Rabbit meat is tender and lean. It is one of the healthier meats out there, containing a lot of protein in a few ounces of meat.
If you’re searching for new rabbit recipes, you’ve come to the right place. Traditionally, there were only a couple of ways people prepared rabbit. Due to the power of the internet, nowadays there is a bounty of rabbit recipes just waiting to be made.
And if you’re nervous about cooking rabbit, don’t be! We’ve compiled rabbit recipes that are approachable for both beginners and advanced cooks alike.
Keep reading if you’d like to find some new and inventive rabbit recipes to try next time you have this succulent meat for dinner.
Casserole-Roasted Rabbit With Herbs
This is one of the best rabbit recipes for beginners. An Italian recipe with aromatic herbs that tantalize the taste buds, the meat comes out incredibly juicy and tender. Serve with roasted or mashed potatoes for a well-rounded dinner that’s warm, cozy, and sticks to the bones. Unlike some other casseroles you might be familiar with, this one is quite elegant and would make for a wonderful addition to a fancy dinner party.
Hearty Rabbit Stew
Rabbit stew is one of the more popular rabbit recipes. This recipe is made in a slow cooker, giving it the added bonus of convenience when you’re busy or just not up to standing over the stove. It has typical stew veggies in it, but you can easily adjust them to your liking. Personally, I like to add a little celery to mine. It’s a great fall or winter meal to warm you up from the inside out.
Roasted Rabbit With Sausage and Potatoes
This rustic rabbit recipe is simple but delicious, and requires just 15 minutes of prep time. Slow roasted in the oven, tender rabbit pieces meld with robust sausage and vegetables.
There are only a few aromatic herbs listed in the ingredients but the sausage contains a wealth of flavor. This roasted rabbit recipe has an Italian flare as rabbit dishes are more common in Italy. Serve it with the roasted veggies and a glass of refreshing white wine.
Rabbit and Polenta
Tender, moist rabbit meat is paired with polenta in this classic Italian dish. Rabbit is rubbed with sage, sea salt, and rosemary before being topped with some chopped pancetta and butter and roasted in the oven for an hour. And don’t open the oven! It will release the moisture and liquid that you’ll want to keep intact.
Honey Garlic Grilled Rabbit
This is another fantastic rabbit recipe for beginners. The marinade works well to tenderize the rabbit pieces, but it’s also great on chicken. If you’re not a huge rabbit fan this recipe might be the one to change your mind as the honey garlic flavor is reminiscent of Asian-style chicken. The sweet and savory flavors are sure to make your mouth water. Just be sure to pull the meat off the grill as soon as it’s done. Rabbit is lean meat. It can dry out if overcooked.
Rabbit Chasseur With Wild Mushrooms
You’ll want to save this recipe for when it’s mushroom foraging season. Rabbit pieces are liberally coated with salt and pepper before being dredged in flour and cooked to crispy perfection in lard or olive oil.
The wild mushrooms are cooked alongside onions and rabbit offal to create a savory sauce. One of the more elegant rabbit recipes on our list. If you wanted to make this a totally foraged meal, you could utilize wild rabbit, too.
Rabbit Fricassee With Tagliatelli
Gordon Ramsey shares this Rabbit Fricassee recipe right from his own kitchen. Since rabbit has a gamey chicken flavor, this fricassee recipe works really well. The bacon adds a nice flavor on top of the shallots, thyme, and other delicate herbs.
Buttermilk Fried Rabbit
If you like fried chicken but are looking for a twist, this recipe might be for you. Buttermilk fried rabbit brings comfort food to another level. The seasoning blend used in this recipe is easy to adjust to your favorite flavors and spice level. I like to make it with a little more spice, but the original recipe is pleasant all on its own. The rabbit comes out juicy and tender and the batter is crunchy, subtly-sweet and delicious.
Beer Braised Rabbit
This recipe calls for just six ingredients, but it will result in a tender piece of rabbit. The maple syrup adds a subtle sweetness that contrasts well with the beer, and will have you coming back for seconds. Serve your beer-braised rabbit with roasted red potatoes and veggies for a filling, well-rounded dinner. The pale ale infuses the meat — causing it to be melt-in-your-mouth tender. Psst … if this meal has you craving more beer-braised rabbit recipes, keep scrolling.
Rabbit Breakfast Sausage
Now here’s an item you won’t see at just any brunch table: rabbit breakfast sausage! This YouTube video takes you step by step through the whole process of butchering the rabbit to mincing the meat, to stuffing it with wild herbs.
Who knows, maybe it’ll become a regular on your brunch recipes list!
Hasenpfeffer Rabbit Stew
Hasenpfeffer is a traditional German stew made with rabbit or hare meat. This recipe is made in a skillet on the stovetop, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be too difficult to transition it to a crockpot if you prefer that method. The herbs are delightful and dredging the rabbit in flour before cooking it in the bacon grease makes for a toothsome, satisfying coating.
Rabbit and Dumplings
This rabbit and dumplings recipe is simple to make and delicious to eat. One thing about this meal is that you’re going to need a few hours of free time, but from the seasoning on the rabbit to the spice blend for the dumplings, your taste buds will be dancing with joy. The turnips are a splendid choice that you don’t see in too many stews, and provide a bitter zip that contrasts well with the creamy, butter dumplings.
Rabbit and Sobrasada Stew
I’ve eaten various rabbit recipes, and this is definitely one I haven’t seen in my search for new ideas. In my opinion, it should be more popular.
In a little over an hour, you’ll have a delicious and nutritious stew packed with protein and flavor in the form of beans, rabbit, and sobrasada, a Spanish-style sausage meat. This stew is rich and flavorful with zucchini, onions, tomatoes, and garlic. It’s a hearty rabbit soup is great to warm you up during the cool weather. Red wine would pair especially well with this tomato-based recipe.
Honey Baked Rabbit
This recipe works well for both chicken and rabbit. There is something about sweet meat that is just delicious. You will use the whole rabbit, butter, honey, salt, pepper, curry powder, and mustard for this recipe. Honey glazed carrots and red potatoes make nice sides to accompany this sweet and savory meat. Be careful not to overcook it as the meat will dry out easily. Basting is important.
Grilled Rabbit
It’s almost time for those backyard barbecues and this recipe is one to add to the list. The woody herbs combined with the smoky flavor from the grill, work wonders on tender rabbit meat. Again, you’ll see honey is an ingredient here, and that’s because it adds a subtle sweet-sticky taste that contrasts well with the herbs. If you don’t have a grill, no sweat! You can make this recipe in the oven as well.
Smoked Rabbit Recipes
There are two smoked rabbit recipes in this blog post from Mrecipes: Provencal style and dry rub.
Nine ingredients go into the marinade for the Provencal style rabbit, and they combine to provide you with a smoky, savory piece of meat.
The dry rub is a little different, and creates a sweet and savory flavor profile. If you like more heat you can add extra cayenne powder (or a spicier blend) to either marinade.
Rabbit Braised in Belgian Ale
As far as rabbit recipes that result in a tender, melt-in-your-mouth dinner go, this one might be the best. The rabbit falls off the bone and melts in your mouth thanks to the Belgian ale. A little sweet blended with a little spice results in a beautiful seasoning blend to accentuate the meat and veggies.
Potatoes and carrots are also present in this delightful recipe, and add some much-needed plant-based elements to round out the dish. Reserving the liquid broth to make the sauce was the right idea here, and if this recipe sounds delicious but you don’t have access to rabbit, chicken is certainly an alternative. If you’re cooking rabbit for the first time, this recipe might be a good place to start.
Grilled Jerk Rabbit
There is a lot of flavor popping in this recipe. Brown sugar, orange juice, onions, garlic, green onions, ginger, and a sensational spice mix. This rabbit would be incredible served with cilantro and allspice sweet potatoes. If you like jerk recipes you should try this one. The Caribbean accent to this recipe will knock your socks off!
Rabbit meat is lean, healthy, delicious, and it’s amazing to cook with. Most any recipe that calls for chicken can be transformed using rabbit instead. Which one of these rabbit recipes do you want to try? Do you have other favorite dinner recipes you’d like to share that are not on this list? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
Featured image courtesy of T.Tseng / Flickr (Creative Commons)
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