100 Ways to Cook a Rabbit – Recipe No. 26

First you need to get yourself a wild rabbit. The only way I know of is to go for the hunt. The mountains around Tartous are filled with, among other creatures, wild rabbits and hares. We usually hunt them at night, preferably moonless nights. Four to five people go for the ride on the back dirt roads in a 4-wheel drive pickup truck. There will be the driver and a passenger to keep him company (so that the driver doesn’t fall asleep). The other two or three will ride in the back. The light bearer illuminates the sides of the roads with precise sweeping motions to detect and point to the game. The other(s) handle the shotgun(s) and the shooting.

On a good summer night, a dozen or so rabbits could be bagged before daybreak. However, good hunters will always kill just enough to eat and not more.

Be that as it may, here goes the 26th method of cooking a wild rabbit. It’s called “Lapin à l’Abufares avec Burghul”, after a great Tartoussi Chef by that name. (Please close your lips together in a kissing manner when you pronounce l’Abufares to sound French)

4 to 6 Servings (usually the same people mentioned above)

-Shoot the rabbit, skin it, clean it and bring it home. (Please don’t bring in the head! Coyotes need something to munch on)
-Freeze the beast for at least 24 hours. (It’s normal procedures to freeze wild game, with the exception of small birds, before cooking and eating. At least that’s the practice here)
-Take out of freezer; let it thaw at room temperature until tender.
-Marinate the rabbit in one bottle of red wine for 4-6 hours with salt and all kinds of spices (black pepper, red pepper, white pepper, paprika, cinnamon, and a dash of cardamon) and place it in the fridge.
-Remove from wine, cut into 6 to 8 pieces and fry for 10 minutes in plenty of butter with onions and garlic.
-Place in a pot and add the wine then water as needed. Simmer, bring to a boil then cover for 1 hour over low heat, stirring occasionally. I add Tabasco at this stage, but it’s entirely up to you.
-Add potatoes cut into pieces the size of golf balls, cover again and continue boiling over low heat for an additional 30-45 minutes.
-Prepare a plate of coarse Burghul (cracked wheat: which is prepared exactly as a plate of rice with the same kind of spices and seasoning), or instead of burghul, prepare a plate of rice as per your own recipe.
I personally use many types of seasoning for burghul and rice. Use your imagination. As a suggestion, I would add salt, black pepper, cinnamon and paprika.
-When the burghul or rice is ready to be served, place it in a separate dish and pour some virgin olive oil over it (burghul only).
-The two dishes are presented together and each serving consists of a plate of rabbit with burghul or rice on the side.
Sit down enjoy your Lapin à l’Abufares with your favorite wine or a glass of Arak.

Please if you have another recipe for rabbit, let me hear it. If you try my recipe, let me know how it comes out. Pictures will be greatly appreciated. As you can see from the attached picture I was so hungry I started eating before I had the good sense to bring out my camera. So do excuse me because the plates don’t look exactly as coming out of a gourmet magazine.