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Rabbit Revival
Rabbits, they say, are the new chicken. They’re small, fast growing, feed efficiently, and are lower in fat and higher in protein than any other meat, yet you don’t see them much on Vermont farms. Why is that? The few rabbits raised in Vermont are literally out of sight, as in raised indoors, tightly caged and strictly dieted. That method didn’t suit our style of farming, so when we started with rabbits we raised them in chicken tractors, moving them to fresh grass twice daily. (Pasturing rabbits increases the omega fats in their meat.) But even though they were outdoors and on pasture, we still weren’t satisfied.
As farmers we try to raise all of our animals being mindful of how they would live without us. Our birds, chickens, ducks, turkeys, and guinea hens can go wherever they like, and the pigs and lambs live in pastures between movable fences with movable shelters, enjoying organic grains and whatever they can root and forage. The cows and horses munch clover in huge leased fields, spacious enough that it takes an effort to lay our eyes on them some days. In the end the lifestyle shows; happy animals taste better.
The rabbits were our last confinement problem to solve. The tractors worked better than other methods but still lacked in freedom—and in containment, too, as we had our share of escapees. So what we finally did was make a well-fenced area with grass growing up through the fence to discourage tunneling out. And then we let them go. They now laze in the shade on hot days, hide in burrows, and take shelter under roofs and trees. We planted oregano and thyme (herbs good for their digestion) all over their field. And at dusk all the rabbits emerge from their secret places, and we watch them eat, play, and grow. When we pull a scrumptious, juicy rabbit pot pie out of the oven, we enjoy it even more, knowing how well our rabbits live and eat.
David Robb and Lila Bennett run Tangletown Farm in Middlesex. They sell poultry, pork, beef, and rabbit at the Montpelier and Waterbury farmers’ markets. They also offer CSA meat shares. Go to tangletownfarm.com
or call 802-229-4776.
Photo by Caroline Abels
Note: LB editor Caroline Abels interned at Tangletown this summer.
Rabbit Pot Pie
1 whole rabbit
carrots
peas
corn
onions
garlic
thyme, rosemary, and savory
1 cup flour
pie crust
Rabbit: Put the rabbit in a pot and add water just until the rabbit is covered. Cook at a slow boil or just below for about two hours, until the meat is tender and pulls easily from the bone. Save the stock for gravy and reduce it while preparing everything else. (Reduce it by simmering it until half the water is gone or the stock looks colorful and is tasty.) Let the rabbit cool, then peel the meat from the bones. Mix the meat with carrots, peas, corn, and any other of your favorite veggies and set it aside in the refrigerator.
Gravy: Mix 1 cup of flour with warm water until there are no lumps. Remove stock from heat and slowly add some of the flour mixture, whisking it in until it resembles gravy. Add salt. It probably won’t need the entire cup of flour.
Pie Crust: Ask Lila to make pie crust (or just follow Joy of Cooking’s Deluxe Butter Crust recipe, and add extra butter). When the bottom crust is done, add the rabbit and veggies, and smother them with rabbit gravy. Add the top crust and put it in an oven preheated to 300 °F for about half an hour, until browning starts on top. Even with an inconsistent, uneven wood cook stove we haven’t gone wrong so we’re sure it’ll be yummy.