Latest find at Bidwell Farmers Market: rabbit
Bonnie George says she understands that her frozen rabbits for sale at the Elmwood-Bidwell Farmers’ Market may not catch on right away.
“A lot of people are put off [by it],” she said Saturday at her Painted Meadows Farm stand at the market. “It’s gonna take a little time.”
The reaction to the stand’s wares is mixed at best. Some customers, influenced no doubt by Easter Bunny and his friends, walk by — quickly. George, however, said that her sales are increasing every week.
She raises the rabbits herself in Franklinville, without antibiotics or hormones, in hutches well off the ground. Then she has them slaughtered at an inspected facility in Hunt. (Later she’ll also be selling her own ducks and farm-raised turkeys.)
And there is interest in rabbits at the market, no doubt.
“We ate curried rabbit last week, and it was good,” said customer Melissa Neal of Buffalo. “We even had some left over for rabbit salad.”
Stephanie Pincus of Buffalo wasn’t quite so positive, though. “I haven’t had it in years,” she said. “It’s hearty food, but it’s kind of bony.”
But a lot of people have also eaten the meat in Europe, where it’s very popular. Saturday, for instance, one customer happily recalled enjoying rabbit with currant sauce when he was in Germany.
Of course, here in the United States, rabbit sales are barely a blip. According to the USDA, Americans ate .02 pounds per capita of rabbit in the year 2000. But with the current food shortages, that figure may change.
And, while eating rabbits may involve a significant learning curve for Americans who have been weaned on Beatrix Potter or enthralled by Bugs Bunny, George said she was turned on to the food herself after her husband, Donald, had a heart attack and the doctor recommended it.
Rabbit, she said, is lower in its percentage of fat than chicken, turkey, beef and pork. It’s low in unsaturated fatty acids and cholesterol, too. And it’s a good source of protein and minerals. Rabbit is all white meat, provides 795 calories per pound, compared to chicken’s 810, veal’s 840, turkey’s 1,190, and beef’s 1,440.
George pointed out ecological advantages, as well. Rabbits will produce six pounds of meat on the same amount of feed and water that a cow uses to produce one pound, she says. They reproduce quickly — no surprise there — and much less land is involved in their production.
And after the doctor’s recommendation, adjustment came fast, said George.
“It’s all in your head. Do you think anything of eating cow or pork? Just clear those thoughts out.”
George sells her 2-to 3-pound rabbits for $21; The 3-to 4-pounders are $22. Large rabbits are halved and sell for $15. The animals are sold dressed, but not disjointed. Customers must cut them up themselves, but George said it’s easy.
How do you cook rabbits? The better question might be “How not?”
“Not only does domesticated rabbit ‘taste like chicken,’ it’s difficult to taste the difference,” writes well-known chef Mark Bittman in his classic “How To Cook Everything.”
“Rabbit has finer, drier meat and a different bone structure, but the distinctions pretty much end there. So if you buy rabbit parts, treat them exactly as you would chicken, taking care not to overcook.”
George provides plenty of recipes at the Bidwell Market, but there’s a problem for those who don’t live nearby — it’s not easy to find rabbit meat in Western New York.
Donald Will of Will’s Poultry said his company once carried it, but now it’s difficult for him to get it since much of the meat came from China and is no longer imported because of government restrictions.
Tops and Wegmans carry rabbit meat in some stores. Wegmans’ comes from D’Artagnan Inc. of Newark, N. J. It can also be ordered if the store doesn’t stock it. A spokesman said most people buy it for use in ethnic recipes. But some of the recipes are really simple, like this one:
Chef’s Rabbit
1 rabbit (2 to 3 pounds)
Salt and pepper
flour
6 bacon slices, cut into large squares
1 onion, finely chopped
8 extra large mushroom, whole or quartered
6 ounces beef stock
1 cup sour cream
Disjoint rabbit. Season meat with salt and white pepper and dredge with flour. In hot skillet, cook bacon pieces about half way. Add rabbit and brown on all sides. Add onions and saute with the meat. Add mushrooms. Pour beef stock over all and place in preheated oven at 450 degrees for 30 minutes or until meat is done.
Remove meat from pan. Whip sour cream into remaining pan juices and pour over meat. Makes 2 servings.
