I've always wanted to cook rabbit, so as one of my New Wife Resolutions I've decided to give it a go over the Christmas break. The only thing I don't want to do is a pie, but I'm open to any other suggestions for recipes and for how to deal with the meat itself. Does it need slow-cooking? Which bit is best to eat? What ingredients does it go particularly well with? Cheers folks!

I just cooked rabbit for the first time like a month ago. I made hasenpfeffer (which I keep calling pfeffernusse for some reason). It was good but nothing to write home about. I bought a whole rabbit and butchered it just like I would a chicken. It's probably a good recipe to start with because it's forgiving, and it's tasty without being too adventurous. And if you've ever made chicken stew, it's made the same way.

I have to say, I would definitely make hasenpfeffer again, but I think I'd just make it with chicken because it's cheaper and it tastes VERY similar to rabbit in this dish. Plus, there's more meat on a chicken. But everyone liked the rabbit, and it's definitely worth a try.

My grandmother used to make hasenpfeffer (she also made pfeffernusse which is, for the unenlightened, a traditional German Christmas cookie.) I agree with Panic about the "tastes like Chicken" comment. Grandma's recipe was highly spiced and when cooking had a rather strong smell to it...I don't know if that was the bunny or grandma's recipe. Maybe Panic could comment on that. I was about 14 or 15 when I had it at her house and she died two years later. I've never had it again. Aside from some occasional venison (deer) I haven't had much in the realm of game. I did have a small sample of bear meat once at a restaurant when the maitre d' brought it around for us to try. A hunter had brought the bear meat to the restaurant for the head chef to cook for he and his party and apparently it is a sort of a tradition to permit the chef to keep some of the meat to share as samples with patrons and staff. Needless to say, this restaurant was a bit more sophisticated than McDonalds. Hmmmmm, a McBear???? Or even a McBunny.

Jon

I've never cooked with it, but I did have a really great rabbit ravioli at a nice restaurant once. For a sauce they just combined a broth made with the bones with some hazelnuts. Tasty

Hasenpfeffer tastes less like chicken if you can get a wild rabbit or hare. In that case you get more of a 'game' flavour.

When I was a small child my grandfather and my great uncles would go on into the night about their day's adventures rabbit hunting, but I never saw any evidence that they actually hit any.

Grandma...the one who made the hassenpfeffer...would then come in to chide them and announce that she had gotten the rabbit at the butcher shop next door. My grandparents were owners of a Mom and Pop grocery store in a small town. There was some sort of connection to the butcher shop next door as my grandfather would send me there to collect meat orders which he would deliver to his customers. People would call the store in the morning and my grandmother would get the orders ready in collapsable boxes. About mid-morning, grandpa would make his deliveries to the housewives (few women worked in those days so they were always home.) Whenever I visited with them, I would tag along. Fortunately my grandparents retired before supermarkets would have forced them out of business. That was a far different era!

Jon

My nan told me her dad butchered her pet rabbit and they ate it for Sunday lunch. This was the 'tween-war period though so I'll let him off. She also told me her grandad used to dock puppies tails - with his teeth. Different times!

^HAHA Louise...that happened to me and my cousin too. We had both won ducklings at the county fair at a "penny pitch" (they had saucers floating in water and from a distance you pitched coins at it. If the coin stayed in a dish you won a baby duckling.) About halfway through the fair, the city animal officer closed it down on animal cruelty grounds, but my cousin and I had our ducks by that time. We kept the ducks at my cousin's house, but I'd buy feed from my allowance and drop it off. We named them Elmer and Fuzzy.

When Thanksgiving came around the extended family had dinner at my aunt and uncle's house. There were two "suspicious" fowl being served which the adults referred to as "goose."

At the end of the dinner, either my father or uncle asked me how did I like the dinner. I said fine and they told me it was Elmer and Fuzzy. I was 10 at the time and I had my suspicions, but not at an age where I would have been emotional about it, particular since the ducks never lived at my house. I think my cousins were in on the ruse. Years later, my folks told me I handled it well.

Jon

Oh Jon that was cruel of your family!

My grandmother once served me Rabbit Cacciatore but didn't tell me it was rabbit until after I ate it. I thought it was the standard Chicken Cacciatore. I just tasted like dark meat chicken to me, which is to say it tasted slightly sweeter and a little richer than white meat chicken.

Here is a basic Rabbit Cacciatore recipe:

www.epicurious.com . . .

EDIT: Cacciatore is served over pasta, we always used spaghetti.

I've only ever had rabbit once, when I was visiting a bible college in Zimbabwe. They just deep fried it, and it came out really dry, like chicken, but without the "chickeny" taste. But that could be because they raised them themselves. The chicken they raised was way tougher than farmed chicken, too.


This is my go to recipe for chicken cacciatore. It always comes out fabulous.
www.epicurious.com . . .

Making it with rabbit is one of my bucket-list recipes.

Helen

I currently have two rabbits in my freezer, both are skinned and portioned all ready. I got two as my butcher doesn't always have them so I like to stock up.

I usually just do a slow-cooked rabbit casserole/stew with loads of veggies, spices, herbs, stock, red wine, etc. Basically whatever I have on the fridge or cupboards - but then again I never really follow recipes.

I have had rabbit pie before that my brother made and that was pretty good.

I really want to try Jamie Olivers Rabbit Bolognese soon though as it looked pretty tasty.

www.jamieoliver.com . . .

It takes a long time to cook but thought it sounded like a good twist on the standard bolognese.

There's also some good recipes on this site (I use this site a lot for ideas and put my own twist on them)

allrecipes.co.uk . . .

good luck with it

MOOM