Ingredients
Preparation
- 1 whole rabbit (sans head)
- Olive oil
- 3-4 strips of bacon
- 2 tspns ground sage
- 2 tspns ground thyme
- 2 tspns salt
- 2 tspns black pepper
- 1 tspn paprika
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1/8 cup table salt or 1/4 cup kosher/sea salt
- Wood chips
Preparation
- Boil a small amount of water with salt in it. Then add enough more water to cover rabbit and soak rabbit for a 1-3 hours. If brining longer put in sealable bag or container and refrigerate. You can also use this time to defrost a frozen rabbit as it brines.
- Rinse rabbit and pat dry.
- Begin soaking wood chips.
- Break the back/ribs to lay the rabbit out flat on a cookie sheet or roasting pan.
- Puncture rabbit all over the meaty areas with a skewer or some other sharp object to allow the juices and seasonings to penetrate the thin membrane on the outside.
- Pour olive oil on both sides of the rabbit and rub it in.
- Mix together in an old spice jar the sage, thyme, paprika, salt and pepper and then sprinkle over rabbit on both sides patting it onto the flesh.
- Finely chop fresh rosemary and sprinkle over both sides of the rabbit.
- Place pieces of raw bacon all over the back and meaty portions of the rabbit to prevent drying it out (and so that you can have bacon with your rabbit : ).
- Place wood chips on the grill directly over burners either in a smoke box or wrapped in tin foil with holes punched in the top and turn the grill on high on one side under the wood chips.
- When the grill is hot and the chips are smoking place the rabbit (still on the cookie sheet/roasting pan) on the grill on the side with the burners off (i.e. cook with indirect heat).
- Keep the grill between 240 and 300 degrees and rotate the pan as necessary for even cooking. (Note: the hind legs will need more cooking than any other part because of the thickness, so start with them closest to the heat source).
- Timing varies. Probably 2-4 hours depending on temperature consistency, but after an hour or so check the temp. When you get to 155-160 degrees throughout you can turn the grill off.
- Let the meat sit as the grill cools a bit and you prepare sides, etc. so that it can rest for 10 minuts or so.
- Cut the rabbit up, serve and enjoy.
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