Rabbit and Vegetable Soup

Tonight's been one heck of an evening… To say this was an easy meal to make is sugar-coating the reality of a situation. I really wanted to make a rabbit soup not because I want to eat cute bunnies, but because it's indicative of the food and game characters eat in a book like Eragon.
Yet those little bunny legs… They almost did me in. I've been sick since Saturday and I'll tell you trying to carve up this rabbit didn't do me justice. (I'm talking vomit-inducing butchery…)
I really wanted to treat this no different than a young chicken or cornish hen, but as soon as you open that package it's clear what's really there. It's a damn rabbit with it's head cut off - yep I'll break it clearly.
I managed to split the breast bone open, and lay it down spatchcock style on a roasting pan, and that's when I knew I could go no further in butchering the rest of the rabbit. So I just carried on and baked it whole…

The one thing I'll impart before I give ya'll the recipe is this, yes it tastes like chicken. Venture forth and debate if you want rabbit too, if not sub it out for some chicken. Otherwise carry on!

Rabbit and Vegetable Soup

• Rabbit (3 Pounds)
• Cooked Bacon (4 Slices, Cut In 1/8ths)
• Potatoes (2, Thinly Cubed)
• Carrots (2, Finely Sliced)
• Parsnip (1, Finely Chopped)
• Onion (Minced)
• Garlic Clove (1, Minced)
• Cabbage (1 Cup, Shredded)
• Rosemary (2 Stems)
• Thyme (1 Stem)
• Bay Leaves (4 Whole)
• Salt (To Taste)
• Pepper (To Taste)
• Water (5 Cups)
• Olive Oil (2 Tablespoons)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.
• After cleaning out the Rabbit, remove the front two legs, and place in a small pot with 2 Cups of Water.
• Take the Rosemary, Thyme, and Bay Leaves and place into the pot with the Rabbit Legs. Bring this to a slow boil, and reduce to a simmer. (This is your Rabbit Broth)
• Carefully cut open the breast bone of the Rabbit (spatchcock style) and lay out flat on a baking sheet. Brush the skin lightly with Olive Oil, and season with the Salt and Pepper. 
• Place the Rabbit in the oven, and bake for 90 minutes, basting with the Rabbit Broth every 20 minutes until finished. 
• Meanwhile in a large pot, place together the remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil.
• Remove the Rabbit from the oven, let cool, and add the meat into the soup.
• Plate and Enjoy!

I luckily always plate one bowl before my fiancé touches the cooking, and its a good thing too because this is what we had to throw out after he tampered with the cooking! Needless to say it was a huge waste… The best thing was the bowl above! It tasted like a chicken soup, and I can say I'm glad I ventured out and tried to cook this rabbit, but for what it's worth - I think I'll be stickin' with chicken. If any of you are curious as to the Mr. Nadeau Fiasco, well just read a little further… 

I took this picture of Ricky, after he hastily grabbed a spoon to cover up what ruined this soup… Needless to say don't leave twigs of thyme and rosemary lying around. He tried using those as if they were coffee stirrers to move around the rabbit I put into the soup. The rest of the soup ended up being a darn rosemary factory, and became inedible even after a few attempts to offset the aromatic flavor. One 90 minute, vomit inducing preparation became one awesome snack for a hungry trashcan… Oh well! (The things we do…) 

I'm off to bed, and maybe a little bit of a snack… After all we had one bowl for two… 

Have a great night everyone, and I'd recommend chicken over rabbit any day of the week… Props to those who actually do hunt and kill their own though, and props to Eragon and any other fantasy book character that does as well!