How long to cook a rabbit in a saucepan, double boiler and slow cooker

How to cook a rabbit and how long to cook rabbit meat Today there is no more dietary and healthy meat in terms of its properties and nutrients than rabbit meat. Therefore, rabbit meat, like no other, is suitable for the first feeding of a child, when he begins to be weaned from mother's milk. It is rabbit meat that contains all the necessary microelements for the normal growth of the baby: a huge amount of protein and other nutrients. As a result, many people wonder about the correct cooking of rabbit meat - how and how much time it should be cooked.

Features of pre-treatment

Before you start boiling, the meat must be properly prepared. If you skip the pre-processing stage, the result will not be so soft, some parts will be inedible, and the overall impression of the delicious product will not be the most enthusiastic.

Wash the carcass thoroughly in cold water and dry it. After this, use a very sharp knife to cut out all the films, fatty areas, and tendons.
We cut the rabbit into portions. In general, the whole animal is boiled very rarely, because... Due to the specific nature of the fibers, it is boiled unevenly. The front part of the carcass is ideal for this type of processing; here the meat is coarser.
An additional advantage will be pre-soaking the product for 2-3 hours. This will get rid of the unpleasant odor and prevent it from being too hard. When boiling a rabbit for a child, this step is required.
Rabbit meat responds positively to the use of marinade. If you keep pieces of rabbit meat in your favorite marinade for 1.5-2 hours, they will become more tender and aromatic.

After the preparatory stage has been completed, you can proceed directly to cooking. For this you can use both ordinary water and fermented milk products.

Serving Size

Many housewives prefer to cook meat in portions. To do this, the carcass must first be divided into parts. After this, you can choose the right number of pieces so that you don’t have to worry about what to do with the leftovers. In this case, logically, the cooking process should go much faster. How long does it take to cook a rabbit after such preliminary preparation?

Experienced chefs claim that in this case the duration of the process is reduced by 2-3 times. To boil a young carcass, divided into pieces, it will take only 35-40 minutes. For an old rabbit it will take about an hour. This tangible difference causes many to act this way. In addition, it is recommended to first keep the product in cold water for some time. This, firstly, makes the meat softer and further reduces its cooking time, and secondly, it allows you to remove the unpleasant specific smell.

How long does it take to cook a rabbit?

The cooking time for a rabbit depends on the chosen cooking method (the carcass is cut into pieces, or it is cooked whole), as well as on the age of the animal (young rabbit meat cooks a little faster). Let's take a closer look at how long you need to cook rabbit meat:

How long does it take to cook rabbit meat in a saucepan? If the rabbit meat is cut into small pieces, then it is cooked for 35-40 minutes after boiling water in a pan, but if the rabbit is boiled whole, then its cooking time increases to 1.5-2 hours.
How long does it take to cook rabbit for soup? To get a rich broth from rabbit meat, the meat is boiled for an average of 1 hour, while the water after the first boil in the pan is drained and new water is added.
How long to cook a rabbit in a slow cooker? In a slow cooker, rabbit meat must be cooked for 2 hours in the “Stew” mode.

Having found out how long you need to cook a rabbit until it is ready, we will further consider the cooking process itself in order to know how to cook rabbit meat deliciously so that it is soft and juicy.

How to cook rabbit?

The most common way to cook rabbit meat is to cook it in a regular saucepan on the stove, so let’s look at step by step how to cook a rabbit in a saucepan so that the meat is soft and juicy:

First of all, the rabbit must be prepared for cooking; for this, the carcass is thoroughly washed in cold water and dried, then cut (cut into pieces, veins, films and fat are cut out) and soaked for 2-3 hours (in marinade or in plain water, if cooking rabbit meat for a child).
Pour water into a saucepan of a suitable size (so that the meat is completely submerged in water during cooking) and bring to a boil.
Place rabbit meat in boiling water, after boiling the water again, reduce the heat (the water should not boil too much) and cook for 35-40 minutes (if the meat is cut into pieces) or 1.5-2 hours if the carcass is whole. The pan must be covered with a lid when cooking.
After boiling water, add salt to taste, bay leaf, peppercorns (black and allspice), as well as whole peeled onions and carrots cut into pieces to make the meat more tasty and aromatic.
At the end of cooking, the meat is checked for readiness by piercing it with a knife or fork (if it is soft and easily pierced, it is ready).

Age criterion

When starting to cook, a good housewife already knows approximately in advance how long the whole process will take. This allows her to think through every step and choose the right mode to get the desired result. Recently, rabbit meat has become increasingly popular. People have learned to appreciate its unique beneficial properties. The simplest method of processing, as is known, is cooking.

But putting it into practice is not as easy as it seems. In order to determine how long to cook a rabbit, you need to pay attention to three main parameters:

Age of the animal.
Sizes of pieces of meat used.
Temperature and other conditions for the cooking process.

Each of these indicators significantly influences the progress of the process. It helps you make the right decision. The first parameter can be considered the most important, because the age of the animal most affects how much time to cook the rabbit. This is quite logical. It is clear that the meat of an old rabbit will be tougher, so it will take at least two and a half hours to process it. The muscle tissue of a young animal is more tender and soft. It only takes an hour and a half to boil them. Now, having a specific carcass available, you can immediately determine how long to cook the rabbit in time. The remaining parameters only allow us to clarify this figure.

How to boil a rabbit in a saucepan or slow cooker?

To cook boiled meat in a traditional environment, you can choose one of the following approaches:

In a saucepan. Pour cold water into the container and bring it to a boil. Place the rabbit in boiling water, wait for the liquid to boil again, set the heat to medium and cover the pan with a lid. After 10 minutes, put the chopped carrots and onions into the bowl, stir and cover again. You can add salt both during processing and when the dish is ready. After another 25-30 minutes, check the meat for doneness.
In a slow cooker. Place the rabbit pieces in the multicooker bowl, add chopped vegetables there, fill it all with water so that the liquid covers the mass. Cook the product for an hour using the “Stew” mode. If after the specified time the product is not yet ready, we extend the processing for another 30 minutes.

To understand whether our rabbit is cooked, you just need to try to pierce it with a fork. If the cloves go in easily, the meat is ready. There is no need to infuse it, just cool it slightly and you can serve it or use it further for its intended purpose.

For the little ones

Experts have long determined that rabbit meat is an ideal dietary product. In addition, it can also be used for baby food. Many mothers begin feeding their children this meat before they are one year old. Here you need to know exactly how much time to cook a rabbit for a child. After all, the baby’s body at this age is still very weak. He is unable to cope with heavy food. That is why doctors advise parents to be extremely careful and follow all the necessary rules. Firstly, you should always use only fresh meat for cooking. Therefore, the carcass must first be divided into portions.

It is better to put the remaining parts in the freezer so that you can use them for their intended purpose at any time. For a baby, a piece weighing 50 grams will be enough. To cook this amount of meat, 40 minutes will be enough. After this, you should try to pierce it with a fork. If the teeth pass inside freely, then the product can be considered ready. Otherwise, you should wait another 15-20 minutes. After this, it is better to grind the meat in a blender with the remaining ingredients (porridge or vegetables).

How to boil a rabbit in cream or sour cream?

Rabbit meat boiled in a fermented milk environment turns into an absolutely amazing product. The main thing is to choose the right proportions of ingredients and act strictly according to plan:

For a rabbit carcass weighing 1.5 kg, take three medium onions, a glass of dry white wine and heavy cream, a few black peppercorns, a couple of bay leaves, parsley root and a little salt.
We prepare the carcass as usual, cut it into portions and place it in the multicooker bowl. There we also add onion cut into half rings or cubes, chopped parsley root and peppercorns.
Salt the mixture and mix. Then pour in wine and cream (you can replace 20-25% with sour cream), stir everything well again and close the lid. Select the “Stew” mode and start it for 1.5-2 hours, depending on the size of the pieces and how full the bowl is.
Place the finished product on plates, pour the resulting sauce over it if desired, garnish with herbs and serve.

If you need to boil a rabbit for soup, we follow the standard procedure. By the way, in this case you should not use seasonings in granules, they will spoil the natural aroma of the product. After bringing the main component to readiness, we take out the meat, strain the broth, and cook the first dish from it according to the chosen recipe.

Only when all the ingredients have reached the desired state, add pieces of rabbit meat to the soup, boil the mixture again and it is ready to serve.

Let's sum it up

For those who are preparing a rabbit for the first time, buying a young carcass, you should remember that it does not need a large amount of spices and seasonings. While adult rabbit meat has a peculiar smell, and its preparation requires more aromatic spices, such as oregano, thyme and basil. They can be used both in marinade and when rubbing meat before frying.

Spices are not added during cooking, but used in small quantities when frying and baking.

When choosing spices, you need to take into account their compatibility with each other, otherwise you can ruin the dish.

Recipes with boiled rabbit

Rabbit meat “loves” dairy products and goes well with them in recipes and sauces. You can even replace some of the water during the cooking process with cream, and you will have a completely new recipe.

Rabbit in cream in a slow cooker:

To sell, you need to take a whole rabbit carcass weighing no more than 1.5 kg, 3 onions and 1 glass of heavy cream. Add a glass of white wine, parsley roots, peppercorns and 2 bay leaves. Salt - to taste:

the carcass is placed in a multicooker bowl, seasoned with onion half rings;
then you need to pour in the liquid ingredients and add pepper and roots;
salt and turn on to simmer for 2 hours.

You can serve this dish with any vegetables or rice. It will perfectly decorate even a holiday table!

Delicious rabbit soup:

To prepare a recipe for 5 people, take 1 kg of pieces of meat, 8 pcs. potatoes, 1 pc. onions and carrots, as well as 0.5 tbsp. rice and a whole bunch of any greens. For dressing you will need sour cream, and for frying - oil:

The rabbit is boiled according to the instructions, periodically removing the coagulated protein;
grate the carrots and cut the onions into small cubes, then sauté them in oil;
diced potatoes are added to the soup;
as soon as it boils, add rice and cook, stirring;
When the potatoes become soft, add onions and carrots and salt.

Serve a delicate soup with sour cream and herbs.

Juicy paella with rabbit meat:

If you want to surprise your guests or loved ones, you can prepare a unique paella. For it, take 1 kg of rabbit, 1.5 cups of rice, 2 bell peppers, 1 onion, 100 g of bacon, 150 ml of wine, a couple of pinches of saffron and 1 tsp. tomato paste. You will also need bay leaf, olive oil and cloves:

the rabbit is cut into pieces and boiled with cloves and bay leaves for 35 minutes;
the onions are fried and saffron is added to the broth;
take the meat out of the water, add it to the onion and add the paste;
then pour in broth with saffron, which should already have steamed a little;
cook over low heat, covered, for 20 minutes;
at the same time, the skin is removed from the pepper, and the flesh is cut into strips and placed in paella;
you need to stand until the pepper and rice are ready.

Rabbit meat is a delicate product and very tasty! If you have the opportunity to cook with it regularly, then you should not refuse it. The meat of this animal has a huge range of vitamins and microelements, and also does not tolerate antibiotics well - an excellent reason to be confident in quality.

The benefits of rabbit meat for babies

Rabbit meat is considered not only one of the most delicious products in its group, it also stands out from the general background for its dietary properties and therapeutic benefits. With a minimal amount of fat and cholesterol, it contains an impressive amount of protein. This figure is so high that it surpasses even the usual beef, lamb and pork. For diseases of the liver, stomach and biliary tract, nutritionists recommend cooking and consuming rabbit meat.

Products made from rabbit have proven themselves well as means for the prevention of atherosclerosis and fat metabolism disorders. Often this meat becomes the only option for infants with increased body reactivity, because... it almost never causes allergies.

Even in terms of mineral and vitamin composition, rabbit is superior to all other types of meat. Useful components are retained in it to the maximum extent if the product is boiled, stewed or steamed. Vitamins C and group B, as well as iron, phosphorus, manganese and potassium, take part in metabolic processes, promoting the absorption of nutrients and the normalization of macrolytic metabolism.

Even fat from rabbit meat has a positive effect on the child’s condition. It promotes rapid healing of wounds, prevents allergic attacks, and relieves skin itching. Unique meat is simply necessary for children with weakened immune systems and dyspeptic disorders.

Secrets of cooking delicious rabbit

In meat dishes, secrets in the form of spices, characteristics of sauces, and choice of utensils play a key role. After all, thanks to the nuances, cooking becomes a real art. And the rabbit did not escape this rule:

white wine is ideal for soaking a rabbit, with it it acquires a surprisingly delicate and pleasant taste, and the unpleasant odor is eliminated 100%;
you can soak the rabbit in soy sauce with garlic, and then add 2-3 spoons to the broth during cooking;
if you add 2-3 tbsp to cool water. l. wine or apple vinegar, then soaking time is reduced to 30-50 minutes;
for softness and tenderness of meat, you should use roots - carrots, celery, garlic, onions;
from the herbs you should choose rosemary, parsley, white and black pepper, as well as bay leaf, but you should not combine the first two herbs in one broth;
the meat of young and “old” rabbits differs in cooking time by 5-10 minutes (this is important to consider if the age of the carcass is known);
Enameled cookware is best suited for cooking meat.

The rich taste of rabbit meat goes well with any side dishes - vegetables and cereals, and also goes well with mashed potatoes.

Possible harm and introduction to complementary foods

An allergic reaction to rabbit meat is extremely rare. Therefore, such meat can be introduced into complementary feeding for infants as early as 7-8 months. Moreover, this may be the first type of meat tasted. In some cases, pediatricians advise including chicken and turkey first, and only then beef and rabbit. When and what kind of meat to introduce, see more details here.

For the first time, a rabbit for complementary feeding is given in boiled, crushed form. You can mix meat with vegetable puree. Let the baby try half a teaspoon of complementary foods and watch the baby. If there are no negative consequences, your child can safely prepare a variety of dishes with rabbit meat. But be sure to follow the recommendations!

Gradually increase the dosage of the rabbit to 50 grams, after a year - to 100 grams. It is not recommended to give the product more than three times a week. If your baby exhibits symptoms of food allergies, stomach upset, bowel problems and other problems, temporarily eliminate the product from the diet and contact your pediatrician.

Note to the hostess

Instead of marinating in wine or vinegar, the rabbit can be soaked in water to which citric acid or lemon juice has been added.

With all the variety of recipes for rabbit dishes, perhaps what I love most is when the rabbit is stewed - either with sauce, or the rabbit is stewed with vegetables.

The cooking process, which we call stewing, comes down to a few simple rules. Typically, food is stewed in a small amount of liquid. It is difficult to call this technique cooking food, since there is very little liquid, or even none at all - the moisture released by the food itself during heat treatment is used.

By the way, many people use their favorite term: in its own juice, which means nothing extra, primarily without the addition of liquid. The process of stewing cannot also be classified as frying, because... Essentially, food is not processed by using high direct heat on the cookware. Braising is something in between.

Usually, for stewing, very little liquid is added (or dispensed with), spices and herbs, and sometimes sauce. Sometimes foods, usually meat or fish, are lightly fried before stewing. The stewing process usually lasts from half an hour and is almost always covered. I read somewhere that stewing requires a lot of different spices for the dish to acquire a rich taste and smell. I don’t entirely agree with this; quite often the flavor of the main ingredient in a stew should not be overpowered.

The main advantage of stewing is that stewing allows you to soften even very tough foods, such as meat. When braising, the hot liquid penetrates deep into the pieces (or piece) of meat and softens the tissue.

Perhaps one of the most famous dishes that are prepared using stewing is stew. In English-speaking countries there is a whole series of different stews, although they are usually called stew. By and large, the main difference between this dish and the usual stews is that the products are stewed in liquid or a mixture of vegetables, which will ultimately serve as a sauce. In fact, this is an ideal option for cooking at home, without bothering us with preparing dishes, and even preparing sauces. I like it. In addition, if desired, you can greatly vary the thickness of the sauce and end up with a tasty dish that is either closer to a thick soup or similar to a roast.

The ideal meat for home cooking is rabbit. From childhood, the stewed rabbit served with mashed potatoes is memorable and evokes positive emotions. My grandmother raised rabbits, and we, young hooligans, were involved in the process of harvesting green grass to feed the big-eared ones. And in the fall, cooking stewed rabbit was like a reward.

Rabbit meat is dietary and easily digestible. Cooking rabbit is rarely difficult, even for beginners. What I like is that you don’t need a lot of spices for the rabbit, since the taste of the stewed rabbit itself already replaces the spices.

How to cook a rabbit? Stewed rabbit is very easy to prepare and served with delicious mashed potatoes.

Final stage

The food should be simmered under the lid for half an hour. After this, the rabbit meat must be removed and the sauce still boiled. Then you need to add sour cream to the pan and simmer until the volume of liquid is reduced by half. The sauce should then be removed from the heat. Add the remaining butter into it and beat everything gently. Place the sauce on the fire and bring to a boil, whisking continuously. Place pieces of meat on plates. After this, pour the hot sauce over the rabbit and garnish with herbs. A delicious dish is ready!