Rabbit Cacciatore, the Hunter’s Way
Cacciatore means “hunter’s style,” and rabbit is what the hunter usually had. It’s a mild, lean, all-white meat — closest to chicken thigh but cleaner-tasting — and a slow simmer in tomatoes and peppers is the best introduction to it we know. This is Sunday cooking at our house: one pot on low heat after church, and the kitchen smells like garlic all afternoon. Everything but the flour and the oil comes off our own route, which is the way we like a recipe to work out.
From the farm: Whole rabbits are $25, reserve now — they’re growing out and will come fully processed. Nearly everything else in the pot is on the price list: canning tomatoes $2/lb, green peppers $1, German hardneck garlic, and sweet onion $2.
Free delivery in the Norwich and Syracuse areas; Binghamton area free on orders of $20 or more. Order from the shop or message us and we’ll add it to your route day.
Ingredients
- 1 whole rabbit, cut into 6–8 pieces (we can walk you through it — it cuts like a chicken)
- Flour, salt, and pepper for dredging
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 sweet onion, sliced
- 2 green peppers, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 pounds canning tomatoes, chopped (or roma tomatoes)
- 1 cup dry white wine or chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano, a couple of bay leaves
Method
- Dredge the rabbit pieces in seasoned flour. Brown them well in olive oil in a heavy pot, in batches, and set aside. The browning is the flavor — don’t rush it.
- In the same pot, cook the onion and peppers until soft, then the garlic for a minute more.
- Add the wine or stock and scrape up the browned bits. Add tomatoes, oregano, and bay, then nestle the rabbit back in.
- Cover and simmer gently 60 to 75 minutes, until the meat is tender and wants to leave the bone. Rabbit is lean — keep the simmer lazy, never a boil.
- Serve over polenta, egg noodles, or with bread for the sauce. Better the second day.
Photo: Calgary Reviews, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
