Rabbit stew recipe: quick and easy to make

This rabbit stew recipe is based on speed, a need for merely a few ingredients and my own mad desire to please. Rabbit loins are ideal for this kind of cookery, but they do need to be trimmed, so that the silver skin is taken off the side of the loin fillets. We are cooking this quickly and do not want sinew nor toughness finding its way into our dish.

I have also pruned out the time required to make the mash to accompany the dish. It is more than possible that you already know how to make mashed potatoes, so there is little point in me raking over the coals once again. A few pheasant breasts would work well here, too, but I prefer to use rabbit. This is a simple sauté dish, so remember to use a high heat — and it’s worth getting the mash ready to serve before starting to cook the rabbit.

Rabbit stew recipe with mashed potato

Ingredients

• ½ small onion
• 1 small carrot
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 2 rabbit loin fillets (From 1 rabbit saddle), fully trimmed and seasoned
• 1 heaped tsp flour
• 20g butter
• A good glug of brandy
• A cup of chicken stock (or rabbit stock)
• 1tbsp peas
• 50ml double cream
• A sprig of fresh parsley

1. Finely dice the onion and thinly cut the carrot. These will be the ingredients that take the longest to cook, so this preparation is essential. Chop the garlic and strip the thyme leaves from the stems.
2. Heat a solid-based sauté or frying pan over a moderate heat until well loaded with energy. We don’t want to burn the butter when we add it, so not too hot, either.
3. Cut each loin fillet into four or five pieces and sprinkle with flour.
4. Put the butter in the pan and immediately add the onions and carrots. Cook for a few minutes, then add the garlic and thyme. Again, cook for a minute or two, then add the pieces of floured rabbit loin. Turn up the heat and toss the pan contents a few times. you don’t want to colour the meat, simply start it cooking.
5. Throw in the brandy and allow this to cook out until almost completely evaporated. If cooking over a naked flame, take care as it may turn into a fireball. As soon as the brandy is mostly gone, add half the stock and cook rapidly until the carrots are almost tender. The stock should have reduced by at least half before the peas are added. Cook for a further minute.
6. Season and turn down the heat. Add the cream and bring it to a gentle simmer.
7. Finish with a little chopped parsley and serve with the mash.

I have been told, very firmly, that my recipes need to be quicker to make. I get that. We all live busy lives and when you are dealing with game, it’s fair to apportion at least some of the preparation time required for a nice dish to that spent in the field and the game larder. First harvesting, then preparing the meat for cooking. Never let it be said that Shooting Times does not respond to the requests of its readers.