I can’t share a beer braised rabbit recipe without telling you the story behind it.

Rabbit has appeared as an ingredient in two Solid Gold Eats recipes. The first was a Fried Rabbit with Gravy and Cheddar Cheese Biscuits (because fried + gravy + cheese makes everything delicious) and the second was a Gemelli with Rabbit and Broccolini recipe. Both were delicious but unique in their own ways.

Now, I’ve beer braised a rabbit. And it is freaking delicious. Here’s the story behind the rabbit.

Richard (My dad) and I have somewhat bonded over similar food tastes. Richard grew up with the need to forage for food, while I’ve been fortunate enough to never have to worry about hunting and gathering food. Yet my desire to try new things is strong, so when the option to try a rabbit from Meat the Rabbit was available, I jumped on the opportunity.

Richard became aware that I was going to butcher and cook a whole rabbit, so his suggestion to fry it and eat it with biscuits and gravy is what inspired the first recipe.

On Christmas Day last year, I went to my house to open presents with my family. I had barely walked in the door and taken off my coat before Richard presented me with a cold, rectangle box wrapped in foil. This big smile was on his bearded face and to be honest, I was a little nervous. If there was a squirrel inside I was going to flip. But instead, I found a gallon bag of frozen blackberries… and a rabbit. It was skinned and cleaned up, ready for me to use in a recipe.

I’ve finally taken it out of the freezer and created something I really think you will enjoy.

Rabbits really only feed about 2 people each. The legs offer the most meat, but the ribs have so many small bones that it isn’t worth sorting through. To eliminate the wild, game flavor and tenderize the meat, I braised the whole rabbit in beer and beef stock. This provides so much delicious flavor.

Today’s rabbit recipe was inspired by my Beer Braised Short Ribs with Creamy Mashed Potatoes recipe, which is almost exactly the same except I used a rabbit instead of short ribs. And if you really like this whole beer braising idea, try my Beer Braised Short Rib Poutine recipe. Go on, you know you want to look… 

Beer Braised Rabbit

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 skinned and cleaned rabbit
• 2 slices of thick cut bacon
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 4 medium shallots
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 12-oz dark beer (I used Quaff On Brewing’s Busted Knuckle Ale)
• 2 cups beef broth
• 3 bay leaves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse and pat dry the rabbit. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on each side, then lightly dust with flour until the rabbit is covered.

In a large dutch oven or oven-safe pot, cook the bacon over medium high heat until brown. Remove the bacon and add the butter.

Turn the heat down to medium and add the rabbit, cooking on each side to brown and add a little color, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove the rabbit and set aside.

Without draining the bacon grease and butter, cooking the shallots and garlic for 2 minutes. Stir in the beer, beef broth and bay leaves. Place the rabbit into the pot and cover, turning heat to high, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove the lid and cover with foil (unless your lid is ovenproof) and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours.

At this point, you should be able to put the leg right off of the rabbit with the snip of a kitchen shear. Place a leg on a bed of creamy garlic mashed potatoes (or your favorite recipe) and serve with spinach and beef gravy.

Beef gravy

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Direction

1. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium high heat.
2. Whisk in the flour and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Whisk in the beef broth, salt, and pepper and stir constantly until the gravy has thickened and is bubbly.