BBQ Bunny Sandwiches

 

One thing that I have noticed is that Greeks eat a lot of Rabbit. They eat it broiled, baked, in stew, and fried. I had it twice since I have been here and both times it was prepared in the oven. I can say that it tastes a little like chicken, but not totally. There are many small bones, but the meat is plenty. Plus, Rabbit is healthy. It is low in fat and if raised by a typical Greek, they have not been fed chemicals or processed foods.

Our generous landlord, (from now on I am just going to call him Mr.Vagalis) gave us a rabbit that he raised and slaughtered on his farm near Kalathas. I didn’t want to prepare it the same way that I had eaten it before. So, I decided to make the bunny with a twist and make it into BBQ Bunny Sandwiches.

 

Here are the instructions to prepare your own BBQ Bunny…

 

In a pot, add 2 tablespoons of sea salt, peppercorns, 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, and the whole rabbit. Boil for 4 to 5 hours until meat falls from the bone. I do this step the night before and let it cool in the refrigerator before starting the next step. Store the entire rabbit and it’s broth.

The next morning, separate the rabbit from the broth. Straining the rabbit and broth is a good idea. Save the broth. You will need it later

 

Separate the meat from the bones. This may take a little while. The bones are small, so take your time. Above are the leftover bones from the rabbit I boiled. The bones went to my dog and 6 cats. They LOVE rabbit more than any other food.

 

Next, you want to put 1/2 to 3/4 cup of olive oil in a pot. Heat the oil and sauté one large onion, garlic clove, and chili pepper.

 

After the onions, garlic, and pepper are cooked, add the rabbit meat. Sear the meat in the oil a bit before going to the next step.

 

Now add 10 to 12 ladles full of the broth which the rabbit was boiled. Just enough to cover the meat.

To the meat and broth add the following:

• 250 grams of tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of ground clove
• 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• a few threads of saffron
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 2 tablespoons of worchestshire sauce
• 1/2 cup of red wine
• ground cayenne pepper or some other hot pepper to your own taste

Do not add any salt. The broth has salt in it and it is best to taste the BBQ Bunny after it is done cooking to see if it needs more salt.

Boil the bunny and the above ingredients for 4 or more hours with the lid off the pot.

After some time, this is what you get! Shredded BBQ Bunny for sandwiches. We have ours with green peppers, tomato, cheese, and lettuce on a big soft hamburger bun. You just have to find a crazy man, like I did, to eat it!

Can you believe he ate three of these sandwiches? Oh, make that 3 1/2!