The Best Wild Rabbit Recipes

People have been searching and cooking wild rabbits for longer than we’ve been recording historical past. We beloved consuming rabbit meat a lot that we domesticated the critters approach again in 1000 BC. Nevertheless, wild rabbit meat is darker and has a richer taste than the meat from its domesticated kinfolk. It additionally tends to be harder, which is sensible contemplating wild bunnies stay a a lot more durable life. One of the best wild rabbit recipes make use of cooking strategies that assist break down the meat’s toughness whereas enhancing its wealthy taste. 

Easy methods to Pores and skin and Butcher a Wild Rabbit

There’s little question that searching rabbits could be severe enjoyable. Nevertheless, a freshly harvested cottontail doesn’t appear like something you’d decide up on the grocery retailer. It may be tough to know precisely tips on how to clear a rabbit for cooking when you’ve by no means performed it earlier than. 

In the event you want some assist with how to skin a rabbit, we’ve damaged it down into some easy-to-follow steps. 

Upon getting the rabbit skinned, you need to use a pointy knife to separate the carcass into servable items. 

Easy methods to Cook dinner Wild Rabbit

Wild cottontails are inclined to cook dinner up far in another way than farm-raised rabbits. For one factor, wild bunnies are typically smaller than their farm-fresh cousins. You might be able to simply feed a household of 4 off a single store-bought rabbit, however you’ll in all probability want not less than two wild rabbits to perform the identical feat. Particularly, you probably have massive eaters and also you don’t need anybody to depart the desk hungry.

Additionally, onerous residing in wild, brambly locations creates robust, lean muscle tissues. Sadly robust muscle tissues are typically powerful in the event that they aren’t ready with care. Frying may fit nice for a farm bunny, however gradual cooking tends to yield the very best outcomes when working with wild cottontails.

In the event you’re useless set on frying up a passel of rabbits, attempt soaking the items in buttermilk earlier than dredging in flour and frying in sizzling grease. Persistence is the secret if you need one thing moist and tender. An in a single day soak will enable the enzymes in buttermilk to interrupt down a number of the meat’s toughness. The longer you let it marinate, the extra moist and tender will probably be after it hits the dinner plate. 

Wild Rabbit Hasenpfeffer

Hassenpfeffer is a standard German recipe, which works extremely properly with wild cottontails, even when the traditional recipe requires a hare. The stew is wealthy, warming, and flavorful. Pair it with creamy mashed potatoes and braised greens and it’s the good dish for warming up in cool climate.

Marinade Elements

• 1 massive yellow onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups purple wine
• 3/4 cup purple wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cracked black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon entire cloves

Stew Elements

• 2 wild rabbits, reduce into parts
• 1 cup flour
• 4 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup bitter cream

Directions

• Combine marinade substances and pour over rabbit items. Refrigerate for not less than 24 hours (48 is even higher), ensuring that rabbit items are completely lined in marinade.
• Take away rabbit from marinade and dredge in flour.
• Take away onions after which pressure marinade by means of a effective sieve. Set each apart.
• Warmth butter in a big pot or Dutch oven over medium warmth. Brown flour-coated rabbit items on all sides. Take away from the pan and put aside. 
• Add reserved onions and saute till tender. 
• Add reserved liquid from marinade to the pot, stirring and scraping any brown bits from the underside of the pot with a picket spoon.
• Return rabbit items to the pot, tucking them shut collectively, ideally in a single layer. 
• Carry to a low simmer after which switch pot to a 325-degree oven for two hours or till rabbit is fall-off-the-bone tender.
• Take away from the oven and stir in bitter cream. 
• Serve items smothered in sauce. 

Wild White Rabbit Salad

It is a wild recreation tackle conventional hen salad. It makes an excellent addition to any workplace social gathering or pot luck. Serve it with crackers or make it into these cute little crustless tea sandwiches that grandmas and guide golf equipment appear to like. 

Elements for Rabbit

• 1 entire wild rabbit
• 4 cups hen broth
• Bay leaf
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons entire black peppercorn

Elements for Salad

• 1 rib celery finely chopped
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon floor black pepper
• 1 teaspoon contemporary dill, chopped (or substitute ¼ teaspoon dried dill)

Directions

• Add all rabbit substances to a gradual cooker.
• Cook dinner on low for 8 to 10 hours.
• Take away rabbit and permit to chill for 10 minutes.
• Take away meat from bones.
• Chop rabbit meat finely.
• Combine collectively rabbit meat and remaining salad substances in a medium bowl.
• Chill for not less than one hour earlier than serving. 

Traditional Hen-Fried Wild Rabbit

No listing of finest wild rabbit recipes could be full with out this traditional. The important thing to creating tender, juicy fried wild rabbit is soaking it in buttermilk. Don’t rush this step. Soak it for a number of hours not less than. In a single day is best, particularly when you’re cooking a mature cottontail, which tends to be a complete lot harder than the children. 

Elements

• 2 wild rabbits, skinned and reduce into items
• 3 cups buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon Tabasco (or sizzling sauce of your alternative)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 
• Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

• Utilizing a fork, poke a number of holes in every bit of rabbit meat. 
• Marinate rabbit sections in buttermilk and Tabasco in a single day (not less than 6 hours). 
• Combine flour and seasonings in a big zippered storage bag.
• Take away rabbit from buttermilk combination. 
• Drop items into the seasoning bag one by one and shake till every bit is properly coated.
• Permit coated items to relaxation on a wire rack for 5 minutes. This permits the coating to stick to the meat, stopping it from coming unfastened throughout cooking. 
• Warmth ½ inch of oil in a big forged iron frying pan over medium warmth till sizzling.
• Fry rabbit parts in small batches within the oil with sufficient house between them that the meat doesn’t contact. 
• Cook dinner on one facet till golden brown (about 10 minutes), then flip and cook dinner on the other facet. The interior temperature ought to be not less than 160 levels Fahrenheit.
• Take away cooked items to a plate lined with paper towels to empty off extra oil.

Different Nice Wild Rabbit Recipes

In the event you’re searching for different inventive methods to organize wild rabbit, listed here are a few of my favorites.

Wild Rabbit Ragu and Gnocchi — This scrumptious recipe requires one pound of floor rabbit, which is one other nice approach to work with powerful, previous bunnies. 

Rabbit and Squirrel Gumbo — Two of essentially the most under-appreciated recreation meats turn out to be the star of this South Louisiana traditional. 

Wild Rabbit Stew — This stew is hearty, filling, and scrumptious. I wish to decelerate the cooking to essentially tenderize powerful bunnies. As soon as the pot hits a simmer, flip it right down to low and let it go for not less than an hour, possibly two when you can wait that lengthy.

Creamy Tomato and Pepper Braised Rabbit — This recipe is simple to make and serves as the proper consolation meals. 

Slow Braised Wild Rabbit with Mushrooms and Smokey Bacon — Bacon makes an excellent culinary companion for wild rabbits. It additionally provides a little bit of moisture and fats, which is essential when working with super-lean rabbit meat. 

Learn Subsequent: The Best Guns for Rabbit Hunting

Last Ideas on Cooking Wild Rabbit

Cooking wild rabbit could be difficult. These critters stay and survive within the wild, dodging predators from the air and the bottom. In consequence, they find yourself lean and hard. One of the best wild rabbit recipes take this into consideration, usually utilizing gradual cooking or lengthy marinating to develop a young, juicy, mouth-watering finish product. Completely cooked wild rabbit will rival the feel of store-bought hen, however with tons extra taste.

 

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