Simple Marinated Rabbit

[longislandhunter]

On Thanksgiving I had a freshly harvested rabbit I was going to make for my sister (she will only eat "free range" meat) and I wasn't quite sure what to do with it.  Since I didn't really have a lot of time I decided to just do a basic marinade and broil it.

I cut the rabbit into smaller pieces and washed and trimmed them very well.

I placed the rabbit pieces into a glass bowl and poured in just enough extra virgin olive oil to coat the rabbit pieces when stirred with a spoon.

To the "EVOO" I added salt, fresh pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, fresh dried basil, fresh dried oregano,  "Adobo" seasoning and a teaspoon of soy sauce.  

I stirred the rabbit and marinade well, so that all rabbit pieces were well coated, then I placed the bowl in the refrigerator where it sat for 3 hours.  During the 3 hours I stirred up the mixture a couple of times to keep the marinade on the rabbit.

When cooking I placed the rabbit pieces in a small broiling pan, covered the pieces with the remaining marinade from the bowl and broiled the rabbit on each side (turning only once) until the meat was firm and cooked but not over cooked.  I also used a basting brush and kept the pieces covered with the marinade as they cooked.  

I plated the rabbit, gave a final brushing of marinade and served.  


My sister absolutely loved it, my daughter said it was the best rabbit I ever made and I have to admit I also think it was delicious.  Matter of fact rather than frying my rabbits I will be preparing them in this manner from now on.  

The meat was tender, juicy (not dry like rabbit can be) and the "EVOO" and spices really gave it a wonderful flavor.  

Anyway, just thought I'd post it in case anyone wants to try it.

Jeff

[daveshoot]

How long did you cook, or did you use a meat thermometer? Sounds delicious, but the cooking is the part I have trouble with- I always seem to overcook. Any tips appreciated!

[longislandhunter]

I put it in the broiler on the middle rack and watched it closely.  As soon as the meat showed the first signs of starting to brown I immediately turned the pieces over.  I didn't time it but I would say very close to 10 - 12 minutes on each side..  The second side of course cooked a bit faster than the first since the initial broiling had heated the rabbit pieces. 

Don't let the meat brown at all, you just want it to firm up and turn that "white-ish" color that indicates that the meat is cooked.   After I took the pieces out of the broiler I placed them on a plate, basted them with the pan juices and then covered the plate tightly with aluminum foil and let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes while it was covered with the foil.  Covering it with the foil while it rested kept in all the steam and juices, helped it finish cooking all the way through and kept it moist.

Hope this helps.

[jonnnyboy]

Jeff, I'll make you a deal.  If you will cook a rabbit for me, I'll make you some squirrel and dumplings!!!  That rabbit sounds wonderful.  Now if I can just find a rabbit!!  LOL!

joe

[longislandhunter]

Sounds like a plan Joe 

The next time I make squirrel I'm going to prepare using this recipe.  Even though I love fried squirrel I'm thinking that if this recipe worked so well on rabbit there's no reason it shouldn't work on squirrel. 

Jeff

[Mebits]

Good job!

I'm wondering if this might be even prettier AND give you a visual on being cooked if you marinated in some soy and rice wine (sweet). Both of those will brown up nicely under a broiler in just 10-15'. Maybe add in some "five spice" seasoning and skip the herbs?

It's just a thought--a direction to experiment in. If for some reason I don't do my gorgonzola bunny, I'll try this too. If I do, I'll advise of my results.

[Jaymo]

What about soy sauce and plum wine?

[yote300wsm]

Don't Forget The Wine!!! A sweet red or white wine is the basis of half of my marinades. (Don't forget to toss a cup or two in that pot of Venison stew!!).

[only1harry]

Great post Jeff!  Not sure how I missed this but that's a great way to cook rabbit and squirrel!  I have cooked squirrel like that several times, and my mom used to cook rabbit in a similar way many years ago when I used to hunt them. 

I do it a little differently though but there are similarities.  I have not tried broiling it, but put the meat in the oven in a deep pan (usually glass or pyrex).  In the pan there is anywhere from 1/3" to 1/2" deep of extra virgin olive oil mixed in with water (2 parts water, 1 part olive oil).  I also add lots of oregano in the oil/water mixture and some salt and pepper, as I do on the meat with all 3.  I also sometimes add dried basil like you, and will sprinkle some dried Mint in the "sauce" as well (not a lot).  This works best with 2 rabbits or 2 squirrels in the pan (I wouldn't want to fill a pan with expensive olive oil for only 1 squirrel).  I like the taste of lemon, so I add 1 squeezed lemon or 1-2oz of lemon juice in the last 3-4 minutes before it's done, or I remove the meat from the oven.  The "sauce" boils while it's cooking and it also absorbs the flavor of the meat with the spices.  I keep basting the meat every 5min. and turn the meat over only once like you do. 

Not everyone likes lemon, or the lemony taste, so if you decide NOT to add it towards the end, then you can prepare it by adding,  the garlic & onion powder and/or soy sauce early on.  Those don't usually go toget with lemon too well.