Hairy Bikers Rabbit Stew

Hairy Bikers rabbit stew is an old-fashioned braise of rabbit, smoked bacon and Chantenay carrots in dry cider, with peas stirred in last. And it takes about 3 hours 30 minutes, serving 6 at roughly 460 calories a portion, from the recipe in Mums Still Know Best.

Cider, bacon and stock do the work in what Si and Dave call “a good old traditional British stew” in Mums Still Know Best. But their rabbit with prunes in Meat Feasts goes richer, finishing with brandy-soaked prunes and 100ml of double cream.

Keep the saddle pieces back when the legs go in, because the saddle needs less cooking and joins them 45 minutes later. Then start testing with a knife an hour after the saddle goes in, rather than trusting the clock.

Hairy Bikers Rabbit Stew

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Braising Cuisine:British Courses:Dinner

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 30 minutesCook time:3 hours Rest time: minutesTotal time:3 hours 30 minutesServings:6 servingsCalories:460 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

One frying pan and one flameproof casserole do all the work. Then the casserole moves from oven to hob at the end, so the cider gravy reduces right in the pot.

Ingredients

For the stew

• 3 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tsp dried thyme, or 2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 15g butter
• 2-3 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 large farmed rabbit or 2 young wild rabbits, jointed into 8 pieces
• 6 rashers rindless smoked streaky bacon, cut into 2cm squares
• 2 onions, chopped
• 500ml dry cider
• 300ml chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 350g Chantenay or other small, fat carrots, peeled
• 150g frozen peas

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Instructions

1. Coat the rabbit: Put the flour, thyme, a good pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper in a large freezer bag. Then pat the rabbit dry with kitchen paper and shake it in the bag a few pieces at a time until evenly coated.
2. Brown the rabbit: Melt the butter with 1 tbsp of the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. Then fry the rabbit a few pieces at a time until golden brown, and put the front and back legs into a flameproof casserole.
3. Hold back the saddle: Set the saddle pieces aside on a plate, loosely covered, since they need less cooking and go in later. Then heat the oven to 170°C, Gas 3½.
4. Fry the bacon and onions: Then add a little more oil and cook the bacon until the fat browns and starts to crisp, before adding it to the casserole. Next fry the onions in a dash more oil for 5 to 7 minutes until lightly browned. Then add them too and stir in any flour left in the bag.
5. Deglaze and braise: Pour half the cider into the frying pan, stir hard to lift the sediment, then simmer briefly and tip it into the casserole. Then add the rest of the cider, the stock and the bay leaves, cover and cook in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes.
6. Add the saddle and carrots: Take the casserole out, add the saddle pieces and carrots, and turn all the rabbit so as much as possible sits under the liquid. Then return it to the oven for a further 1 to 2 hours.
7. Check for tenderness: After an hour, test the legs and saddle with a knife, since they’re ready when it slides in easily and the meat comes away. If not, return it to the oven and keep checking and turning every 30 minutes.
8. Finish on the hob: Once it’s tender, skim off any fat and simmer the casserole fast on the hob for 3 to 5 minutes, until it thickens. Then stir in the peas and simmer for 3 minutes more until tender, season and serve.

FAQs

Can I make it in a slow cooker?

Not from them, since Si and Dave give no slow cooker timings in the book or on BBC Food, so I can’t offer tested ones. And their method is built around the oven, with the knife checks only starting late in the cook.

So the nearest thing to hands-off is the oven braise itself, because you only open the oven once in the first 1 hour 45 minutes.

Should I wash the rabbit first?

In Mums Still Know Best, Si and Dave wash the pieces and pat them dry, but the BBC version leaves the washing out. And I follow the BBC, because the Food Standards Agency says washing raw meat can splash bacteria onto hands and worktops.

The FSA adds that washing won’t remove harmful bacteria, since “only thorough cooking will”.

Farmed or wild rabbit, and where do I buy it?

Either works, since the recipe takes 1 large farmed rabbit or 2 young wild ones, jointed into 8 pieces. But in the book the second oven spell runs 1¼ to 2 hours depending on which you use, since farmed rabbit gets tender sooner.

In Meat Feasts they note that rabbit is easy to find in butchers and supermarkets now, and that you can buy it skinned and jointed.

How do I turn it into rabbit pie?

They give the idea themselves in Mums Still Know Best, saying a pastry top on this stew makes rabbit pie. But there is no pie method in the book, so I can’t give you tested pastry timings.

Their rabbit and sausage picnic pie in Perfect Pies is a separate recipe, made with boneless rabbit, herby pork sausages, mace and thyme in shortcrust. And rabbit is one of the meats in the mix for their game pie too, under a puff pastry lid.

Is this their Best of British rabbit stew?

Yes, because on BBC Food the same old-fashioned rabbit stew is listed as from their Best of British, and the quantities match the book exactly. But the BBC listing puts the cooking at 2 hours, while the method itself can run nearer 3.