Serves:  4

Time:    2 ½ hours

1-2 large rabbits, skinned (about 4 lbs. total)

6 c. chicken stock

1 small onion, sliced ½” thick

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 Tbsp. roasted garlic

2 sprigs fresh parsley

1 bay leaf

½ tsp. white peppercorns

Olive oil

½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Break down each rabbit by separating into seven pieces: front and back legs, skirt flaps, rib cage and saddle or loin section (watch a video demonstration here). Trim off all silver skin. Lightly salt and pepper meat on all sides.  Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add enough olive oil to coat the pan, and add the skirt meat and rib sections, browning well on all sides. Add 1 c. of stock to the pan and scrape up the brown bits (fond), then pour everything into a bowl and set aside. Clean the pan with a paper towel, re-heat, coat again with oil and brown the legs and saddle on all sides. Return the previously browned meat and liquid to the pan and stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 ½ - 2 hours, turning occasionally, until meat falls off the bone. Remove meat from pan, strain and reserve the pan sauce, and cool meat just until it can be handled comfortably. Remove meat from the bones and pull it into shreds. While meat cools, put the reserved sauce in a small pan over medium heat and simmer until reduced to 1 ¼ cups. Moisten shredded meat with up to ¼ c. of the pan juices, cover and keep warm. If serving as a roast, make remaining pan sauce into a gravy and serve over the meat.