How to Roast a Rabbit

A few thoughts on eating rabbit:

1. The truth is that I’m not sure if I like rabbit.   “Roast Rabbit” was not as fabulous nor as “chicken-y” as everyone claimed it would be.  Maybe I had defective rabbits who forgot they were supposed to taste like chicken.
2. Well, they did kinda taste like chicken.  They tasted more like chicken than they did anything else.  But if it was between chicken and rabbit – I’m gonna have to chose chicken.
3. Was the roasted rabbit good?  Yes, it was good.  Yes, the kids LOVED it.  It was free.  It was fun to cook something DH & my sons brought home from a successful hunt.  It is all good.  It just wasn’t the yummiest thing I’ve ever eaten.
4. Maybe, I just don’t prefer rabbit??  BUT – Maybe you do!!!
5. On the other hand if it came to an emergency situation & rabbit was on the menu – I’m in.  Let’s roast’em

I’ve decided next time someone hands me a rabbit, I’m gonna fry it.  I’ll be sure to post all about that when it happens.

If you want to cook a rabbit, and don’t want to fry it – here is how I cooked mine.  If you love rabbit meat, you’ll probably love this.

Sweet & Sticky Roasted Rabbit!

First, you’re going to need some rabbits.

DH took our boys rabbit hunting and brought home 5 beauties for me to cook.

My search started online for a good recipe.  5 Rabbits is quite a bit of meat & I didn’t want to stand in front of my stove all afternoon frying 5 rabbits, so I was searching for a roasted rabbit recipe.

If you google “how to cook a rabbit” you’ll find all sorts of entertaining recipes.

In addition to the expected, “Whole Roasted Rabbit” and “Rosemary Roasted Rabbit” here’s some that grabbed my attention:

• Rabbit Casserole
• Hunter’s Hare Recipe
• Easy Wild Rabbit
• Rabbit Stew
• Braised Rabbit
• The Only Good Rabbit
•  My favorite Cottontail Recipe

They made me laugh for some reason.

Anyhow.  After reading 20 Google pages of rabbit recipes I decided not to make any of them.  

As DH and I were cleaning and cutting up the rabbit parts for cooking I was astounded at how much it resembled chicken.  It looked just like chicken wings.  Wings and thighs.

During my global search for rabbit recipes there was one theme that kept reoccurring:

You can substitute rabbit for any chicken recipe.

They taste so similar.  Most folks even boasted that although rabbit meat taste like chicken,  it has more flavor.  So, rabbit is more chicken-y than chicken.  Cool.

I have a KILLER recipe that I use all the time for wings.  Since my little harey friends looked just like wings and thighs – wings and thighs they shall be!

Ingredients:

• Soy Sauce
• Brown Sugar (I used Turbinado)
• Tomato Paste
• Garlic Cloves
• Ground Ginger
• Red pepper
• Oil (I used coconut oil)

So good.

First, wash and cut up your rabbits.

Mix equal parts soy sauce and brown sugar in a large bowl.  Mince 4 cloves garlic & add to sauce.  Add the red pepper, ginger, tomato paste, and oil.  Mix well.

Dump the (cleaned, cut up) rabbit pieces into the bowl with the marinade and toss to cover.

Transfer into large bakers pan.  Arrange the rabbit so you have a single layer.  Pour additional the marinade over the rabbit parts.

Now the baking begins.   Bake your rabbit in a 350 degree oven for 2 hours..  Your rabbit will begin it’s baking experience sitting in a pool of the marinade juice.  This is what you want.

As the rabbit cooks the marinade soup will disappear.  This is good.

Continue baking.  As it cooks the marinade will bubble, simmer, thicken and reduce.  At the end of the roast-a-thon your rabbit will be glazed, browned and fabulous!

Be careful not to eat the buck-shots.  Oops.

No one will know it’s cottontail-special unless you tell them.

If you don’t have any rabbit – but love sticky wings; substitute chicken wings and you’ll have these:

Absolutely, the best wings that can come from your oven.  As I was trying to placing them on the plate they were falling apart.  So, so tender that the meat wouldn’t stay on the bone for the picture.  Can you say, “Yum.”

Yum.  Yum.  Yum.

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-Candi

Print Recipe

Sweet & Sticky Roasted Rabbit Recipe

Sweety, tangy, sticky wings. That's what these taste like, except they aren't wings - they are rabbits.

Course

Main Dish

Cuisine

Rabbit

Servings

pounds

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup soy sauce
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 4-6 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tbsp ginger ground
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup oil I use coconut
• rabbit legs (3-4 rabbits, washed & dried)

Course Main Dish Cuisine Rabbit Servings pounds Ingredients 2/3 cup soy sauce 2/3 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup tomato paste 4-6 cloves garlic minced 1 tbsp ginger ground 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 1/4 cup oil I use coconut rabbit legs (3-4 rabbits, washed & dried)

Recipe Notes

Combine soy sauce and brown sugar in a bowl.  Mince 4 cloves garlic & add to sauce.  Add the red pepper, ginger, tomato paste, and oil.  Mix well.  Pour marinade into bowl with cleaned, cut up rabbit.  Transfer into large bakers pan.  Arrange the rabbit so you have a single layer.  Pour additional the marinade over the rabbit parts.

Put in a 350 degree oven & cook for 2 hours – turning occasionally ( I turn it 2 times).  At the end of baking you will notice that most of the liquid is gone.  Turn up the oven to 400 degrees at the end of baking to achieve desired brown-ness.

Your rabbit will be glazed, browned and fabulous!

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