St. Sam's and St. Bede's Recipe Pages
                Bon Appetit!
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Smothered Rabbit

Smotherin - simmering meats & stuff in a sauce till tender - is a
particularly "Cracker" way of cooking, particularly game.  Rabbits,
squirrels, muskrat....

One of the things about living in Upstate NY is that I no longer have to
concern myself with tularemia - endemic someplaces in the southern US,
and thus in colder months can eat rabbit with abandon.  I have some in
the freezer, and shall prepare them today:

1 young farm rabbit or two wild ones 
  (about 2 lbs cut up in 8 or 10 pieces)
2 small (1 large) onion chopped
2 or 3 carrots, chunked
2 or 3 stalks celery, chunked
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp coarse black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1/4 lb salt pork (or bacon) diced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2  cup white wine (or, lacking that as I am today, 1 tbsp lemon juice)
Flour

Combine seasoning with garlic in a mortar or saucer or fry-pan or something
Work together until the seasonings are blended and ground well.  
Rub the stuff on the rabbit, chill in the fridge - overnight preferably.

Dredge (or dust, depending on your personal pref. and how thick you want
the sauce when you're done) with flour.
Fry the pork/bacon in deep skillet till lightly browned.  
Add rabbit and saute till brown on all sides.  
  (Cook as required not to crowd the pan too much).  
Add vegetables and broth, wine.  
Cover and simmer till VERY tender.
  (less than an hour for a young, farm-raised rabbit - an hour or more for wild).

Serve with rice or grits.

The squeamish amongst you that still believe in the Easter Bunny may want
to substitute chicken or duck or woodchuck or something.

- pax -
Andrew H. Auld; Lockport, NY

From: "Andrew H. Auld"
Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000
Subject: Recipe - smothered stuff...