Simple Roasted Rabbit Food

SIMPLE ROASTED RABBIT

Steps:

• Defrost and cut the rabbit.
• You will need six parts for roasting: 2 hind legs, 2 front legs, and the backstrap (loin) cut into 2 pieces (Note 2).
• Place the rabbit on a large cutting board lying on its back and open it up. Cut the belly flaps. Go under the armpit and cut the front legs with the whole shoulder.
• Grab the back legs with your hands and break that part open. Find where the tailbone is and cut along there.
• Cut the backbone and the ribs. Find the last rib with your fingers and cut right along that last rib. Repeat on the other side. The whole cut will be like a V. Grab the piece with your hands and break it apart so that you can see the joint between the bones and cut right there.
• Divide the backstrap or the loin in the middle. Find where the vertebra is and cut right there. Press with the knife or use a cleaver.
• Place the pieces in a roasting tin.
• In a small bowl mix olive oil, white wine, 4 grated garlic cloves, 2-3 sprigs chopped rosemary, salt, and pepper. Pour over the meat and turn the meat a few times in the marinade to coat it all over. Cover with plastic wrap/cling film and marinate for at least one hour, preferably 3-4. Remove from the fridge about 30 minutes before cooking.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius/ 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Add 3-4 whole garlic cloves and the remaining rosemary sprigs to the roasting pan. Pour in the water.
• Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, flipping the meat pieces about every 10 minutes. If you'd like the meat to get more color, turn on the grill during the last 5 minutes of the cooking time.
• The front legs and back strap pieces are smaller than the hind legs. I usually remove them after 30 minutes already, but I always check to see if the internal temperature is right, it should be 71 degrees Celsius/ 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Checking with a thermometer is the best way to ensure that the rabbit is safe to eat but not overcooked. If you overcook it, it will become dry.

SLOW ROASTED RABBIT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Season the rabbit with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the rabbit pieces and brown on all sides. Place in a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, onion, ketchup, garlic, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and water; pour over the rabbit.
• Bake uncovered for 90 minutes in the preheated oven, basting frequently. Meat should be very tender when done.

HONEY ROAST RABBIT

Steps:

• Rinse the rabbits and pat them dry with paper towels. Cut each one into three pieces; the hind legs, the front legs, and the loin. Cut the hind and front leg sections into 2 pieces each, leaving the loin in one piece. You should now have 5 sections per rabbit.
• Place the rabbit pieces in a large deep nonreactive bowl.
• In a small sauce pan over medium heat, reduce the orange juice to half a cup. In a small bowl, combine the pepper, fennel, saffron, cayenne, and salt. Add the reduced orange juice and the lemon juice, whisk together, and let stand for 10 or 15 minutes. Add the honey and mix together. Pour this mixture over the rabbit pieces, toss so that each one is evenly coated, and let sit at room temperature for about 1 hour, loosely covered. Toss the pieces every 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the rabbit from the marinade and place on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast the rabbit for 20 to 25 minutes, until done through with no trace of pink remaining. Baste once with the marinade halfway through the cooking time, then again when you remove the rabbit from the oven.
• Place the rabbit pieces on a platter and surround them with sprigs of watercress and wedges of lemon. Drain the onion slices briefly on paper towels, separate them into rings and scatter them over the top.

HUNTER'S RABBIT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• To a large warmed skillet over medium heat, add 1/4 cup of olive oil. Sprinkle the rabbit with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the rabbit to the hot oil and brown on both sides. Remove the rabbit to a medium-size casserole dish.
• In that same skillet, over medium heat, add more olive oil. Add the mushrooms and shallots and saute for about 2 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the casserole. Sprinkle the flour, thyme, parsley and the bay leaf over the rabbit and stir in the tomato sauce, wine, and the beef broth. You may add a pinch more of salt and pepper if you wish. Cover with foil and put in the oven to bake until the rabbit is tender, stirring every hour, about 2 to 3 hours. Rabbit meat should pull off easily from the bone with a fork. Remove from the oven and serve.

ROASTED RABBIT WITH OLIVES AND FETA

Steps:

• Place rabbit pieces in a large bowl and toss with rosemary, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a small saucepan over medium heat, simmer wine until reduced by half.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add rabbit pieces and garlic in a single layer and cook until meat is golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes a side. (If the garlic gets too dark before the rabbit is finished browning, put the garlic on top of the rabbit to keep it from cooking more.)
• Put lemon slices, olives and half the butter into the pan. Pour in reduced wine. Cover and transfer to oven for 5 minutes. Uncover and scatter feta over top. Continue cooking until rabbit is just cooked through, 5 to 10 minutes more. Stir in remaining butter and more salt if needed, and serve.

ROASTED RABBIT FOR A SUNDAY DINNER

Steps:

• If rabbit is not already prepared, wash it and trim away any skin and unwanted parts. Most rabbits come with the kidneys and other organs, regardless of whether they are prepared. Reserve these.
• Mix sausage meat and breadcrumbs together, kneading in the rosemary. Stuff the chest cavity of the rabbit with the stuffing, and continue down the torso, leaving a firm mound of stuffing from chest-groin.
• Wrap bacon rashers around rabbit, securing at the back with toothpicks, to seal stuffing inches.
• Roast rabbit on a medium/low heat for 1 hour, turning from one side to the other regularly and basting with any leaked juices.
• Meanwhile, boil potatoes in lightly salted water until firm, but starchy on the outide. Drain.
• Remove rabbit from roasting tray and set aside. Add lard to tray - once melted, toss in the pearl onions (whole), the carrots (roughly chopped into large pieces) and the potatoes. Toss vegetables in meat juices and lard, then replace rabbit on top. Roast a further 30 minutes, spooning over the hot lard as required, or until onions begin to blacken and potatoes turn golden and crisp.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove and set aside the rabbit and vegetables, allowing each spoonful to drain any juices back into the roasting pan.
• Pour stock into pan and scrape the bottom to lift up any stuck pieces of meat or vegetable, and to thoroughly combine the stock with the juices.
• Pour mixed stock and juice into a pot, adding a sprig of rosemary and the reserved rabbit organs. Place rabbit and vegetables back in over on a very low setting to keep warm.
• When stock reaches a rolling boil, mix the teaspoon of flour with a little water to form a paste, and add to the stock. Once thick and rich, taste and season to preference. Strain stock to remove organs and rosemary.
• Serve rabbit, surrounded with the roasted vegetables, and with the stock offered on the side as a gravy. Goes beautifully with redcurrant jelly.

WHOLE ROASTED RABBIT WITH GARLIC, ROSEMARY AND CORIANDER

Steps:

• Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• Spread rabbit out as flat as possible and place it on prepared pan.
• Season both sides with salt and pepper.
• Combine oil, garlic, rosemary, coriander, peppercorns and chili powder in a small bowl.
• Rub mixture over both sides of rabbit.
• Cover and refrigerate 2-3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 475°F.
• Uncover rabbit.
• Roast until tender and cooked through, 30-35 minutes.

ROASTED RABBIT WITH POTATOES AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Season the rabbit with salt and pepper and place in a non-corrosive dish. Mince the garlic and mix with the lemon juice, half the rosemary leaves and half a cup of the olive oil. Pour onto the rabbit, turn in the marinade, cover and refrigerate overnight, turning occasionally.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the rabbit in a roasting pan and pour on the marinade. Cover the rabbit with a piece of foil. Place the potatoes around the rabbit and sprinkle with salt, pepper and remaining rosemary leaves.
• Add the remaining oil and toss the potatoes so that they are coated and won't stick to the bottom of the roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes then remove the foil from the rabbit. Roast for another 10 to 25 minutes, or until tender and lightly browned.

ROAST RABBIT WITH THYME

Steps:

• Ask your butcher to joint the rabbit, cutting the legs into two pieces, the saddle into three and the shoulders and front into two. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7.
• Put the rabbit in a large roasting tin, season and add 1 tbsp of the thyme leaves. Add the oil and toss until the rabbit is well coated. Roast for 20 mins.
• Add the onions or shallots and the garlic, then stir well and roast for another 15 mins, stirring again halfway through. Sprinkle over the remaining thyme before serving.