Recipe: Roasted Rabbit with Sage Stuffing

January is a great time to put those small-game recipes to the test. If you've got some rabbit meat in the freezer, this recipe from the NRA Members' Wild Game Cookbook, Second Edition could be just what you're looking for. Give it a try, and let us know how it tasted in the comments section below!

Ingredients
• 1 (5 pound) dressed rabbit
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 6 slices bacon, cut in half

Sage Stuffing
• 6 cups bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 cups onion, finely diced
• 1 cup celery, leaves and stalk, finely diced
• 3/4 tablespoons sage
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 cup melted butter or margarine

Mix bread crumbs, onion, celery and seasoning. Add melted butter or margarine slowly, tossing mixture lightly with a fork.

Wash rabbit in lukewarm water, drain and dry. Remove one third of fat from inside rabbit. Sprinkle inside rabbit with one teaspoon salt and stuff with sage stuffing. Skewer vent by inserting several toothpicks through skin from side to side. Lace with string, tying end securely. Fasten both fore and hind legs with toothpicks and string. Make several small slits in the less fatty parts of the rabbit and insert small pieces of bacon. Sprinkle outside with one half teaspoon salt and one fourth teaspoon pepper. Place on side on a greased rack in a shallow baking pan and roast at 375 degrees for 25 minutes per pound. Turn rabbit when it is half done.

Originally Submitted By:
David F. Lucas
Smithfield, RI