Skillet Rabbit with Onion Gravy
Small game browned in flour and finished in its own pan gravy. A camp skillet dinner for the day you actually got one.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 69
- protein
- 45 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 40 min
- total time
- 60 min
- water
- 400 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Liquid fuel
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Day one only
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Rabbit, cleaned and cut into pieces | 1 whole | a young one; see step 1 for an old one |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp | the extra tablespoon is for the gravy |
| Cooking oil | 3 tbsp | |
| Onion | 1 large | sliced |
| Salt and pepper | to taste | |
| Water | 1 1/2 cups |
Method
- Check the animal first. A young rabbit goes straight in the pan. An old one is tough, so simmer it in salted water until a fork goes in easily, then drain and carry on.
- Get a skillet hot over the fire or stove. Add the oil and the sliced onion and cook until the onion goes soft and lightly colored. Push it to the edge of the pan.
- Roll the rabbit pieces in the flour, then salt and pepper them.
- Lay the pieces in the hot oil and brown both sides. Do not crowd the pan; work in two rounds if you have to.
- Lift the meat out onto a plate or a piece of foil. Sprinkle the last tablespoon of flour into the oil left behind and stir until it smells toasted and turns tan.
- Pour in about 400 ml of water, scraping the pan as you go. Return the rabbit and any onion, then hold it at a low simmer until the gravy thickens and coats a spoon, about 20 minutes.
- Taste for salt. It usually needs more than you think.
This is a fry-and-braise, not a fry. The flour dredge does two jobs: it browns on the meat, and what falls off thickens the pan liquid later. Rabbit is very lean, so straight frying dries it out. The twenty minutes in gravy at the end is what keeps it edible.
Age matters more than technique. A young rabbit is tender enough to go from raw to browned to gravy in one pass; an older one has worked its legs for years and needs a wet simmer first or nothing you do in the skillet will fix it. This is a day-one meal off the cooler or straight from the field, and it needs a real skillet, so it stays in camp rather than in a pack.
Packing
Rabbit rides in a zip bag on ice and gets cooked the first night out. Flour, salt, and pepper travel premixed in a small jar so you are not dredging out of three containers.
Variations
- No rabbit? The same flour-and-gravy method works on squirrel, pheasant, or a couple of chicken thighs.
- A splash of the boiling liquid from step 1 in place of plain water makes a heavier gravy.
- Serve over instant mashed potatoes made in a second pot to soak up the gravy.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/fried-rabbit