Rabbit Stew with Vegetables
A rich and delicious recipe for rabbit stewed in beer with lots of vegetables.
Servings: 4
Calories: 249kcal
Ingredients
- 1 rabbit (Note 1)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 large onions
- 1 – 1 ⅓ cup water 250-300 ml
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 large red bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika powder
- 1 ¼ cup beer (pils) 150 ml, about ½ bottle + more, if needed
- ½ cup pureed tomatoes 125 g
- 3-4 bay leaves
- 5 juniper berries
- fine sea salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cut the rabbit into 5 or 6 smaller pieces. I didn't use the backbone and the ribs for the stew, I made rabbit and chicken stock with them. See the blog post for more details on that.
- Sear meat: Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a Dutch oven or another heavy bottom pot and fry the rabbit pieces on both sides until golden. Remove from the pan.
- Cook onions: Halve the onions and slice the halves thinly. Pour the remaining oil in the pot, fry the onions on medium-low heat, stirring often, for about 20 minutes. Add some of the water from time to time to prevent them from burning or drying out.
- Cook vegetables: In the meantime, slice the carrots and the red bell pepper. Add the vegetables to the onions and continue cooking, stirring a few times in between, for about 3-4 minutes. Add the sweet and the smoked paprika powder (sweet or hot according to taste) and stir well for about 1 minute.
- Place the rabbit pieces back in the pot, add the beer, pureed tomatoes, and enough water to barely cover the rabbit, the meat pieces should not be completely underwater. Add the bay leaves, the juniper berries, some salt, and pepper.
- Simmer stew: Cover the pot, bring to a boil and simmer gently for about 1 ½ hour or until the meat is really tender, it should basically fall off the bone. Don't forget to stir from time to time and add a little more beer if the liquid reduces too much.
- Adjust the taste with salt and pepper and serve with mashed potatoes and pickles. Or with boiled potatoes and roasted or boiled vegetables or salad.
Notes
- Rabbits are generally small; one weighs about 1,2 kg/ 2.6 lbs.
- The back and the ribs don't have much meat, I usually remove them and use them to make stock.
- See Simple Roasted Rabbit for instructions on how to cut a rabbit into pieces.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 249kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 558mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 16g