Elmer Fudd knew a thing or two about good eating. Rabbit makes an excellent meal. It’s also the cutest of the animals we eat for meat (although lambs and suckling pigs might beg to differ), so eating rabbit proves you’re not a lookist when it comes to your suppers.
Rabbit stew meets a lot of the criteria we have for an excellent meal here at Brooklyn Supper. First and foremost, rabbit is delicious. It has a wonderful subtle gamy taste and when it’s stewed it’s fantastically tender. Second, rabbit is cheap. You could easily feed four adults with enough left over for two lunches with one rabbit and the whole stew cost us less than two burritos and chips and guac from our favorite Mexican takeout. Third, rabbit stew is pretty easy to make and is a fantastic make-ahead dish that really gets better if you let it mellow in the fridge for a day or two before reheating and serving. Our weeknights have been jam-packed lately, so that makes a big difference for us.
This rabbit stew was really based on the ingredients we had laying around and it turned out really well, but there are plenty of ways to tweak it depending on what you have in your kitchen. I think a spicy version of this dish would be really nice.
You can read more about rabbit stew on our babble post about it. It’s funny!
Rabbit Stew with Olives and Apricots
serves 4-6
one whole rabbit, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups red wine
1 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 medium yellow onion, diced
6-8 canned apricots, chopped
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
In a dutch oven on the stove on high heat, brown the rabbit pieces on both sides, then remove to a bowl.
Reduce the heat to medium, pour off a little of the rabbit fat if you are inclined, add the onions, and stir until they are tender, about 5 minutes.
Return the rabbit, add the wine, olives, apricots, bay leaves, vinegar, and salt and pepper. If you feel like you don’t have enough liquid, feel free to add a little more wine or use water or stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low then cover. Cook at least three hours, turning the meat every half-hour or so. If you’re able, pull the stew and refrigerate over night, then reheat before you eat. Serve over boiled potatoes or rice.
Such timing. We are preparing rabbit for the first time in this house for a dinner Friday! Where did you get your rabbit? Where we’ll get ours, I doubt it will be cheap, sadly. Ah well.
Gorgeous photograph! If you are interested in venison I can get you some very inexpensively.
@ Kimberley, we got our rabbit at The Meat Hook in Williamsburg, BK, but I’ll need to ask Brian how much it was. Glad to know your going for it! I love how we always have such great food synergy!
@Carrie, Thanks for the photo compliment. Hmmmmmm, might have to take you up on the venison!
goodness gracious i’ve been looking for a delicious something or other to feast on that features bugs bunny and i think i may just have to whip this little something or other up!
blog love 🙂
oxoxox
@Cookie–yeah, bugs bunny is pretty delicious! Thanks for checking out the recipe.