The Big Bunny Cookout

Since Adam and I are the kind of folks who usually end up working on holidays we sometimes come up with our own ways of celebrating. Take this past Easter Sunday for example. Instead of hiding brightly colored eggs and exchanging chocolate bunnies, we cooked the Easter bunny and ate him, along with two of his friends.

Now before you baulk at our grotesqueries, let me reassure you that we at least waited until the day after Easter, when the Easter Bunny’s job was done for the year, to have him for dinner.

Also, I know many of you are curious as to where we found Bugs, Thumper and Peter, so allow me to set the record straight; no it was not PETCO. We actually went to our friend Bill the butcher at Highland Park Market in South Windsor, the very same Bill from our infamous turducken extravaganza, and he helped us get our anti-Easter feast hoppin’.

Prior to this week I only had a vague recollection of what rabbit tastes like and I certainly had no experience trying to cook one, let alone three. This is why I decided not to put all my eggs in one basket. Working under the assumption that although I could potentially screw up one dish, I couldn't possibly mess up three, I chose three different recipes for our three separate bunnies.

I have since learned a few lessons.

First, It’s not as easy to overcook our furry-eared friends as I had thought. Everything I read about rabbits and rabbit recipes said that due to the extremely lean nature of the meat, it is very easy to end up with a tough, dry, waskly wabbit.

Maybe I was just hyper-aware of this possibility, but our bunnies stayed tender and juicy, even through the juggling of three diverse meal preparations.

Second, Juggling is hard. Next time I get overambitious and attempt to make three elaborate entrees for one meal, hopefully I will the have the presence of mind to stop myself before I get out of hand.

Third, I really need to invest in a set of good kitchen knives. Deboning the rabbits ended up taking as long as all the other preparations combined (not at all like that how-to video we watched that made it look effortless)!

Thankfully this part was not my job. Adam took care of all the trimming and eventually did a good job of it, considering the tools he had to work with.

All in all, however, I was pleased with the products of our hard work. When your dinner guests ask to take home their leftovers, I consider it a good sign.

Next Easter, if you’re tired of the same old honey baked ham, try one of these recipes. Just don’t tell the kids what’s for dinner.

Pan Roasted Rabbit with Crushed Blackberry-Ancho Sauce

I pureed the blackberries into the ancho paste since I was forced to use frozen berries (gasp) instead of fresh. This sauce has a wonderfully subtle heat to it, although it was more watery then I was expecting. Also, if you are going to use frozen berries, I would use double the amount called for since I found their flavor ultimately got lost.

Rabbit in Tarragon Sauce

An easy recipe that just as well could have been made with pork, this is a great sauce for over pasta.

Rabbit Coq Au Vin

More time consuming than the others but well worth it. Served over wild rice with some crusty bread to soak up the sauce, the Coq Au Vin was the favorite dish of the evening.