How to Cook Rabbit for Saint Patrick’s Day
I'll show you how to cook rabbit for Saint Patrick's Day and serve it with cabbage, carrots, & potatoes for a fun new way to celebrate this decadent holiday!CELEBRATING SAINT PATRICK'S DAYPeople celebrate Saint Patrick's Day in different ways. Some use it as an excuse to binge drink, while others just enjoy the shamrocks, pots of gold, rainbows, and green graphic tee shirts that usually announce something like "Kiss Me, I'm Irish"! Here in our house, we remember our Fogarty family ancestors (my mom's side) from Tipperary county in Ireland and celebrate with lots of food!When you think of St. Patrick's Day food, you might think of corned beef and cabbage. But I'll show you how to cook rabbit using similar cooking techniques you would use with a beef brisket in order to bring a little Irish flavor to that cottontail you have in your freezer.EATING RABBITNothing would make me happier than to see more wild game home cooks eating rabbit and other small game. For those of you who are just starting to cook with wild game, you should really make use of wild rabbits. Rabbit meat is delicious and lean, but high in protein. I created this rabbit recipe because cottontail rabbits are plentiful and easy to hunt here in North Dakota this time of year. Even though eating rabbit is popular in the UK and Europe, cooks are not as familiar with it here in the United States. This corned rabbit recipe is a great way to serve up a dish for Saint Patrick's Day that will have your family and friends excited about eating rabbit. Just let it linger a bit in an easy brine with pickling spices for a few days and then slowly braise until it's fall-apart tender. Keep in mind you need to start the corned rabbit at least 4 days before you intend to sit down at the table. WHAT IS CORNED RABBIT? WHAT IS CORNED BEEF?Corned rabbit, like corned beef, is meat that has been cured in a salt solution. Before refrigeration, meat was salted and cured to be preserved. Any type of meat can be put through the curing process that makes what we know as corned beef today. I've used the same process to make corned goose, corned venison, and this corned rabbit recipe. If you would like to try another one of my favorite corned rabbit recipes, check out this Corned Rabbit Reuben Sandwich.WILD GAME SAINT PATRICK'S DAY FOOD IDEASIf you are looking for more Saint Patrick's Day Food Ideas using wild game, be sure and check out my Corned Wild Rabbit Reuben Sandwich or my Goose Pastrami Reuben Egg Rolls.RABBIT HUNTING IN NORTH DAKOTAChasing rabbits in North Dakota is a lot of fun! Rabbit hunting season is open year-round, there are no bag limits, and North Dakota residents do not need a license. If you find a good hunting spot, you can be fairly certain you'll bag at least a few rabbits, making your hunting trip a success. Thus, rabbit hunting is a great way to introduce kids and novices to hunting. Your chances of harvesting a few rabbits is pretty good around our parts where we like to target the edges of wheat and soybean fields. Just be sure and get the landowners permission before hunting!I highly recommend giving rabbit hunting a try, allowing you to try out some new rabbit recipes, and eating rabbit with this Rabbit Tortilla Soup. If you live outside North Dakota but would like to come for a rabbit hunt, you can visit the ND Game and Fish website to learn the regulations and how to obtain a license.CONNECT WITH ME AND JOIN OUR WILD GAME COOKING COMMUNITYIf you make this Corned Rabbit & Cabbage recipe, I’d love for you to join our community and connect with me so we can all see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #wildgameandfishDid you enjoy this blog post on How to Cook Rabbit for Saint Patrick's Day? Be sure to leave a 5-star rating RIGHT HERE!
Ingredients
- 2 cottontail rabbits
- 6 cups water
- 1/3 cup Morton's Tender Quick
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 Tablespoons pickling spice (divided in half)
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 pounds purple cabbage, cut into 8 wedges
- 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
- 2 cups baby carrots
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Whole-grain mustard
Instructions
- On a cutting board, cut the rabbit into 9 pieces with game shears. Cut the saddle (center portion) into 3 pieces. Cut the front portion (front legs) in half through the backbone. Chop each hind leg into 2 pieces.
- In my favorite small pot, add Tender Quick, brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons of the pickling spice, and garlic to the and boil for a few minutes until sugar and salt are dissolved.
- Remove from heat and let cool completely in the fridge. Once it has cooled, place the rabbit pieces in a 1-gallon Ziploc bag and add the brine. Seal and lay flat inside a 9 x 13 casserole dish and place in the refrigerator for 4 days. Check daily to make sure the rabbit pieces are completely submerged and stir the brine.
- After 4 days, remove the rabbit pieces from the brine and rinse well under cool water.
- Transfer rabbit pieces to a 6-quart pot and add just enough fresh water to cover the meat. Add the other 2 Tablespoons of pickling spice and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low, cover, and gently simmer for about 2 hours until the meat is falling off the bone.
- When the rabbit is done, remove it from the cooking liquid and transfer it to a cutting board to let cool. Shred the meat using 2 forks. Be careful to remove all small bones.
- Carefully pour the cooking liquid through a fine mesh strainer into another pot. This is to ensure you remove any remaining bones still in the liquid. Transfer the cooking liquid back to the pot and return to the stovetop.
- Add the cabbage, potatoes, and carrots to the cooking liquid and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Place the shredded rabbit in the middle of a large serving platter. Use a large slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables to the serving platter. Ladle some of the hot cooking liquid over the rabbit meat and season with some black pepper.
- Serve immediately with a side of your favorite mustard.
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