Cooking with Rabbit Meat

Rabbit meat can be used in most of the ways in which chicken can be used. It is fine grained and mild flavored, and practically all of it is white meat. Like other lean meats, poultry and lean fish, rabbit meat is a good source of high quality protein.

Small young rabbits (fryers, 1½ to 2 pounds ready to cook) may be fried satisfactorily in much the same way that chicken is fried. Or they may be stewed and the meat used in various recipes.

Larger fryers and roasters need long, slow cooking in a covered pan to make them tender. Best methods of cooking them are stewing -- that is, simmering in a small amount of water - and braising - first browning in a little fat and then cooking slowly,with or without added liquid, on top of the range or in the oven. Liquid used in braising may be a sauce that adds flavor to the dish.

For most recipes, the rabbit is cut in serving pieces before it is cooked. Cut large rabbits into 9 or 11 pieces -- the 2 forelegs, 4 pieces from the 2 hind legs and 3 or 5 sections of back.

The kidneys are usually attached inside the lower back and are cooked and served with this piece. The liver and heart may be cooked with the rest of the rabbit in any recipe you are using, or stewed separately and used in gravy.

From a small rabbit 1½ to 3½ pounds, ready to cook, you may expect 2 to 4½ cups of cooked meat. From larger rabbits you may count on about 1½ cups of cooked meat per pound of ready to cook weight.