Braised Rabbit, Portuguese Style ("coelho Estufado")

Total Time: 26 hrs Preparation Time: 24 hrs Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 1/2 lbs rabbit
• 1 (12 ounce) bottle (i use molson canadian) or 1 white
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup parsley, chopped
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon piri-piri (sauce)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup parboiled rice

Recipe

• 1 cut up the rabbit into pieces (hind legs, front legs, etc.) as you would cut up a whole chicken, into approximately 9 pieces. place into a large bowl.
• 2 add the garlic, parsley, bay leaf, piri-piri, salt, pepper and (or enough to cover the rabbit) to the rabbit. mix around to combine everything.
• 3 cover and refrigerate to marinate for 1 day or at least overnight. the longer it marinates, the better it is! (i hate the gamey taste of wild rabbit - i use storebought rabbit).
• 4 cut up the onion and place into a pot with the olive oil. saute the onion slightly.
• 5 add the rabbit a few pieces at a time to brown (careful not to crowd the pot - you want to brown them, not cook them at this point).
• 6 once all pieces are browned, add the rabbit marinade into the pot as well and enough water to cover the rabbit.
• 7 bring to a boil, reduce to medium-high heat, cover (leave lid slightly off) and let the rabbit cook for approximately 2 hours, or until tender. check for salt, pepper, garlic (i add lots because we love it!), little more paprika for colour - all to your taste. don't let the liquid boil right off - it should end up cooking down to a "gravy". you may need to periodically add some water, but careful you don't add too much too late in the cooking - you don't want it to be swimming in liquid towards the end.
• 8 once rabbit is cooked, add the rice right to the pot (with the rabbit still in or remove and keep warm), add some additional water/salt/pepper if needed, and cook the rice right in the broth.
• 9 serve the rabbit over the rice. enjoy!