little bunny, big money

[kindkit]

My plan to boil a bunny on Christmas (okay, okay, to braise a rabbit for Christmas dinner) has been thwarted. There is apparently only one shop in town that sells rabbit, and it charges $11 a pound. That's about $30 or even more for a single rabbit. I couldn't afford that even if I was willing to pay as much for a damn rabbit as I would for a decent piece of beef.

So now I need to rethink Christmas dinner. I still want something simple, easy to cook, and not too expensive, but also special. Anybody got any ideas? I'm still very much leaning towards a stew or soup, because even though, say, a roast is simple, it requires lots of other dishes to go with it, whereas a hearty soup or stew is a meal in itself.

Comments

[skywaterblue]

Duck, but I worry that'll be too pricey based on the rabbit quote. Most American chain stores only carry it in whole duck form, but a good Whole Foods or local gourmet equivalent/good butcher should be able to get you breasts/legs to keep the cost down.

You also want to try here: http://www.localharvest.org/store/meats.jsp?srt=2&q=rabbit

The little game hens are cheap and fun, presentation wise. And unlike duck, they basically roast up like little chickens.

There's also squab, but might be harder to find (unless you have a local halal butcher.)

[kindkit]

I'm much more willing to pay $20-$25 for a duck than $30 for a rabbit, but I've had duck for several recent Christmases and would like a change, and also a whole duck involves a lot of work. And I would end up buying a whole one, because you can buy a whole one for the price of a couple of duck breasts.

I think I've pretty much decided to buy a good quality chicken and make waterzooi, which is a Dutch chicken stew with cream. I just really, really am not in the mood to cook anything complicated. The Christmas season is the busiest time of year at my job, and I'm tired.

[skywaterblue]

I feel this, so it sounds like a good plan to me.