Summer wouldn’t be summer without county fairs. The county fair is a time to reconnect with old friends, make new friends and enjoy that (not-so-healthy) fair food. It’s also a time for kids to learn life lessons.

I had the pleasure of judging the Fulton County Fair queen contest this year and teamed up with longtime friend Jerry Hicks, owner of AgriVest of Springfield, Ill. I used to write about Hicks and his kids winning rabbit shows (and often the junior grand champion meat trio at the Illinois State Fair). Hicks, long known as “Mr. Rabbit,” is still raising and judging rabbits, even though his kids are long past the showing age. He’s currently feeding 300 rabbits a day, something he calls a 4-H project gone crazy.

Like the queen contest, livestock shows at county fairs are learning experiences in many areas. One of the lessons that came with raising rabbits was harvesting them. And yes, the Hicks family eats rabbit on occasion.

“We had paella in Spain with rabbit, and at home, my wife has made it in the slow cooker with onions, vegetables and potatoes — and a chicken bouillon cube,” Hicks says with a laugh. “It’s really tasty. The kids didn’t know until later. We ate our 4-H steers, too — always the ones that didn’t make the grade. It’s part of the learning experience. Our rule was they could only name one, their favorite. The others we didn’t name, so they weren’t so attached to them.”

His mom also served rabbit occasionally, using a cooking bag with cooking wine and seasonings. “It came out so tender, it fell apart,” Hicks says. “It’s all white meat from tame rabbits; wild rabbits are all dark meat.”

It’s not all that hard to find commercial rabbit meat. In the Springfield area, you can buy it at County Market, Magro’s Meat and Produce, Humphrey’s Market and in the Amish areas around Arthur. More could be sold, but Hicks says there is a shortage of state-inspected plants.

Rabbit start
Like many families, Hicks got started in the rabbit industry through a 4-H project for his son.

“He wanted an animal to raise, and it seemed like it would be the easiest,” he says. “We learned the hard way that they multiply fast, and now we have 300. The good thing is we only feed them once a day, at night.”

The rabbits typically eat pellets, which are a blend of alfalfa, oats and hay — never the “rabbit food” people often think of, such as lettuce.

My family showed steers for a 4-H project, and yes, the day we found out from my father that Timmy, our favorite steer one summer, filled the freezer, we had a life lesson. My dad firmly explained the costs of raising Timmy, showing him at fairs, and that animals were raised for food. While we may have treated him as a pet, he was never designed for that.

It’s a farm-to-fork lesson that more of us need to share with our urban neighbors.

Here’s a recipe for Rabbit Braised in Red Wine, adapted from Saveur magazine, which says rabbit is making a comeback in the U.S. If you prefer, a whole chicken can be substituted.

DINNER: “It’s all white meat from tame rabbits; wild rabbits are all dark meat,” says rabbit enthusiast producer Jerry Hicks.

Rabbit Braised in Red Wine

1 (750-milliliter) bottle of red wine
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2¼ tablespoons sugar
1 rabbit (2 to 3 pounds), cut into eight pieces (or 1 whole chicken)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup flour
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
16 cloves garlic, crushed
16 sage leaves
6 sprigs rosemary

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, whisk together wine, vinegar and sugar; set aside.

Season rabbit with salt and pepper to taste. Put flour on a plate. Dredge rabbit in flour; shake off excess.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Cook rabbit, turning once, until browned on all sides, about six minutes per side.

Transfer rabbit to a deep 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Add garlic to skillet; cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, three to four minutes. Pour wine mixture into skillet; boil and scrape up browned bits with spoon; pour sauce over rabbit.

Scatter sage and rosemary over top. Cover with foil and transfer to oven; braise until tender, about 45 minutes. Uncover, raise heat to 450 degrees F, and continue cooking, basting rabbit until sauce is thickened, about 25 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves four.

Fargo is a dietitian for Hy-Vee in Springfield, Ill. Send recipe ideas to her at [email protected].