Roast Rabbit With Stuffing Recipes

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.

ROAST RABBIT WITH STUFFING

Steps:

• Rub the rabbit inside and out with a mixture of the lemon juice, fennel, sage, salt and pepper. Then refrigerate for at least two hours. In the meantime, prepare the stuffing.
• Melt butter in a saucepan. Add rice, then stirfy for a minute. Sir in water, salt, rosemary, pepper, nutmeg, allspice and cardamom. Cover and bring to a boil, then allow to simmer over medium/low heat for 15 minutes. Stir in almonds and onions, then set aside for stuffing.
• In the meantime, combine all the ingredients for the basting juice and set aside.
• Stuff rabbit, then sew closed. Place in a roasting pan with 1 cup water, then baste generously. Cover, then place in a 350 degree F. preheated oven. Roast for an hour, basting lavishly every 20 minutes. Remove pan cover, then cook and continue basting, using pan juices if basting juice is finished, for another hour or until meat turns tender. If rabbit is not brown, broil for a few minutes. Serve piping hot.
• Note: If you use wild rabbit, clean and wash it while wearing gloves. If animal is diseased this will ensure that the cook will not catch the disease. Roasting will kill any bacteria making the rabbit safe to eat. Also, to eliminate the wild taste, soak the cleaned animal for at least two hours in a cup of vinegar mixed with enough water to cover the rabbit.

ROAST RABBIT WITH ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Sprinkle the rabbit with salt and pepper.
• Heat the oil and half of the butter in a baking dish. Add the rabbit pieces in one layer. Sprinkle with rosemary.
• Place the dish in the oven and bake 30 minutes. Turn the rabbit pieces and continue baking five minutes. Sprinkle with shallots and garlic. Bake five minutes and add the wine and broth. Bake, turning the pieces occasionally, about 20 minutes. Stir in the remaining one tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

ROASTED BACON-WRAPPED RABBIT

Steps:

• Put everything except the bacon in a sealable plastic bag. Seal the bag, shake to distribute the seasonings and refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours.
• Thirty minutes before dinner, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Quickly rinse the spices off the rabbit with cold water. Blot the pieces completely dry with paper towels, then blot the bacon dry. Wrap each rabbit piece in a slice of bacon and place them seam-side down on a rimmed baking sheet or in a shallow roasting pan or a large ovenproof skillet. (The flat pieces below the rabbit's ribs, known as the flap, can be rolled up and then wrapped.) Roast until the bacon crisps and the rabbit is no longer pink, 25 to 30 minutes. It is impossible to imagine this as anything other than finger food (maybe with some roasted potatoes).

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.

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.