This German rabbit stew is creamy, yet still bright and delicious. It is a perfect way to turn rabbit into a satisfying meal.
I have been wanting to make some version of rabbit stew for a while now. When my dad and brothers began raising rabbits for meat, I instantly started teasing them about rabbit stew.
We enjoyed the rabbit meat a variety of ways, but never quite made it to the stew. Originally, I had the idea to make hasenpfeffer a word I likely only knew from its use in Bugs Bunny cartoons.
As I was researching recipes, I found a recipe for hasenpfeffer in one of my great-grandma McCallum’s cookbooks that caught my eye. The ingredients were very different than any other recipe I had seen.
Research confirmed that it is not actually hasenpfeffer, which is fine because I have access to domestic rabbit, not wild hare anyway. However, it is still at least based on a traditional German rabbit stew and that was good enough for me!
I mostly stuck to the recipe, however I did make a few changes. I added some chopped celery to the mix because I had it and it seemed like a fitting addition.
I also used fresh mushrooms rather than canned. Feel free to use either.
The original recipe gave the option of using either water or vinegar for the braising. I chose to use mostly water and some vinegar because that suits our preferences.
If you are more accustomed to the sour flavors, feel free to adjust the ratio to include more vinegar if you want. White wine would also be a lovely braising liquid if you have it.
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Substituting Other Proteins
If you don’t have access to rabbit, don’t despair. Domestic rabbit tastes a lot like chicken. So, you could substitute in chicken, turkey, or even quail. Boneless chicken thighs would be an excellent choice.
How To Serve Rabbit Stew
You can make most of the stew ahead of time, if you want to. Once you add the cream, however, you will want to be gentle with heating or reheating it.
A bowl of rabbit stew and a hunk of crusty bread or some fresh rolls to lap up the extra broth is perfect.
It is also wonderful served over mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta. You could also use potato dumplings if you want.
I would have loved to serve it over some spaetzle, but didn’t have any and didn’t want to run to the store. One of these days I will try my hand at making them!
Anyway, we all thought this stew turned out lovely. I hope you have a chance to give it a try.
German Rabbit Stew
Ingredients
- 3 pound rabbit cleaned & deboned
- 3 slices bacon
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- 2 stalks celery
- 8 ounces mushrooms
- 1 bay leaf
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon mustard seeds
- 1 cup water
- 2 Tablespoons vinegar
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Cut the deboned 3 pound rabbit into bite sized pieces.
- Chop the 3 slices bacon, 2 carrots, 1 onion, and 2 stalks celery. Slice the 8 ounces mushrooms and mince the 1 clove garlic.
- In a soup pot or braiser (minimum 3.5 quarts in size), melt the 2 Tablespoons butter over medium heat.
- Add the bacon, carrots, onion, and celery. Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions start to become translucent.
- Add the mushrooms, garlic, 1 bay leaf, ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, and 1 Tablespoon mustard seeds. Cook for a few minutes more, stirring occasionally.
- Add the rabbit. Turn the heat up to medium high and allow to brown some.
- Stir in the 1 cup water and 2 Tablespoons vinegar. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for about an hour.
- Before serving, reduce heat to low and remove the bay leaf. Stir in 1 cup heavy cream. You can serve immediately or hold over low heat for a while.
- Serve hot with spaetzle, pasta, potatoes, rice, or rolls.
Notes
Video
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Oh, and a big YES to the potato dumplings!
I know, I wish I would have made some to go with it. Next time!
I’ve only had rabbit once, but when my neighbor was feeding animals and I was over run, I threatened her with hasenpfeffer!! I grew up in a hunting family but knew I could never pull it off irl. I had it served in a stew and remember it was delicious! I’m sure the bit of vinegar helps take away any potential gamey flavor.
Btw, when I was taking classes at the U of M, my term paper for global food systems was “How Thumper Can Save the World.” Rabbit is extremely earth friendly (just not in my gardens) using very few resources to reach maturity. Yeah, we had to figure all this out. The only small animal that did better was guinea pig.
Mollie
Rabbit is really tasty and can be used in a lot of the same ways as chicken. It’s a shame they are so cute, otherwise more people might eat them! The wild rabbits wreak havoc in our garden too, so that helps us to be a little less affected by their fluffy and innocent appearance. 😉