Slow Cooked Chilli & Mango Rabbit 🌶

Wild Rabbit (well you’re hardly likely to use a pet rabbit!) is a great source of low fat, affordable protein but it is notoriously difficult to cook. Cook it to quick and you’ll just get tough meat… Cook it too long on a direct heat source and it’ll just get dry…

🌶 So here’s what you’re going to need…

• Rabbit Haunches (back legs) or Saddles
• 500ml of medium / sweet cider (or apple juice if you prefer not to use alcohol)
• Sweet Chilli Sauce
• Mango Chutney
• Handfull of fresh Coriander
• Salt & Pepper

Method

Preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 140-150 degrees Celsius (about 300 F)
2. Prep the rabbit – removing as much sinew as you can
3. Season the rabbit portions with plenty of salt and pepper
4. Mix equal quantities of mango chutney and sweet chilli sauce
5. Chop the coriander and add it to the Sweet Chilli / Mango mix

Cooking

Whilst you can finish the rabbit outdoors over the fire, you really do need to slow roast it first if you want tender, moist meat.

1. Place the seasoned rabbit portions in an oven proof dish – and add the cider. Cover with foil and place in the middle of your oven.
2. Find something else to do for an hour or so, then check the rabbit, turning the pieces
3. Repeat step 2 until the rabbit has been in the oven for 2.5-3 hours – you’ll know it’s right when the meat starts to fall off the bones!
4. Drain the cider from the dish and then pour over the Sweet Chilli / Mango / Coriander mix and toss the rabbit portions to make sure they’re covered



5. Take your rabbit portions to the fire with a cold beer – and place the portions over hot coals or wood and sear both sides – this gives the rabbit a final bit of colour and makes the sauce extra sweet and sticky.
6. Remove the rabbit portions from the flames and allow to cool a little – that sweet chilli / mango sauce can be a bit like lava when straight off the grill!

and that is it – pick it up – Eat… and Enjoy!

Thanks for reading – please tell us how you get on if you try this!