BBQ – Simon’s fire and smoke

Rabbit is a meat that’s so underestimated and not used enough.

It’s delicious, tender and a perfect alternative to chicken, we need to eat more rabbit as it’s a totally sustainable product.

This is my version of a typical farmers rabbit dish, please try as it’s delicious.

This was cooked on my kamado but can be cooked on any BBQ.

Rabbit Ingredients

• 1 x 2kg rabbit, preferably wild, jointed (cut into serving pieces)

• A handful of fresh thyme and rosemary, leaves picked

• 4 garlic cloves, peeled

• Olive oil

• Zest and juice of 1 lemon

• 1 teaspoon honey

• 2 sprigs of thyme

• 4 thick slices of pancetta

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bean stew Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 150g sliced pancetta or streaky bacon

• 4 celery sticks, roughly diced

• 4 medium carrots, roughly diced

• 2 large onions chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

• 100ml white wine

• 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes

• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

• About 700ml vegetable stock, hot

• 410g can borlotti beans, drained and rinsed

• 410g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

• Small handful fresh oregano or fresh thyme, leaves picked and chopped, plus extra whole leaves to garnish

Method

Let’s start with the beans.

1• Heat the oil in a large casserole or saucepan over a medium heat. Add pancetta cook until crispy add the onion, celery and carrots, cook, stirring, for 7-8 minutes until soft, then stir in the garlic and wine. Let the wine cook out and reduce for a few minutes.

2• Tip in the tomatoes and lemon zest and season well. Add the stock, bring to the boil, then simmer fairly rapidly for 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally or until the vegetables are just tender and the liquid has reduced and thickened.

3• Stir in the beans (add a dash of hot water, if necessary) and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the oregano or thyme and the lemon juice. It’s worth re-checking the seasoning now.

4• Set to one side and keep warm

Now for the rabbit.

1. Put your rabbit pieces into a bowl. Using a pestle and mortar, or a liquidizer, bash or whiz up the thyme and rosemary leaves to a pulp, then add the garlic cloves and bash or whiz again.

2. Stir in 8 tablespoons of olive oil, the lemon zest and juice and the honey, whiz or stir and pour this over the rabbit. Let marinate for 2 hours in the fridge. One hour before cooking take out and let it come to room temperature while you light your barbecue.

3. Get a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme and tie them together like a little brush. Each time you turn the meat, dab it with a little of the marinade to give you a lovely encrusted layer of flavour.

4. Keeping the marinade to one side, remove the pieces of meat and season with salt and pepper. Sandwich 2 slices of pancetta between the 2 pieces of belly using 3 skewers. Put the legs and shoulder on the barbecue when they’ve been cooking for 10 minutes, put the belly on. After another 10 minutes put the saddle and ribs onMake sure you turn the meat over every so often. Look after it by controlling the temperature and basting it continuously with the marinade. Cut three-quarters of the way through each kidney and open them out like a book. Cut the liver into 4 pieces and push one piece on to each remaining skewer, followed by a kidney and more liver.