Rabbit Pie

One of my favorite dishes using rabbit or squirrel is to make a meat pie. It is very simple, very cheap, and very nutritious. Here is how to make it.

 

Using a crock pot (slow cooker), quarter one large rabbit or two squirrels, place the parts in the crock pot, and cover with water. Add a couple shakes of salt and either celery salt or chopped fresh celery. Cook for 2-3 hours until the meat is tender.

You will need about a quart of what we here in PA Dutch country call, "Filling".  You might call it "Dressing" or "Stuffing". I prefer to use homemade Potato Filling, a specialty in the PA Dutch area, but one of the box stuffings like StoveTop would work. The last rabbit pie I made I used a 75 cent box of no-name bread stuffing from one of those stores that sells recently out of date food items. It was fine.

You will also want some poultry gravy to pour over your serving.

I save leftover vegetables from meals in multiple plastic freezer containers and use them for soups, stews, and dishes like this. But you can use canned or frozen mixed vegetables. I like to use diced onions, carrots, peas, green beans, corn, and potatoes.

Pull all the meat off the bones and dice into small pieces. Throw all the diced meat and vegetables into a frying pan, season to taste, (I usually use a mix of Italian seasoning), and mix well while heating.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Using your own homemade or frozen pie crust, place one crust in the bottom of a deep bottom pie dish (I always use a glass pie dish). Dump in the now hot mixture of vegetables and meat. Press it down into the pie dish so that it is even across the dish. Add a layer of filling/dressing/stuffing to slightly above the top of the pie dish. Cover this with a second pie crust, any excess can hang below the edge.

Bake your game pie for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees. The crusts should be brown and crispy/flaky. Since the filling mixture was hot when you put them in the pie dish, you are really only cooking the crusts. The internal mixture blends its flavors while the crust bakes.

Scoop or cut out servings onto a plate or bowl, add gravy if you like, and salt/pepper to taste.

Serve with some good crusty bread and you have a great, inexpensive meal. This will serve six people and cost about $3.00 in total.