DoozyWombat
Active member
I did an experiment yesterday, essentially duplicating my campfire beef pot roast recipe in a crock pot with rabbit. It was outstanding. I'll include both, as it's one concept with multiple applications.
For the campfire, this is one of the best recipes you can use on a campout (but not if you're backpacking!) I'm sure the rabbit version would work equally well. You start with a large dutch oven, and put cut-up potatoes on the bottom layer. Then you put onions, carrots, and whatever other vegetables on the second layer (celery, garlic, pepper, etc.) Onion, potato, garlic and carrot are the essentials, but lots of things work. Season with salt and pepper, then put the meat on last, at the very top. I use a 3 to 4lb beef roast. Everything goes in the pot cold. Use a shovel to clear out a space in the campfire, but leave some coals. Set the dutch oven on the coals, and shovel coals around the side and on top. Leave it for four or five hours. Let the fire burn down. Stir, adjust the seasoning as you like, then serve. You'll have people talking about it for years.
This method also works great in a slow cooker. Beef tends to put off a lot of juice, and what you end up with is more of a stew than a pot roast.
Here is what I did yesterday. It was much less liquid than in the beef pot roast, but I think the taste was even better. This was for a 6-quart slow cooker.
Rabbit Pot Roast
Load each of these, raw and cold, into the slow cooker, in order:
4 medium-sized potatoes. Wash, cut the eyes out, and quarter. Do not peel.
2 medium-to-large onions. Peel and quarter.
4 large carrots. Wash and cut into two-inch (5cm) pieces. Cut off ends but peeling is not necessary.
1 bulb garlic. Peel each clove and cut in half.
4 stalks celery. Wash and cut into two-inch pieces.
1 sweet red pepper, cut into pieces
1 large rabbit, cut up. (I put the four quarters on with bones, then cut all the meat off the body I could)
Set it on low and leave it for the day. An hour before dinner, take off the pieces that have bones and de-bone them. They should separate easily. Shred or cut up the meat and toss it back in the pot. Salt and pepper to taste, then stir thoroughly. Serve after thirty minutes, or whenever it is hot enough. Ladle into bowls, and serve with sourdough bread.
Notes:
Black pepper is your friend, here. When I made this, I did not add any salt or pepper until the end. Instead of going heavy on the salt, I recommend trying only black pepper, until the taste seems balanced, then add salt until it seems perfect. The tradition is to add those things at the beginning so the flavors can work into the meat in particular, but I think this worked better, as the rabbit was juicy and tender. It was very bland until it got the seasoning, but then it was perfect.
The amount of salt and pepper that went with my pot roast (including a 5lb dressed rabbit) was about 1 tablespoon of salt, and 2-3 tablespoons of ground black pepper.
For the campfire, this is one of the best recipes you can use on a campout (but not if you're backpacking!) I'm sure the rabbit version would work equally well. You start with a large dutch oven, and put cut-up potatoes on the bottom layer. Then you put onions, carrots, and whatever other vegetables on the second layer (celery, garlic, pepper, etc.) Onion, potato, garlic and carrot are the essentials, but lots of things work. Season with salt and pepper, then put the meat on last, at the very top. I use a 3 to 4lb beef roast. Everything goes in the pot cold. Use a shovel to clear out a space in the campfire, but leave some coals. Set the dutch oven on the coals, and shovel coals around the side and on top. Leave it for four or five hours. Let the fire burn down. Stir, adjust the seasoning as you like, then serve. You'll have people talking about it for years.
This method also works great in a slow cooker. Beef tends to put off a lot of juice, and what you end up with is more of a stew than a pot roast.
Here is what I did yesterday. It was much less liquid than in the beef pot roast, but I think the taste was even better. This was for a 6-quart slow cooker.
Rabbit Pot Roast
Load each of these, raw and cold, into the slow cooker, in order:
4 medium-sized potatoes. Wash, cut the eyes out, and quarter. Do not peel.
2 medium-to-large onions. Peel and quarter.
4 large carrots. Wash and cut into two-inch (5cm) pieces. Cut off ends but peeling is not necessary.
1 bulb garlic. Peel each clove and cut in half.
4 stalks celery. Wash and cut into two-inch pieces.
1 sweet red pepper, cut into pieces
1 large rabbit, cut up. (I put the four quarters on with bones, then cut all the meat off the body I could)
Set it on low and leave it for the day. An hour before dinner, take off the pieces that have bones and de-bone them. They should separate easily. Shred or cut up the meat and toss it back in the pot. Salt and pepper to taste, then stir thoroughly. Serve after thirty minutes, or whenever it is hot enough. Ladle into bowls, and serve with sourdough bread.
Notes:
Black pepper is your friend, here. When I made this, I did not add any salt or pepper until the end. Instead of going heavy on the salt, I recommend trying only black pepper, until the taste seems balanced, then add salt until it seems perfect. The tradition is to add those things at the beginning so the flavors can work into the meat in particular, but I think this worked better, as the rabbit was juicy and tender. It was very bland until it got the seasoning, but then it was perfect.
The amount of salt and pepper that went with my pot roast (including a 5lb dressed rabbit) was about 1 tablespoon of salt, and 2-3 tablespoons of ground black pepper.
