Smothered Rabbit

One of the great things about living in southern Louisiana is the meat, more specifically, the little Cajun meat shops everywhere.  Everyone has their favorite go-to place for boudin or stuffed pork chops (I'm a Heleaux's girl myself), but sometimes, you try something from someone else's little shop and you stray.  My sister goes to Don's, and ever since she shared their chicken burgers with hubby and me, I've been wanting to go there.  FINALLY a weekend or two ago, we were running around town with my sister and she decided she'd bring us over to Don's (since it's totally in her side of town where I don't know my way around).  Long story short (well, shorter than it could be), while there hubby and I got a well-seasoned rabbit.  Remember when I made that rabbit stew and we were thoroughly unimpressed?  That's because I didn't trust my (adopted) roots and smother the heck out of it Cajun style.  So tonight, I did it the right way. 

 Now, I knew the meat needed to cook for a good long time over low heat, but I didn't want to start the whole process after getting home at 5:20. So I cheated a bit and pulled out the crock pot.  In the end, I dirtied more dishes than I could have, but I think this method actually worked really well. 

Smothered Rabbit 

• 1 rabbit, quartered and well-seasoned to your liking (ours was heavily seasoned with the typical Cajun spices)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 14 oz chicken broth
• 14 oz water
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1-2 tbsp water

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the rabbit pieces to the pan and sear each side.  Place the rabbit in the crock pot, then pour in broth and water.  Cover and cook on low for at least 5 hours. 

You will know the rabbit is ready when the meat falls off the bone at the merest provocation. Remove the meat from the crock pot and let cool for a few minutes.  Pull the meat off the bone, but be VERY CAREFUL of the gajillion tiny bones and bits of cartilage.  

Place the meat in a large skillet and ladle a few cups of the broth  mixture into it.  Bring to a simmer.  

In a small cup or bowl, combine the corn starch and water; make sure it's smooth.  


In the skillet, push the meat to one side of the pan and let the juices collect at the other side.   Slowly pour 2/3 of the cornstarch water mixture into the juices, stirring constantly.  This will thicken up your sauce.   Stir the meat back into the sauce and let simmer for a few moments.

Serve over rice!