Rabbit dishes. How to cook rabbit meat: delicious recipes and smart tips Do you need to marinate the rabbit before cooking?

Today Smart Tips invite you cook rabbit meat according to the simplest and most delicious recipes. But before that, let’s learn a little about this valuable food product and learn how to choose it correctly. Because only from fresh, properly selected meat can you prepare a tasty and healthy dish. Welcome to our Smart kitchen, where we collect and prepare only proven recipes for delicious dishes.

Read in this article:

Rabbit meat is a valuable dietary product

Many people remember the catchphrase “Rabbits are not only valuable fur, but also 3-4 kilograms of dietary, easily digestible meat.” Indeed, rabbit meat is an amazing product. It contains vitamins and minerals, a lot of lecithin, and is low in calories. Thanks to this, and the small amount of cholesterol, rabbit meat is not just dietary, but even medicinal. These cute animals are divided into skin, down, decorative, dwarf and meat breeds. At the moment we are interested in meat breeds.

How to choose the right rabbit meat

In many ways, the quality of the meat determines the taste of the future dish. If possible, it is better to buy fresh or chilled rabbit meat at the market or in a store. During long-term storage, the structure of rabbit meat undergoes negative changes.

• The weight of the carcass should be no more than 1.5 - 2 kg, otherwise the animal is old or obese.
• The paw with fur and claws must be left, and there must be a brand.
• The color of the meat varies from light pink to dark pink.
• The carcass should be non-slippery and have a dry crust that protects the meat from spoilage.
• Thin layers of fat will give the rabbit meat tenderness and juiciness when cooking.

The most important secret of cooking rabbit

Despite all its beneficial qualities and properties, rabbit meat has a specific smell and taste. To eliminate it and make the meat soft, it is soaked or marinated.

• The meat of young rabbits is light pink; it is enough to soak it in water or milk for 2-3 hours.
• Dark pink meat is marinated for 2 to 10 hours in different marinades. Depending on the products on hand or the preferences of the cook, rabbit meat can be marinated in kefir, red or white wine, or vinegar.
• Seasonings and spices can be added both to the marinade and when preparing the dish.

How to properly fry rabbit meat

The tender parts of the hind legs, saddle, and rump are suitable for frying. In order for the meat to turn out golden brown, it must first be dried with a napkin. You can’t put a lot of pieces into the pan at once - they will release juice and the meat will stew rather than fry. Turn the pieces over only after one side has browned. During frying, do not pierce the meat; juice will leak out and the dish will turn out tough and dry.

Fried rabbit recipe from Ilya Lazerson

Ingredients for 4 servings

• Garlic – 2-3 cloves
• Bay leaf – 2 leaves
• Rabbit 1 carcass per 1-1.5 kg
• Onion – 1 large onion
• Olive oil – 4-5 tablespoons
• Pepper and salt to taste
• >Hot red pepper – 1 piece (fresh)
• Tomato paste – 400 gr
• Rosemary, sage - 2 sprigs each
• White wine – 200 ml

Cooking method

1. Place the onion in a frying pan heated with oil and fry over low heat for 10 minutes.
2. >Then add pepper, garlic, rosemary, sage, onion, bay leaf, fry for 3-5 minutes.
3. Lay out the pieces of rabbit meat and fry until golden brown. (The secrets of frying rabbit meat are described above)
4. Add white wine, evaporate, add tomato paste. Salt, pepper and close the lid.
5. After about 30 minutes, open the lid and simmer for another 10 minutes until the sauce thickens.
6. You can serve rice or as a side dish.

This type of cooking is perfect for baby food. The front part of the carcass is ideal for cooking. To obtain a clear broth, fill the meat with cold water. Bring the broth to a boil over high heat, skim off the foam, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, in a small amount of lightly salted water until tender, about 30 minutes.

For color, you can add a peeled onion and coarsely chopped carrots. And for flavor - parsley root and a small piece of ginger root. The water should cover the meat entirely, and the heat should be minimal. The readiness of the meat, its softness, and the beautiful color and aroma of the broth will signal the end of cooking.

Rabbit stewed in sour cream - a simple and delicious recipe

Probably every housewife who cooks rabbit meat has stewed it in sour cream at least once in her life. This dish is considered the simplest and most common prepared from rabbit meat.

But you can stew it in milk, beer, tomato paste, red and white wine, and even champagne. With mushrooms, beans, and vegetables.

For stewing, as well as for cooking, the front part is used, as it is somewhat harsh. For better results, the chopped pieces are pre-fried in oil. Simmer the rabbit meat over low heat to avoid destroying the fine structure of the meat fibers until cooked, 50-60 minutes. By the way, the thicker the walls of the dish, the more tender the meat will be.

And here is the simplest recipe for rabbit stewed in sour cream.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• Rabbit carcass - 1.5 - 2 kg,
• 1 large carrot,
• 1 large onion,
• 0.5 kg sour cream 30% fat,
• garlic - 3 cloves,
• salt, pepper, vegetable oil.

Cooking method:

1. Fry the pre-soaked rabbit pieces in oil until golden brown.
2. Fry onions and carrots in the same oil.
3. Place fried pieces of meat in a thick-walled dish, fried onions and carrots on top, pour sour cream on top. Sour cream that is too thick can be diluted with milk or water.
4. Salt, pepper, add seasonings if desired.
5. Cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for 40-50 minutes. Serve with rice, buckwheat, mashed potatoes.

Rabbit with onions in Greek

Is it possible to roast a whole rabbit?

You can bake a whole rabbit, but this is inconvenient and ineffective. It is much easier to prepare and the dish will be tastier if you first cut the carcass into small pieces. For baking you will need a thick-walled frying pan or saucepan. You can use a baking bag or foil. Rabbit meat is baked in sour cream, cream, wine, with fruits and vegetables, in the oven, in the grill. The average rabbit cooks in 50 minutes at 180 degrees.

How to use rabbit offal?

Rabbit liver is tender and tasty, but very small, so it can be used for stewing with all the insides: lungs, kidneys, heart. The dish turns out to be an acquired taste. The giblets are first fried, then stewed with the addition of onions, carrots and spices in milk, cream, and sour cream.

Ready giblets can be crushed together with butter. it will turn out great rabbit pate.

What seasonings and spices are needed?

Rabbit meat is an amazing product. It goes well with almost all seasonings and spices. Mandatory seasonings for any cooking method are bay leaf, salt, onion and ground black pepper. And then, depending on the additional components of the dish, you can add garlic or dill, celery, parsley or basil, lemon, rosemary, cinnamon, thyme, cloves, juniper... Great for rabbit, the recipe for which we have already published.

Determining the readiness of the dish

Rabbit meat is quite soft and tender and is usually not cooked for more than an hour. With further heat treatment, the meat does not become softer, but loses its aroma and taste properties.

• It is enough to fry small pieces for 30-40 minutes, and cook the meat for about the same amount until cooked.
• About 50-60 minutes will be required for stewing or baking.
• The readiness of meat is determined in the following way: if, when pierced, not blood, but juice is released, the dish is ready.

Rabbit meat is hypoallergenic, perfect for dietary and baby food, regulates blood sugar levels and is 90% digestible by the human body. Delicious and aromatic rabbit dishes will decorate any holiday table. And whoever has never cooked rabbit meat before, use our Smart Tips, and you will definitely succeed!

Recipes and tips for cooking rabbit meat

collected and recorded by Zoya Sergeeva

Rabbit meat is a dietary and very healthy meat.

It is rich in vitamins, calcium, proteins, phosphorus and iron.

Rabbit meat does not contain cholesterol.

Due to its 100% digestibility, it is indispensable in dietary and baby food.

How to cook a rabbit so that the meat is soft - basic cooking principles

Rabbit meat itself is juicy and tender meat, so preparing it is not difficult.

Each housewife has her own secrets and recipes for cooking rabbit meat. But the result should always be the same: the rabbit should be soft, tender and juicy. To do this, the rabbit carcass is pre-soaked or marinated. Without this, you cannot get a juicy and tasty dish. The marinade is prepared using white wine, whey, wine vinegar, sour cream, mineral water or olive oil. Young rabbit meat is soaked in ordinary drinking water so that it does not lose its natural aroma.

It should be noted that the front part of the carcass is mainly stewed or boiled, and the back part is baked in the oven or fried.

To make the meat aromatic, it is seasoned with different spices. Cloves, celery, basil, thyme, rosemary and other spices are best suited for this.

Rabbit meat can be stewed, fried, steamed, boiled or baked.

Rabbit in sauce is the most common way to prepare this meat. It is in this case that the rabbit meat turns out soft and juicy. This way you can cook it in the oven or stew it. The carcass is pre-marinated, then cut into pieces and lightly fried. The meat is placed on a baking sheet and fried onions, carrots and garlic are added to it. The top of the dish is seasoned with salt, herbs, pepper and sauce. Bake the rabbit in the oven for 20 minutes.

How to cook a rabbit so that the meat is soft: Recipe 1. Rabbit stewed in sauce

Ingredients

500 g rabbit;

50 ml vegetable oil;

1 onion;

2 cloves of garlic;

1 bunch of greens;

100 g flour;

1 tomato;

80 ml sour cream;

30 ml vinegar.

Cooking method

1. We cut up the rabbit carcass, wash it thoroughly under the tap and cut into portions. We dilute vinegar in water and soak pieces of meat in this solution. Leave the rabbit meat to marinate for an hour and a half.

2. Heat the frying pan with oil well. Remove the rabbit from the marinade and dry it lightly with napkins. Place the meat in a frying pan and fry it on both sides, six minutes on each side.

3. Peel the onion and chop it into thin quarter rings. Sauté it in a separate frying pan until lightly browned.

4. Pour the flour into a deep cauldron and fry it lightly until it begins to change color. Then put the meat and fried onions into the cauldron. Fill everything with drinking water so that it almost completely covers the meat, and add sour cream. Mix everything thoroughly until smooth. Pour in the water gradually, stirring constantly so that lumps do not form.

5. Peel the garlic and finely chop it. Add it to the sour cream sauce. Add salt, mix again, cover with a lid and turn the heat down to low. Simmer the rabbit for 45 minutes. Serve with boiled potatoes.

How to cook rabbit so that the meat is soft: Recipe 2. Rabbit in mustard sauce

Ingredients

700 g portioned pieces of rabbit meat;

6 cloves of garlic;

15 g of Provençal herbs;

40 g mustard;

80 ml olive oil;

fresh rosemary;

150 ml dry white wine;

2 bay leaves;

500 ml broth;

1 pinch of black peppercorns;

salt and pepper;

1 piece each leeks and shallots.

Cooking method

1. Butcher the rabbit carcass and cut it into portions. Wash well, dry slightly, and brush each piece with mustard on all sides. Place the meat in a suitable container.

2. Peel the leek and cut into four parts. Chop the peeled garlic cloves into thin slices. Mix two tablespoons of olive oil with wine in a separate plate, add Provençal herbs, bay leaf and black peppercorns. Place onions and garlic here. Mix the mixture thoroughly and pour it over the rabbit meat. Leave to marinate overnight.

3. The next day, remove the rabbit from the marinade, pat the pieces with a napkin, and season the meat with salt and pepper. Roll each piece in flour and fry in heated olive oil until lightly browned.

4. Transfer the rabbit to a heat-resistant form and pour over the juice remaining after frying and the marinade. Cut the unpeeled shallots in half and place in the pan. Add unpeeled garlic cloves and rosemary here. Pour in the broth so that it half covers the meat and place the pan in an oven preheated to 170 C. Bake for an hour and a half, turning occasionally and adding broth if necessary.

5. Transfer the finished rabbit to a serving plate. Add a spoonful of mustard to the remaining sauce, stir and bring it to a boil. Pour the resulting sauce over the rabbit meat. Serve with any side dish.

How to cook a rabbit so that the meat is soft: Recipe 3. Rabbit in beer

Ingredients

2 kg rabbit carcass;

4 onions;

200 ml cream;

2 liters of light beer;

200 g bacon;

balsamic vinegar;

vegetable oil – 80 ml;

6 buds of cloves;

3 g black pepper;

rosemary branch;

flour – 70 g.

Cooking method

1. Cut the rabbit carcass into portions. Wash the meat under the tap and pat dry with a towel.

2. Peel the onion and chop into rings. Mix beer with vinegar, add cloves, rosemary and bay leaf. Place the onion in the marinade and put it on the fire. As soon as it boils, turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 20 minutes. Pour the boiling marinade over the rabbit meat. Cool and refrigerate overnight.

3. Remove the rabbit pieces from the marinade and dry with a towel. Do not pour out the marinade!

4. Mix flour with pepper. Roll the rabbit pieces in this mixture and fry in well-heated oil for two minutes on each side. Transfer the fried meat to a cauldron.

5. Cut the bacon into small strips and fry it until it turns into cracklings. Transfer bacon to a plate.

6. Strain the marinade, leave a little onion in it and boil. Pour the boiling marinade over the meat, stir and simmer over low heat under the lid for an hour and a half.

7. Fry the remaining onions in bacon fat until soft. Place bacon and onions in a cauldron. Turn off the heat and immediately pour in the cream. Stir and leave to infuse. Serve with potato side dish.

How to cook a rabbit so that the meat is soft: Recipe 4. Rabbit with creamy spicy sauce

Ingredients

3 g Tabasco sauce;

4 rabbit legs;

50 ml cognac;

3 large onions;

1 large head of garlic;

100 ml soy sauce;

500 ml cream;

200 g parsley;

a pinch of nutmeg, Provençal herbs and cumin;

50 g sesame seeds.

Cooking method

1. Wash and dry the rabbit meat.

2. Peel the onion and four cloves of garlic and grind in a blender until porridge. In a deep cup, mix honey with soy sauce, Tabasco and cognac. Add onion-garlic pulp to the marinade and mix well.

3. Transfer the rabbit meat to a baking sleeve, adding marinade to it. Tie both ends tightly and roll them thoroughly on the table so that the marinade is evenly distributed over all the pieces. Transfer the sleeve to a heat-resistant form and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

4. Take out the mold with the rabbit, leave it for another two hours, then send it to bake for an hour and a half in the oven, preheating it to 180 C.

5. Fry the flour in a dry frying pan. Wash the parsley and finely chop it. Chop the garlic. Pour the flour into a saucepan, mix it with the cream, gradually pouring it in and stirring so that there are no lumps. Place on the fire, add salt, add sesame seeds, parsley, stir and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, for five minutes. Make sure the sauce does not boil.

6. Remove the rabbit from the oven, cut the sleeve and transfer the meat to a plate. Pour the juice from the sleeve and the prepared sauce. Serve with vegetable side dish.

How to cook a rabbit so that the meat is soft: Recipe 5. rabbit in sour cream

Ingredients

3 rabbit legs;

500 ml kefir;

200 g sour cream;

1 bunch of cilantro and parsley;

1 large carrot;

garlic - 4 cloves.

Cooking method

1. Cut the rabbit legs in half at the joint. Finely chop the greens and peeled garlic.

2. Mix kefir with herbs and garlic. Pour the kefir mixture over the rabbit meat and leave to marinate for three hours.

3. Remove the meat from the marinade, add salt and lightly fry it until golden brown.

4. Cut the peeled carrots into large circles. Chop the onion into thick half rings.

5. In the oil left over from frying the meat, fry the vegetables until lightly browned.

6. Place rabbit meat in a cauldron, add fried carrots and onions.

7. Lightly dry the flour in a saucepan, pour half a glass of water over it and mix thoroughly. Add sour cream, add salt and heat through. If the sauce is thick, add a little more water. Pour the sauce over the contents of the cauldron and simmer over low heat for an hour and a half.

How to cook a rabbit so that the meat is soft: Recipe 6. Rabbit in wine with tomatoes

Ingredients

2 kg rabbit carcass;

vegetable oil;

head of garlic;

black pepper and salt;

six tomatoes;

a glass of dry white wine;

rosemary branch.

Cooking method

1. Cut the rabbit carcass into pieces, wash and dry on a towel.

2. Wash the tomatoes and cut into slices. Without peeling, crush the garlic cloves with a knife.

3. In a frying pan, fry the rabbit until golden brown on both sides. Then pour in the wine and add a sprig of rosemary, garlic and tomatoes. Simmer for ten minutes without covering. Then cover with a lid and continue to simmer over moderate heat for another ten minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Place the meat, sauce and vegetables into a refractory dish. Cover it with foil and place in the oven for a quarter of an hour. Transfer the cooked rabbit meat to a plate and pour over the sauce. Serve with vegetable side dish.

How to cook a rabbit so that the meat is tender - tips and tricks

For cooking, use only fresh rabbit meat that has not been frozen. Such meat will always turn out juicy and soft.

To make the meat soft, be sure to soak the rabbit in water or marinate.

If you decide to cook the whole rabbit, do it in the sleeve, so you will get juicy and soft meat.

Simmer the rabbit only over low heat.

Rabbit meat is dietary and very tasty. Remember, this is not only valuable fur... The rabbit can be fried in a frying pan, barbecued and grilled, as well as stewed.

The marinade presented above is suitable for both stewing and frying a rabbit on the grill over charcoal.

How and how long to soak a rabbit?

But it also happens that the carcass has an unpleasant odor or the meat still turns out to be tough. To be on the safe side, rabbit meat must first be soaked in plain water for 2-3 hours, and the water should be changed every hour. In the last hour, you can take not ordinary water, but carbonated mineral water. Then the meat will also soften.

If the rabbit is old or lived as a hare and was brought to you as game, soak the rabbit even for up to a day! Change the water frequently if possible.

By the way, soaking can be safely avoided if your rabbit was young and you are sure of its origin.

Marinade for rabbit. How to marinate a rabbit?

The soaking time has passed and you can marinate the rabbit meat. To do this, it is cut into appropriate pieces, washed and placed in a pan. The rabbit can be marinated in dry wine, vinegar, lemon juice, or even just spices with onions and garlic.

The following spices are suitable for rabbit meat:

• basil,
• oregano,
• rosemary,
• tarragon,
• nutmeg,
• thyme,
• khmeli-suneli,
• black pepper,
• hot red pepper,
• paprika,
• garlic,
• lemon,
• dill,
• parsley.

Marinade for rabbit for kebabs or grilling.

• Water - 1 liter
• Vinegar (regular 9%, apple or wine) - 2 tables. spoons
• Onions - 1 pc.
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Black peppercorns - 5 pcs.
• Red hot pepper - 2 pinches
• Sweet paprika - 1/2 teaspoon
• Parsley - 1/2 teaspoon
• Bay leaf - 1 pc.
• Rosemary or basil - optional.

After soaking, let stand for 1 hour. Without soaking - 3 hours.

In this case, we do NOT add a pinch of sugar, which is appropriate in marinades, as a flavor enhancer, since rabbit meat itself has a sweetish taste. For the same reasons, only dry wine is used, and in no case semi-sweet.

How to marinate a rabbit for stewing.

• Water - 1 liter
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Tomato paste - 1 table. spoon
• Onions - 1 pc.
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Salt - 1 teaspoon (or to taste)
• Ground black pepper - 2 pinches
• Parsley - 1/2 teaspoon
• Basil
• Nutmeg

In this marinade, the rabbit is stewed for 1 hour over low heat, then tasted and, if necessary, simmered.

Remember that rabbit stew is more likely to be very tender if you add sliced ​​carrots to the pot.

I don’t know what the rabbit likes so much about carrots, but this is indeed confirmed by experienced chefs. Well, it’s easy to remember: the hare and rabbit love carrots!

The rabbit is proud of its unique taste and dietary properties. Stewed with mushrooms and sour cream or in white wine, it will become the highlight of both a formal and everyday dinner table. But in order for everything to work out perfectly, you need to know how to thoroughly soak a rabbit carcass.

Is it necessary to soak rabbit meat?

While any housewife can easily fry or stew meat, not everyone knows that some types of meat require advance processing.

One of its types is soaking. But why is it necessary to soak a rabbit?

This depends on several factors:

• Age – young rabbits do not need to be soaked, only in hostile compounds. You can add a little marinade for a piquant taste. But old meat requires a long soaking;
• Freshness – if the carcass is fresh, you should not interrupt its natural smell. For meat that is not of the best quality, it is necessary to select a composition that will remove the smell, slightly refresh, disinfect and soften it;
• Origin – Domestic rabbits can have a distinct smell and taste depending on their type of contents and diet. On industrial-scale farms, such a task is virtually excluded. If you decide to cook not a rabbit, but a wild hare, you cannot do without soaking, because the carcass will have an unpleasant smell, toughness and sadness;
• Method of slaughter - with rapid death, the rabbit does not lose its taste. If he felt horror or suffered, adrenaline and other substances enter the meat, reducing his gastronomic superiority.

Thanks to soaking, the meat becomes tender and soft, acquiring the glorious smell of the marinade and the spices used. Soaking helps to remove the problem of sadness and bad smell, excessive hardness, etc.

Another question: how long should a rabbit be soaked in water and other mixtures? It all depends on the quality of the meat and the desired degree of saturation of the carcass. The time can vary from several hours to a day or more.

Marinade recipes

Before cooking a rabbit, depending on the quality of the meat and the recipe chosen, it is necessary to soak the carcass in one of the compositions. It can be extremely simple or consist of a complex bouquet of spices and additives.

Water

It’s easier for everyone to soak rabbit meat in ordinary water. This allows the remaining enzymes and blood to be washed out of it before further processing. The carcass is poured with cold water, kneaded a little and left for at least 30 minutes.

The quality of washing depends on how many times you change the water. Usually 3-4 drains are enough. This method of soaking does not have any special effect on the taste of the dish, with the exception of removing sadness and unpleasant aftertaste.

In general, in the future you can add any flavor to the rabbit meat with the help of other marinades, various spices and sauces. A good option is apple, sour cream or mushroom. In addition, you can add dill, parsley or a couple of drops of lemon to the water for a tint.

You can pour in a few tablespoons of wine, milk, add soy sauce, etc. This is done during the last pour.

Mineral water with gas

Just like ordinary barbecue meat, you can soak the rabbit in carbonated mineral water before cooking it on the grill or in a frying pan. It will not only wash away all excess, but also soften the meat. The rabbit is left to soak in it until the gas is completely released.

Vinegar with water

If you come across a carcass that is not entirely fresh or the meat of a dilapidated rabbit, you can still save it from the smell and unpleasant taste. A wonderful method is to leave it to soak in water with the addition of apple or wine vinegar. For 1 liter of water you will need approximately 1-2 tbsp. l. vinegar.

If there are no clear reasons why you should soak meat using this method, you should not do it, because this marinade makes the carcass

White wine

The best method for preparing a delicious rabbit is to use alcohol for the marinade. According to the classic recipe, it is necessary to soak rabbit meat in white wine with spices. Later, the marinade is used casually in the process of stewing and preparing sauce for the meat.

Moreover, even a novice cook can do everything correctly. In order for the meat to soak better, you must first cut the carcass, rinse it under running cold water and knead it with your fingers.

Red wine

Some French chefs prepare the rabbit for cooking by soaking the carcass in red wine. Dry wine is definitely used, because a young rabbit already has a sweetish taste.

This combination of flavors can alarm even the most discerning gourmets. Be sure to add spices freely to the marinade. A fascinating method is to soak the rabbit in hot wine, boiled with seasonings.

Milk or whey

You can also fill the rabbit with milk or whey for a while. And not necessarily the first freshness. If you soak it in fresh milk, the meat will acquire a sugary aftertaste. But the acidic environment will allow you to wash away all excess, soften the meat and not impart a cloying aroma and taste.

Garlic with vegetable oil

A very interesting recipe - before cooking, marinate the carcass in a mixture of crushed garlic and olive or sunflower oil. It is necessary to rub the rabbit with this mixture and leave to marinate for at least 6 hours, or preferably overnight. The more garlic, the more fragrant the dish will be.

For a piquant taste, add chopped herbs and spices to the mixture to give the upcoming dish a wonderful aroma. A good solution is a fresh Provencal bouquet.

Onion

Since all meat can be grilled, you can soak the rabbit carcass in onion juice. The amount of marinade is calculated based on the volume of meat prepared and how much time is allocated for soaking. You need to completely coat the rabbit so that it is soaked and softened before frying.

Beer or cider

It is allowed to soak rabbit meat not only in wine, but also in other drinks containing alcohol. Before cooking, you can pour beer over it - it will give it a special flavor and make it soft. Thyme goes perfectly with this marinade. But cider will give the carcass an apple sweetness, so this method of soaking is intended for an amateur.

What spices are suitable for rabbit dishes?

The cooking secrets don’t end there. In addition to liquid, spices must be present in the marinade. Also, various spices are added to the upcoming dish naturally during the heat treatment process. They rub the carcass before cooking or make the butter and sauce fragrant.

For a rabbit, salt and black pepper are indispensable in the list of spices and seasonings. You can also add allspice and bay leaf.

The following components can add piquancy and sophistication to the taste:

• basil;
• oregano;
• rosemary;
• nutmeg;
• carnation;
• thyme;
• garlic;
• dill and parsley;
• cranberries or juniper berries.

Which method to cook a rabbit is a matter of preference for every cook. Provided proper preparation, the dish will turn out to be primitively magnificent. Try each of the proposed options and choose the one that you like the most!

Many people associate rabbit meat with dietary nutrition. However, such meat can be used to prepare kebabs and other delicious dishes. But for this you need to be able to make the right marinade for a rabbit. It is exactly how the marinade is prepared that we want to talk about in our article.

Benefits of rabbit meat

Rabbit meat has long been famous as dietary meat. It contains a lot of protein, very little fat and cholesterol. In terms of its properties, it surpasses beef, pork and lamb. The proteins contained in rabbit meat are 90 percent digestible. The meat contains vitamins PP, potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus. By the way, the last element is very important for a young growing organism. Children probably intuitively realize this, since kids usually love rabbit meat very much. In addition, this meat is very tasty, and it is quite easy to prepare.

Preparing meat for cooking

If you have never dealt with rabbit meat, then you need to know that it has a specific smell. Some people do not pay attention to this, but there are many who will not eat such meat, including children, for whom anything unusual causes an immediate refusal to eat it. Experienced housewives try to soak rabbit meat for three hours before cooking. This procedure not only improves the properties of the meat itself, but also reduces the appearance of odor. However, soaking is not able to fully cope with the natural flavor of rabbit meat.

In order to cope with the smell, the meat must be marinated. In addition, after such simple preparation, rabbit meat becomes softer, tasty and aromatic. Without the use of marinade, the meat becomes tougher. All housewives know about this property. Whatever you take: beef, pork or rabbit - any dish turns out much tastier if the meat has been pre-marinated.

Ingredients for preparing marinades

In order to understand how to marinate a rabbit, you need to know what ingredients are used to prepare marinades. Young rabbits should be soaked in whey, water or wine.

But using vinegar is not recommended. It can be used in the most extreme cases, when the meat has an unpleasant foreign odor. Vinegar, on the one hand, well muffles the unpleasant aroma, and on the other hand, it makes the taste of meat less expressive. That is why it must be used very carefully.

Spices

It is impossible to imagine a rabbit marinade without spices. They are added not only during cooking of meat, but also at the marinating stage. The required components for the marinade are: bay leaf, black pepper and onion. All other ingredients are added according to your wishes and taste preferences.

Additional ingredients include: oregano, basil, rosemary, parsley, dill, thyme, cinnamon, coriander, lemon, garlic, cloves, celery, juniper berries.

Wine marinade

There are different recipes for marinades. They are all good in their own way. The choice of one option or another depends on what kind of dish you plan to prepare.

How to marinate a rabbit for barbecue? The process is simple and has a small number of components. By the way, it is the wine marinade that is most popular among housewives. The combination of alcohol with spices gives the most advantageous effect.

Ingredients:

• two kg of rabbit meat,
• ground red pepper (1/4 tsp),
• salt (tsp),
• mustard (tsp.),
• dry white wine (600 ml).

The meat must be thoroughly washed and cut into portions. Since we will be preparing shish kebab, we should not chop it too finely, otherwise the dish may turn out very dry. If possible, bones should be removed from meat. Apply mustard to the prepared pieces. Sprinkle ground pepper and salt on top. Place the meat in a bowl and mix the ingredients with your hands. Next, pour the wine into the container and mix everything again. Now you know how to marinate a rabbit for barbecue. The meat should lie in the marinade for at least an hour. Afterwards we place the rabbit meat on skewers and cook. By the way, in order to make the meat more juicy, during the cooking process you can periodically season it with the same marinade.

Rabbit in sour cream

How to marinate a rabbit in sour cream? The recipe is quite simple. Sour cream marinade is suitable for preparing many dishes, including barbecue.

Ingredients per kilogram of rabbit meat:

• half a liter of sour cream,
• two or three onions,
• garlic,
• tomato,
• seasonings,
• salt.

Pour sour cream into a deep container, add chopped garlic, seasonings (for example, black pepper, coriander, cumin). Mix the ingredients and add chopped onion. We also cut the tomato into rings and add it to the marinade. Next, transfer the washed portioned pieces of meat into the bowl, mixing them with the sour cream mixture. The amount of marinade should be such that it completely covers the rabbit meat. Place the pan in the refrigerator for three to four hours. Afterwards, the meat can be strung on skewers, alternating with onions and tomatoes.

Rabbit marinated in kefir

Very often, rabbit meat is marinated in kefir. The fermented milk product is great for chicken, pork, and any other meat too.

Ingredients:

• meat (two kg),
• several onions,
• olive oil (two tbsp.),
• liter of kefir,
• garlic,
• spices and salt.

Meat marinated in kefir turns out incredibly tender. Before cooking, rabbit meat must be washed and divided into portions. To prepare the marinade, take a deep container. Mix olive oil, kefir, chopped garlic, spices and salt in it. Place the meat into the resulting mass and mix everything well with your hands. Next, add the chopped onion into rings. Place the pan in the refrigerator for at least three hours, preferably overnight.

How to marinate a rabbit for smoking?

Of course, kebab is a very tasty dish. However, rabbit meat is good not only in this cooking method. It can be smoked like any other meat. But at the same time, rabbit meat must be prepared accordingly. How to marinate a rabbit before smoking?

Ingredients:

• rabbit carcass,
• salt,
• three bay leaves,
• sugar (1.5 tbsp.),
• garlic,
• grated ginger (0.5 tbsp.),
• peppercorns, water (2.5 l).

We carefully prepare the carcass for smoking, after which we wash the meat well. If you want to get tender and juicy meat, the colic must be hung in a room with a temperature of no more than 10 degrees and good ventilation. The rabbit is kept in such conditions for about two days. After this, you need to prepare the filling. It should be warm. Heat water in a container, adding sugar, salt, bay leaf, garlic and pepper. After the first two components are completely dissolved, remove the pan from the stove and place the carcass in the liquid. The marinade should completely cover the meat. Cover the container with a lid and leave for a day. The carcass needs to be turned over periodically so that it is well soaked. After this procedure, the meat is completely prepared for smoking. True, before this it is necessary to hang the carcass and allow excess liquid to drain. Next, the meat can be sent to the smokehouse.

In everyday life, rabbit meat is most often cooked in the oven. That’s why housewives are wondering how to marinate a rabbit for baking. Baked rabbit meat is tender and tasty, and this dish can also be given to children.

Ingredients:

• wine or balsamic vinegar (0.5 cups),
• rabbit carcass,
• garlic,
• black pepper,
• olive oil (1/2 cup),
• peppermint,
• basil,
• rosemary,
• thyme.

How to marinate a rabbit for baking? You can use any of the options we have given in the article as a marinade.

Pour balsamic vinegar into a container and add olive oil. Add chopped garlic, salt, pepper, bay leaf. We chop or tear fresh herbs with our hands, and then add them to the marinade. Mix everything thoroughly. Next, add a glass of heated (but not hot) water, mix the solution again and put the meat in it. Cover the container with a lid and place it in the refrigerator. Rabbit meat should be marinated for at least six hours; if you leave the meat in the marinade for a day, it will only become tastier.

Mineral water as a marinade

Typically, experienced housewives recommend soaking rabbit meat in ordinary water. Moreover, the liquid itself must be changed periodically. This will remove excess bitterness and soften the smell a little. However, you simply cannot do without a marinade when preparing rabbit meat.

You've probably used mineral water more than once as a marinade to prepare pork shish kebab. So, mineral water is also relevant for rabbit meat. It will remove everything unnecessary from the meat and soften it.

The rabbit meat is placed in a deep container and filled with mineral water, adding suitable spices. The meat should be in the marinade until all the gas is released from the liquid.

Vinegar with water

As we mentioned earlier, vinegar is not always worth using for rabbit meat. However, there are times when the carcass is not very fresh or has an odor due to the nuances of feeding. In this case, you simply cannot do without vinegar. It will help not only soften the meat, but also neutralize all extraneous odors.

In this case, the carcass should not be soaked in plain water; wine or apple cider vinegar should be added to it. The marinade should be made at the rate that there are one or two tablespoons of vinegar per liter of liquid.

Alcohol based marinades

How to marinate a rabbit? Housewives have quite a lot of marinade recipes in their arsenal. Many famous chefs believe that rabbit should be cooked only in wine. We presented a classic version of the recipe based on white wine with spices.

But French chefs prepare rabbit meat by soaking it in red wine. It is important to use dry varieties, since young rabbits already have a sweetish taste. Such an interesting combination of flavors is worthy of true gourmets.

There is also another interesting option for preparing the marinade. The wine is heated with spices and brought to a boil, after which the meat is dipped into it. However, not only wine is suitable for marinade. Any alcoholic drink can be used as a basis for preparation, including beer, which gives the meat amazing softness. Thyme must be added to this marinade.

If you are a fan of the sweetish taste of meat, you can use cider as a marinade. It gives the rabbit an apple-like sweetness.