Rabbit Recipes - Recipes for Rabbit, Hare and Squirrel | Hank Shaw (2024)

FAQs

What do you soak rabbits in before cooking? ›

A Brine Keeps the Rabbit Moist

And while the combination seasons the rabbit nicely, the buttermilk and salt give you a little wiggle room to ensure that the cooked rabbit doesn't dry out.

The best way to get tender rabbit meat is by butchering them around the 12-week mark (depending on the breed) and cooking them low and slow. A crockpot is a fantastic way of cooking rabbit for tender, fall-off-the-bone meat.

Compared to the mild flavour of rabbit meat, which tastes a little like fowl, hare meat is distinctly more gamey. The leg and back are particularly popular cuts of meat.

Citrus and Mediterranean herbs always blend well. Rabbit can dry out quite easily, but roasting it in olive oil preserves its delicacy and flavor.

Marinating the rabbit for 2 hours is actually ideal since the marinade will have more time to permeate and flavor the meat. Preheat the oven to 425º. Prepare an ovenproof frying pan by adding the butter to it and warming it over medium-high heat.

Marinating the rabbit in buttermilk for two to eight hours helps to tenderize the meat and add flavor and moisture to the finished product. Start the recipe with a buttermilk soak. The enzymes and acids in buttermilk help to both tenderize and add flavor and moisture to the lean rabbit meat.

Add rabbit; cook in hot oil until brown on all sides. Place in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Combine onion, water, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, paprika, and garlic in a medium bowl; mix well, then pour over rabbit. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven, basting frequently, until very tender, about 90 minutes.

Rabbit meat is a nutrient-rich and affordable food with a lower environmental impact than red meat from cattle or sheep. Rabbit meat is considered healthy, as it is lower in fat, cholesterol and sodium than other types of meat, and rich in protein.

To marinate the rabbit, mix in buttermilk, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Let the rabbit marinate in the fridge for about 4-12 hours.

Rabbit's low popularity also stems from the agricultural industry as a whole. Many farm animals had dual purposes or were low maintenance to raise and breed, making them staples of the agricultural industry. Chickens provide eggs, pigs live off waste products and scraps, and cows provide milk.

What tastes better, rabbit or hare? ›

Hare is richer, darker and stronger in flavour than its nearest cousin, rabbit (which, like goats and sheep, come from the same family but are entirely different species).

In restaurants, rabbit meat is often called “coney” or “lapin.” “Coney,” derived from the Anglo-Norman term, was commonly used in medieval England, while “lapin,” a French term, is widely used in contemporary fine dining establishments.

It's unsafe to eat wild rabbits or hares before the first hard frost of the year. If you eat a wild rabbit sooner, the meat will have parasites.

Rabbit can also be cooked quickly, but ideally needs to be jointed first, as each cut requires a different cooking time. Cooking rabbit is similar to chicken, fry on a moderate heat for 20 minutes or so until the internal temperature reaches 71°C.

The meat is slightly darker and has more flavor, but can also be slightly tougher,” says Christopher Eley, who explains that the best way to prepare a wild rabbit is to soak it in either a saltwater solution or buttermilk. Saltwater will draw out any remaining blood and start to tenderize it.

In order to tenderize the meat, we are going to marinate the rabbit overnight. For the deep fried rabbit, I prepared a buttermilk base with some rosemary and thyme. The recipe below will give you the exact ingredients. Make sure it soaks for a minimum of 12 hours, but 24 is better.