Rabbit Recipes

from Hillbilly Mom

Rabbit meat is lean and mostly white meat. It is mild in flavor and can be prepared much like chicken. Young rabbit meat is tenderer than older more mature rabbit meat. The older the rabbit, the longer you will need to slow cook it in order to get the meat the particular type of texture you are looking for.  There is a good chance that your rabbit meat will dry out if you fry it without a sauce or happen to overcook it. So watch your cooking times closely. Here are some recipes to take a peak at if you are ready to expand your culinary experiences using rabbit.

~Marinade the rabbit in orange juice with some cinnamon, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper.

When you fry it up on the pan pour the marinade in the pan with it a little bit at a time as it cooks and then add some chunky peanut butter to it and mix it in with the marinade. It makes for an orange peanut glaze and after removing the rabbit you can use the marinade with peanut butter as it turns to liquid as a dressing for a salad.

This adds needed protein, healthy fat and some vitamin c

(Recipe shared by one of the members in “the wolf pack”)

~BBQ- Take a couple young fryers and boil them in salted water for about 15 minutes. Take the meat and place on heated grill. Cook one side for about 10 minutes, then flip and do the same on other. Add your liquid barbecue sauce and cook each side again allowing sauce to caramelize a bit. Take off heat, cut up into pieces and serve with coleslaw or any other yummy side dish.

~Rabbit skewers- Cut rabbits meat into strips. Marinade over night in red wine and garlic. Skew meat onto skewers alternating onions, mushrooms and green peppers. Wrap partially cooked bacon strips around rabbit portions. Place on hot grill. Remove and serve when rabbit meat is cooked through. (This recipe works great with pheasant too)

~ Rabbit Burgers- You will need:

              1 onion finely chopped

              A little oil

              2 pounds ground minced lean rabbit meat

              8 ounces sausage meat or minced pork belly

              Leaves from a good sprig each of marjoram, thyme, sage, rosemary all finely chopped.

Gently cook the onion in the oil for a few minutes until soft, then let cool completely. Mix the meats, chopped herbs, and onion together thoroughly by hand. Then shape into “quarter pounder” patties – ideally not more than ¾ inch thick, so they cook through fast. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until ready to cook. Cook the burgers on a grill or in a lightly oiled heavy frying pan for 3 to 4 minutes each side. Serve in a split bun with a choice of fresh Tomato Salsa, homemade ketchup or mustard mayonnaise combo.

(I was blessed to get to try this with one of my neighbors this summer. They are amazing! This recipe is straight out of The River Cottage cookbookby: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)

~Rabbit with vegetables-You will need:

                    1 rabbit cleaned and cut up

                    ¼ cup flour

                    1 teaspoon of salt

                    1 teaspoon of curry powder

                    Dash of paprika

                    ¼ cup of cooking oil

                    4 small potatoes, scrubbed but unpeeled

                    4 whole carrots, scrubbed and cut into 3- inch lengths

                    1 small onion

                    1 cup of water

                    1 bay leaf

                    Salt and pepper

                    3 tablespoons flour

                    ½ cup of cold water

Dredge rabbit pieces in flour mixed with salt, curry powder, and paprika. Brown in hot oil in a heavy skillet. Cover and bake for 30 minutes at 350 F degrees. Add vegetables, water, and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and bake another hour. Remove meat and vegetables to serving dish. Discard bay leaf. Blend 3 tablespoons flour and ½ cup water and gradually add to liquid. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Pour over meat and vegetables.

(This is the first recipe I ever tried. It is super easy and really tasty. I got this recipe from the book, Country Wisdom & Know-How.)