Rabbit meat is not only a diet and low-calorie product, but also protein food, which is necessary for the normal growth and development of the child's body or maintaining an active lifestyle for adults and elderly people. Today you will learn how to cook a rabbit in the oven, what are the features of this meat and how to prepare it before cooking. As well as the easiest recipes for your personalized cookbook.
Types of Rabbit Meat
Rabbit meat can be divided into two types:
- meat of a young animal - from 3 to 5 months of age and weighing up to one and a half kg;
- meat from an adult animal - aged 5-6 months and weighing two or more kilograms.
Features of meat preparation
The meat of a young animal does not require special preparation, it is tender and juicy. Before direct cooking, you should only chop, pickle a few pieces of carcass to give them an additional aroma and taste.
For cutting, take a strong chef's knife or a small kitchen hatchet. Put the carcass on the back and spread the legs. Chop into pieces.
And how to cook a juicy rabbit in the oven from meat from an adult or old animal? If the carcass has a characteristic specific odor, it must be soaked in water with acid. This is not pickling, namely the removal of the smell from an adult or old meat. For this procedure, you need a bowl of cold water, citrus sour juice from 2-3 fruits or a little table vinegar. For the same purpose sometimes take acidified table white wine. Salts should never be added. In this solution, keep the meat for a couple of hours. Then rinse and proceed with further cooking steps.
Marinade mixtures and spices will help soften meat.
How to choose a marinade
Marinade mixtures are selected primarily according to your preferences. The best can be considered those that are prepared on the basis of an acidic product or alcohol. As an example, we highlight several variants of marinade for a rabbit based on:
- table dry white wine - with ground ginger, coriander, dried Provencal herbs;
- freshly squeezed citrus juice - with parsley, dill, rosemary and salt;
- table vinegar 6% - with onions, cloves of garlic, ground pepper, bay leaf, parsley and salt;
- aromatic apple (wine) vinegar - with honey, olive oil, mint, cranberry puree and ground pepper;
- soy sauce - with onions, garlic, sunflower oil, table mustard and salt.
These spices and seasonings are the best for rabbit meat. However, each housewife selects spices to their taste or those that are at hand.
If pieces of carcass will be cooked on a wire rack, kefir marinade is the best suited. The juice of one or half a lemon and onion rings are added to it. Add salt to taste.
The specific quantity of products is not indicated, and there is a reason for this. Marinade is prepared approximately on the palate. That is, you try it and add the component, which, in your opinion, is not enough. So, the taste of a suitable marinade should be mildly sour, salty and slightly spicy. Pronounced sour or salty tastes should be avoided.
Juicy rabbit in the oven
So, now we learn how to cook a rabbit in the oven. The recipes are not complicated - every housewife will cope. From any meat we will help to prepare an amazing and fragrant dish with soft and juicy meat.
What ingredients are needed:
- rabbit carcass - 1 pc.;
- table white wine - 200 ml;
- dried ginger - a pinch;
- ground coriander - on the tip of a knife;
- dry herbs of Provence - optional;
- salt - 1/2 tsp;
- vegetable oil - 1 tsp.
How to cook a rabbit in the oven? A step-by-step recipe is given below:
- Chop the rabbit carcass into joints in small portions. Rinse them in cold water.
- Combine white wine, ginger, coriander and dried herbs. Add salt and oil. Stir the mixture and pour it over the pieces of the rabbit. Mix well and let marinate for 30-40 minutes.
- Then turn on the oven at 180-200 ° C.
- In a small baking sheet, lay a dense layer of food foil. Spread the shiny side up. Then put the pieces of the rabbit in one layer in it. Pour the remaining marinade and cover with foil.
- Put in a preheated oven for an hour.
With this recipe you can cook the legs of a rabbit in the oven. The recipe does not change.
Braised rabbit meat
What ingredients are needed:
- rabbit - 1 pc.;
- fresh vegetables - 600 g;
- parsley - for serving;
- salt to taste;
- spices - a couple of pinches;
- vegetable oil - 3 tbsp. l
How to cook rabbit meat in the oven - step by step recipe:
- With a sharp knife, divide the rabbit carcass into pieces. Rinse under the tap in cold water.
- Prepare the vegetables - peel and rinse. Take onions, carrots, celery stalks, bell peppers or something else at will. Choose slices in large pieces - cubes.
- Place the rabbit and vegetables in a ducklifter, pot, or ceramic baking dish. Pour in oil. Add salt, spices.
- Pour in hot water or pre-prepared chicken broth. Products must be covered. But keep in mind that the form should not be filled to the full extent.
- Cover the mold with food foil or close the lid of the pot if you have chosen it for cooking.
- Place in the oven at 180 ° C for 2 hours.
- As a side dish, choose boiled pasta or cereals. For addition, you can cook boiled or stewed spinach.
Oven rabbit legs
What products are needed:
- rabbit legs - 4-5 pcs.;
- turnip onions - 1 pc.;
- garlic - a pair of cloves;
- kefir (or sour cream) - 150 ml;
- table mustard - 1/2 tsp;
- salt - 1/2 tsp;
- spicy herbs dry - a couple of pinches;
- vegetable oil - 1 tbsp. l
How to cook in this case a rabbit in the oven? A step-by-step recipe is presented below:
- Rinse the rabbit's legs in cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
- Peel and chop onion rings. Rub the garlic into the pulp.
- Combine onion, garlic, kefir, mustard, salt and dried herbs for the marinade.
- Dip the rabbit's legs in the marinade and rub it thoroughly with the mixture. Leave for a quarter of an hour.
- Turn on the oven at 180 ° C and do the baking sheet. Lubricate it and put the legs one to one. Set to bake for an hour. Maybe a little more.
Instead of a baking sheet for cooking, you can take a durable cast-iron pan. It perfectly holds heat and the meat will gradually steal and languish under the influence of marinade filling.
Other cooking options
There is another option, how to cook a rabbit in the oven. Sprinkle grated hard cheese over the legs before baking. A golden crust forms before which your guests will not resist!
In addition to these cooking methods, there are several more. How to cook a soft rabbit in the oven in a pot, in a sleeve? You can make rolls of fillet. Use thin slices of pork loin or brisket. Wrap the fillet pieces in them and bake in the oven using any of the listed methods.
In the fillet, you can twist the filling - stuffed. To do this, be sure to beat off the pieces of meat with a kitchen hammer. Then spread out the filling and twist. If you are afraid that the rolls will lose their shape, fasten them with toothpicks or a thread. But before serving, remove the thread and pull out the toothpick.
For the filling, the following options are suitable:
- sauteed vegetables;
- fried or pickled mushrooms, such as champignons;
- chopped fresh herbs chopped;
- chopped boiled egg and soft rice.
Add crushed cheese to any of the fillings, if desired, hard, soft, processed or pickled to taste.
Rabbit sauce
After you learn how to cook a rabbit in the oven, it's time to get acquainted with sauces. They are served at the table with a meat dish in a plate or in a special gravy boat. We give an example of a classic combination of sweet and sour sauce for soft meat. But use this recipe if you have taken the minimum amount of spices and seasonings for baking meat. Otherwise, these components will “clog” the taste of the meat itself.
What ingredients are needed:
- cranberries - 200 g;
- honey - 5 tbsp. l .;
- a sprig of rosemary (or thyme) - 1 pc.;
- boiled water or dry red wine - 150 ml.
Stages of preparation:
- Rinse the berries. Wipe in mashed potatoes.
- Combine mashed potatoes and honey in a saucepan. Add rosemary with a whole sprig. Cook until thickened. Pour in water and cook for a couple of minutes after boiling.
- Serve the sauce without rosemary.
If you have already tried this version of the sauce and want variety, using the most affordable products, you can make sour cream sauce or a slice of green oil. For hot meat, this option will be very useful. It will soften the baked crust of portioned pieces and fully reveal the aromas of spices and herbs used for the marinade.
Cooking Tips
You learned how to cook a rabbit in the oven. Recipes can be supplemented with one more: it is meat or legs baked in batter.
To make batter, take mayonnaise or sour cream sauce, a little table or Dijon mustard, salt and ground spices. For a bunch, be sure to add an egg and wheat flour. If 1 tsp. vodka, vinegar or beer, after cooking it will be crispy.