It’s snowing, a bitter wind is blowing…it just seems like cold weather and hearty soups are made to go together. And what’s better than a delicious, warming stew (made with in-season root veggies) that you can make in your slow cooker? Just toss in all the ingredients and leave it to work its magic! This recipe could easily be made with another protein, like chicken, but I think it’s one of the tastiest ways to prepare rabbit.
Vegan friends, look away. We recently harvested a group of bucks and while we’re grateful to have pastured meat in our freezer, we would have preferred to rehome these gorgeous boys; sadly, breeding bucks are much like roosters – most people only want one or two, at most. The bucks provided us with lean, easily-digestible protein that we’ll be enjoying throughout the frigid winter months.
While I previously posted about making rabbit curry, I struggled with the discovery that the pre-made Japanese curry sauce (S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix) I traditionally used contains palm oil. For several reasons, I won’t support the palm oil industry, so that left me with one option: make it myself. So I did.
I like a spicy curry, so that was an important consideration in choosing a curry powder. I use curry powder in other dishes, so it really needed to be a high quality curry powder with no additives. I found it on Amazon: Rani Hot Curry Powder. It contains coriander, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, ginger, black pepper, mustard, curry leaves, chili, fennel, and garlic…and that’s all. I bought the 1 pound container and thought it was very reasonably priced compared to the smaller shakers of curry powder I had been purchasing at the grocery store, too (and some of those contain MSG).
Slow Cooker Rabbit Curry
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 pounds cooked rabbit meat*, chopped into roughly 1″ cubes
- 3/4 cup (6 Tbsp) butter
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 Tbsp curry powder
- 4 Tbsp diced tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 medium carrots, chopped into 1″ pieces
- 2 medium potatoes, chopped into 1″ pieces
- 1/2 large rutabaga, peeled and chopped into 1″ pieces (other root vegetables, like turnips, kohlrabi, parsnips, etc. would also work well)
- 1/2 cup applesauce (or a medium-sized chopped apple)
- 2 tsp honey
- 2 Tbsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Place all ingredients into the slow cooker crock, except the flour and water.
- In small bowl, pour very hot water over the flour and whisk briskly until the ingredients are well combined.
- Carefully pour the liquid (the bowl may be hot) into the crock and stir everything together.
- Cook on high, stirring occasionally, for at least 4 hours (or on low for 6+).
- Serve over rice for an amazing comfort food meal!
Adapted from this Genius Kitchen recipe
Butter *does* make everything better!*Cooking the rabbit: I cook a whole rabbit for about 6 hours on low in the slow cooker the day before I plan to make this recipe. Once cooked, I debone it (very easy) and refrigerate the meat (it’s easier to chop into cubes when it’s cold). The bones go right into a smaller crockpot, along with some garlic powder and kombucha tea vinegar, to make bone broth.
Clean eating really is worth the effort. While this recipe may involve a few more steps than just breaking up sauce bricks and stirring them into the soup, it’s my new go-to curry recipe – and it’s even better than pre-made sauce!