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Do you remember the classic tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter? If you do, you probably remember Mr. McGregor too. He was always chasing Peter and his friends and trying to bake them into pies.
Well, I think Mr. McGregor was on to something! I’ve made this pot pie recipe several times with chicken, and recently decided to give it a try with rabbit meat. And it was SO GOOD.
Getting Used to Eating Rabbit Meat
Raising and butchering your own meat can be a big adjustment. Ryan and I are city kids, so we’ve been learning as we go. The biggest hurdle (aside from the butchering) was actually being able to enjoy eating the rabbit meat. When you’re going through the trouble of raising and caring for a meat animal, you have to also enjoy eating it. Or else, why do it? I personally appreciate my food a lot more when I grow and raise it myself.It definitely gets better with time and practice. We’ve found that it’s easiest for us to eat rabbit when it’s shredded and hidden in something, like enchiladas or this awesome rabbit pot pie!
Cooking Rabbit Meat
You’ll need to cook and shred the rabbit meat before adding it to your pie. I like to cook up a whole rabbit in the crock pot. If you’re using a frozen rabbit, let the meat thaw in the fridge for a couple of days. Once it’s thawed, put it in the crockpot with about 2 cups of water and some mild seasoning. I like to use a tablespoon of my Homemade Seasoned Salt and some garlic cloves. Then I let it cook on low for 5 -7 hours, depending on the size of the rabbit. The meat should be very tender and fall off the bone when it’s done. |
Once the meat is done cooking, I use tongs to transfer the pieces into a new dish to shred it. It looks just like chicken when it’s done!
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You can either cook and shred your rabbit the day you make your pie, or you can do this part in advance. If you choose to cook it in advance, just store the meat in the fridge or freezer until you’re ready to use it.
Now that you’ve prepared your rabbit meat, you’re ready to make your rabbit pot pie!
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Rabbit Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 1 box refrigerated Pie Crusts (2 count), softened as directed on box. Or if you’re feeling awesome, you can make your own pie crust!
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 3/4 cup chicken broth or bone broth
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 1/2 cups shredded cooked rabbit (or chicken, or turkey)
- 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (peas and carrots work great!)
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Directions
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Press one pie crust into the bottom of a 9.5 inch pan. You can use a 9 inch pan, but your chances of overflow are much greater. Set 2nd pie crust aside.
2. In 2 quart saucepan, melt
butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes, stirring
frequently, until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended.
Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until thick and
bubbly.
3. Stir in shredded rabbit
and mixed veggies. Remove from heat.
4. Spoon or carefully pour
mixture into crust-lined pan.
5. Top with second
crust. Pinch the edges together to seal them. I like to press them with a
fork as well. Cut slits in the top crust.
6. Bake 35 minutes or
until crust is golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- You can use canned chicken broth, or use your own homemade bone broth. Using bone broth provides added nutrition, and tastes better in my opinion.
- For the veggies, you can use whatever you prefer. I find it nice and easy to use a frozen package of peas and carrots, but I think fresh carrots, beats, or turnips from the garden would taste great!
- If you just can’t stomach the thought of eating rabbit, you can substitute the rabbit meat for chicken or turkey. It’s still delicious.
- Using pre-packaged pie crusts makes this recipe quicker and easier, but if you want to make them you can use this easy recipe from Martha Stewart.
If you end up giving this rabbit pot pie recipe a try, I’d love to know what you think! Leave me a comment and let me know.
I adapted this recipe from Pillsbury.
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