Sean Carlton presented the judges with a smoked rabbit from his personal farm which won him first place in the One Pot Wonders category. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

Sean Carlton presented the judges with a smoked rabbit from his personal farm which won him first place in the One Pot Wonders category.

Carlton said he and his wife moved to Parkersburg about two years ago but have lived in West Virginia for five years now.

The smoked rabbit was prepared with fresh potatoes, garlic, and vinegar before it was smoked for nearly three hours.

“We’ve been raising the rabbits for about a year now and our farm’s been open since April,” said Carlton. “We were raising them a little bit before that just with the idea to feed ourselves first before we got the hang of it and started selling them.”

The smoked rabbit was Carlton’s only recipe he entered into the contest and the freshness of the rabbit factored into the points he earned in the contest.

“I’ve always been into smoking stuff whether it be brisket or pork,” he said. “You don’t see a whole lot of recipes out there for smoked rabbit.”

Carlton said this was the first time he’s entered in the contest and he heard about it from the news online. He said he transposed his own recipe and decided to submit it in the contest.

“Not including processing the rabbit, it takes about 10-15 minutes to put some dry rub on it, cut up the vegetables and throw it in the pan before putting it in the smoker,” he said.

Carlton said rabbit has a little more of a robust flavor than chicken or other meats.

Smoked Rabbit – Serves 3-4

Ingredients

1 whole Rabbit (appx 3lbs), salt, pepper, Lawry’s Season Salt, 1 onion (quartered), 3-4 cloves of garlic (minced), 2-3 potatoes (rustic cut), 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Pat rabbit dry and coat with salt, pepper, and Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. Stuff with onion and garlic. Place rabbit and potatoes in a foil pan. Add apple cider vinegar to the pan. Smoke at 250-300 degrees F for 30 minutes and cover with foil. Smoke covered for an additional 2.5 to 3 hours, until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender. This recipe can also be adapted for the crockpot by cooking on low without smoke until the meat is tender.