Coonhound Pie Recipe

Preparation:

1. Wash and bone rabbits, using a sharp, thin knife. Cut the meat into bite-size pieces. Mix flour with salt and pepper to taste, and dredge rabbit meat in mixture. Melt butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat; add rabbit and brown pieces on all sides. Remove the rabbit to a plate and reserve.
2. Add onions, potatoes, and okra to drippings in skillet; stir to loosen all the browned bits. Cook the vegetables over medium heat until tender, adding water if necessary to keep them from sticking and stirring mixture often. Add browned rabbit, peas, and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Preheat oven to 350° F.
4. Roll out a little less than half the dough and line two 9-inch pie plates. Transfer rabbit vegetable mixture to pie plates. In a small bowl, mix tomato paste, stock, and tamari and pour the meat and vegetables.
5. Roll out the remaining dough into two 10-inch round, place them over top, and crimp edges decoratively. Cut slit in top crust. Place pies on cookie sheets to catch the drippings, and bake for 45 minutes. You can make two 9-inch pies with this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 small rabbits (about 5 pounds), thawed if frozen, cut into 32 pieces
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 onions, coarsely chopped
• 8 medium all-purpose potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 2 pounds fresh okra, sliced, or 2 box (20 ounces) frozen sliced okra, thawed
• 2 cups shelled fresh or frozen peas
• 2 dough for double-crust 9-inch pie
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 ½ cups Chicken Stock
• 1 tablespoon tamari sauce

Note:
Coonhounds are slow and steady trackers, and they trail with their noses to the ground. Once the dog has treed his coon, he begins to "bark up," a distinctive baying sound. Coonhounds are also adept at tracking deer, bear, and mountain lions.

For the sake of authenticity, it would be best to have a freshly caught raccoon on hand when making this recipe. But authenticity isn't everything in life, and rabbit makes an acceptable substitute.

Canine Recipe safety tip: Never attempt to get between fighting dogs. drench them with water or use a broomstick to restore order. If you can do it without getting bitten, pull the underdog away by his tail.