1-In a large stockpot, or even a Dutch Oven if you're lucky enough to have one, fry the bacon over medium-high heat until it just starts to crisp. Transfer to a large bowl, and set aside. Reserve most of the bacon fat in your pan, and with the pan on the burner, add in the chiles. Toast the chiles until they just start to smell good, or make your nose tingle, about a minute tops. Remove to bowl with the bacon.




2- Season liberally both sides of the rabbit/pork and chicken pieces with sea salt and pepper. Place the rabbit/pork pieces in the pot and sear off all sides possible. You just want to brown them, not cook them completely. Remove to a separate bowl, add more bacon fat if needed, or oil, then add in chicken pieces, again, browning all sides nicely. Remember not to crowd your pieces, especially if you have a narrow bottomed pot. Put the chicken in the bowl with the rabbit/pork. Set it aside.




3- Add the double-strength chicken stock to the pan and basically deglaze the pan, making sure to get all the goodness cooked onto the bottom. The stock will become a nice rich dark color and start smelling good. Bring it up to a boil and add your remaining stock, the bay leaf, celery, potatoes, chicken, rabbit/pork, and any liquid that may have gathered at the bottom of the bowl they were resting in. While you bring the pot back up to a low boil/high simmer over medium/high heat, finely dice the chilis and crumble the bacon, and toss in the pot. Once the stew has come back to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover, remember to stir every 15 minutes, give or take. Simmer, on low, for approximately 1.5 hours. The stock may become a yellow tinge with pieces of chicken or rabbit/pork floating up, the celery will be very limp, as will the chiles. Taste the stock, according to the recipe, it "should taste like the best chicken soup you've ever had".




  4- With a pair of tongs, remove the chicken and rabbit pieces (but not the pork if you used a boneless cut) to a colander over the bowl you used earlier. Be careful, as by this time, the meats will be very tender and may start falling apart. Remove the bay leaf and celery; discard. After you've allowed the meat to cool enough to handle, carefully remove all the meat from the bones, shredding it as you go. Return the meat to the pot, reserving the bones for stock later. Add in your carrots, and stir gently, allowing it to come back to a slow simmer. Simmer gently, uncovered, for at least 25 minutes, or until the carrots have started to soften.




5- Add in your onion, butterbeans, corn, and tomatoes. Simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring every so often until the stew has reduced slightly, and onions, corn, and butterbeans are tender. Remove from heat and add in vinegar, lemon juice, stir to blend in well. Season to taste with sea salt, pepper, and Tabasco sauce if desired.




6- You can either serve immediately or refrigerate for 24 hours, which makes the flavors meld more and makes the overall stew even better. Serve hot, either on its own, or with a side of corn bread, over steamed white rice, with any braised greens as a side.