Grilled rabbit with a 'Thai' marinade

Barbecued rabbit is one of my favourite, favourite, favourite things. Cooking rabbit over coals, that's really the best way to prepare it so far as I'm concerned. Put aside any prejudice you may have against eating bunny and give it a go some time.

This recipe was inspired by a recipe in the Jamie Oliver cookbook, Jamie's Italy. He barbecues rabbit with a marinade that includes, among other things, honey. It was okay, but I didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much as the marinade I came up with when first barbecuing rabbit for the kids at Saturday school. My students have since tried both marinades and agree that mine is better. Could just be that we all dig the coriander. This is definitely a recipe that you should experiment with. Probably, with not too much work, you can come up with a marinade that's better than mine. I reckon some sort of jerk seasoning, like the one I used with the pork, could be great.

1 rabbit, chopped up into serving pieces (don't be too fussy about how you cut it up--we're cooking over a fire, here, not in a laboratory)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled
4 limes or kaffir limes, juiced with a little zest retained to go into the marinade
3-4 sprigs coriander
2 small red chillies
small lump of ginger
2 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs freshly ground Sichuan peppercorns, plus a little extra
1 tbs freshly ground coriander
1 tbs sea salt, plus a little extra
1-2 tsp Thai fish sauce, depending on taste
steamed rice, to serve

Combine the oil, garlic, lime juice, lime zest, fresh coriander, chillies, ginger, brown sugar, Sichuan pepper, ground coriander, sea salt and fish sauce in a food processor. Blitz until you end up with a paste. Place the rabbit pieces in a non-metallic bowl and pour the marinade over them. Marinate for a few hours, at least. Ideally overnight.

Remove rabbit from fridge. Start a coal fire. You can do this on a gas barbecue--I have a couple of times--but really, it's so much better when cooked slowly over smouldering coals. Let the fire burn down. Ensure the grill bars are clean. Remove the rabbit pieces from the marinade and give them a generous sprinkle of both sea salt and freshly ground Sichuan pepper. Place the thickest parts of the rabbit, such as the rear legs, on the fire first, as these will take the longest to cook. As cooking over a coal fire is an inexact science, the cooking time could be anywhere between 20 and 40 minutes for the thickest pieces. Don't be tempted to cook this over a high heat. Be patient. Be sure to turn the rabbit pieces regularly, basting with the excess marinade as you do.