WILD RABBIT WITH RED WINE

The other day, one of  our neighbours kindly brought round for us a rabbit that he had caught on his property.  He has live traps, so the rabbits are not harmed at all in the process. It was skinned and dressed, ready for me to cook.  After looking through a few recipes, I decided to do my own thing, as there was nothing that really took my eye.  I judged that the mix of red wine with a game animal sounded just right, so the following is what I did.  I have since tried this recipe with a chicken and "wow", that was  good as well! The meat just fell off the bone!

1 1/2 lkg (approx 3.3 lbs)  dressed wild rabbit with the liver
Large pinch  sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoon flour
2 medium onions, finely chopped
250gr (About ½ lb) mushrooms, chopped chunky

1 small hot chilli finely chopped  (optional)
1 teaspoon dry thyme
1 tablespoon dry parsley
1 bay leaf, crumbled
2 cups red wine
1 cup water

Wash the rabbit well, drain and dry. Remove the fore and hind legs; cut the hind legs into 2 pieces at the joint. Cut the saddle into 3 or 4 pieces and place in a casserole with the liver.  

Heat the oil and cook onions, chilli and mushrooms until the onion is soft. Add the flour and stir off the heat until well mixed.  Put back on the heat and add the water and wine stirring well until the mixture is gently boiling and thickened. Add the thyme, parsley, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Pour the sauce over the rabbit and bake at 130C (260F) for 3 hours.

I served it with potatoes and leeks from the garden, plus some broccoli from the market. We both said it was the best rabbit we have ever tasted, very tender and extremely tasty. Long, slow cooking obviously had a lot to do with it and the recipe seems ideal for a slow cooker, for those of you who are out all day.