was delicious