Long before the existence of this blog, and before taking a series interest in cooking, one of the first dishes I prepared for my husband was rabbit. I know it seems like a serious dish for someone who could, at that time, barely boil water. But I swear I really did cook it and managed to impress my husband with the delicious results.
I certainly didn’t grow up eating rabbit at home. My husband, however, did and he quite enjoys the flavour. He was the one who gave me my first taste of rabbit. And as clichéd as this sounds — it does taste like chicken…or is it that chicken tastes like rabbit? Anyways, back in the states it was a meal we had only on special occasions, because it isn’t easily found and can also be rather expensive. When we moved to Paris we had better access to it and at a lower price too.
Shortly after arriving in Paris, my husband and I discovered a fantastic restaurant in the Latin Quarter who’s specialty is traditional and country style French cuisine. I can still remember the perfectly tender roasted rabbit in a tangy mustard sauce. The restaurant became one of our favorites to eat at and take visiting guest to. Long after moving away the taste and memory of the lapin stayed with me. So when I was teaching myself to cook it was one of the first dishes I wanted to impress my husband with. Luckily I didn’t mess up the recipe and my husband was impressed that I had cooked the special meal for him.
In the Czech Republic rabbit is also commonly found both fresh and frozen throughout the year. But for some reason we just don’t eat it as often as we used to in France. A couple of days ago my husband picked up these two thighs and immediately I knew they had to be cooked in a mustard sauce with a little honey too.
Here’s how I cooked the rabbit.
- 2 rabbit thighs (weighing 550g or 1.2 lbs)*
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
- 1 cup or 250 ml low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 tsp dried sage, crumbled
- 3-4 tsps of German style or Dijon or any smooth grainy mustard, or to taste
- 1 heaping tbsp honey, or to taste
- salt, to taste
- ground black pepper, to taste
- Heat the oven to 200c or 390f, prepare a baking dish and set aside. Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl until well incorporated. Taste and adjust if desired, then set aside.
- Using a sharp knife, gently puncture small whole into the thights. Then rub with a little bit of salt and black pepper, set aside. Heat oil until hot, then add rabbit. Allow to brown on all sides as evenly as possible. Once browned use a slotted spatula to remove and place in baking dish. In the same pan, and oil, fry the garlic just until soft, make sure it doesn't burnt. Remove the garlic from pan and add to rabbit. Pour the mustard sauce into baking dish. Place in center of oven and cook for 1 hour. Halfway through flip the rabbit and cook for 20 minutes, then flip back for the remaining 10. Sauce should have thickened and halved. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with sauce and desired side dishes.
I served the rabbit with steamed white rice and sautéed green beans. It can also be served with potatoes — mashed or boiled or roasted, and green vegetable of choice.
What did hubby think? He said it was one of the best rabbits he’s ever eaten! The sauce tasted amazing and the meat was so tender it fell right off the bone. Not a bad review at all.
Would it be wrong to eat rabbit for Easter? I mean what do bunnies have to do with the holiday anyways?
I’ve tried rabbit once at an Italian restaurant, and it was exceptionally tender. The honey mustard sounds delicious!
Glad to hear you’ve tried it Laura. Thank you!
A wonderful rabbit dish and divine combination!
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks Rosa!
Yum Rabbit! I grew up eating rabbit and I used to hate it as a kid (except the rabbit liver of course). nowadays I love it and I have to confess I am kind of missing it here in asia. Rabbit is a tricky meat, lots of people in Austria cook it wrongly and the meat gets though (that’s what my mum always says). Your recipe sounds about right and honey and mustard sounds like food heaven too me!
ops I voted for 5 star, sorry the 4 star was an accident. This recipe is certainly a 5 star!!!
Okay thank you:)
Hi Helene,
I guess I have been lucky because it hasn’t come out tough yet. Sorry you miss it and thanks!
Oh my gosh, that looks amazing – the sauce! I haven’t had rabbit in a long time…it’s very hard to find around here. I’m definitely pinning and saving this divine preparation, though…in case I get luck and come across it again!
Thank you Heather! I wonder why it is so difficult to find in the states? Hope you find it soon.
I LOVE rabbit but have never cooked it myself. I need to find a good purveyor, and hope to start cooking more rabbit in the future! This is a great recipe. Pinned it!
You should Victoria, it is very easy to cook. Good luck and hope you find it soon. Thanks for the pin
Wow… you can really see the flavor just jumping off the pictures. Beautiful. :)
Thank you Ramona!
This rabbit looks so juicy and delicious! Love the recipe! And the photos too of course :-)
Thank you:)
Bill’s aunt used to be able to find rabbit…if she were still alive, I know she’d love to make this delicious recipe for us!
Aw, thanks Lizzie!
Woah this is extraordinary! what a great glaze and color. This is so gourmet, and of course I wouldnt expect anything else from you. The photo and dish are off the charts. I have only had rabbit in stew and of course to us it tasted like chicken a little more gamier.. this must be fabulous! nice job Nancy and thanks again for having me be part of your YBR and I enjoy this blog very much your a great support and fabulous foodie friend.. loving my banner! THANKS SO MUCH!! HUGS!
Yes, a little more gamier is what I think too. Thanks Claudia — you are such a sweetheart. Hugs back!
As I grew up as a small child in N Europe, the ‘wabbit’ appeared on the main dish menu oh so regularly! Loved it! And I had seen it cutely jumping around in the wild! Still DO have it regularly! I cannot see why so many people have resistance to the bunny: methinks a baby chicken or licky-lovely calf or a cuddly bub lamb surely have the same appeal – we do not like them to be on our table, but we DO realize that is the way the round-about of the world works! This is what our bodies and our minds and our metabolism have gotten used to :) ! Just love them when they are alive!!!
Hi Eha! I agree that many of us can get “weirded out” about eating rabbit. When that happens to me it is because at times I’ve wanted a pet rabbit — so the thought about eating a member of a possible pet family it makes me sad. But then again, as you said, the same can also be said about baby chickens, calfs, and lambs. It’s just one of those round and round subjects. Thanks!
Wow, this looks amazing! I’ve actually never had rabbit before… but this recipe looks like it’s a MUST! Now to figure out where I can buy some rabbit…
Thanks Ashley and I hope you can either buy some to cook yourself or try it at a restaurant.
Though I don’t eat rabbit, but this does look very tempting! Might try it with the chicken.
Thanks Angie, and it tastes amazing with chicken.
I confess I have never cooked rabbit (and I’ve cooked just about everything else), but I think this recipe has inspired me! Very happy to have discovered your blog!
Thank you for visiting Erina. I loved your guest post for Alyssa and look forward to reading more at your blog. Enjoy the recipe!
I’m a huge fan of honey mustard. Unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to eat rabbit in my life. No, I’m not avoiding it but I just haven’t had a chance to eat it! I never thought of buying and cooking myself. After looking at your recipe, I realized I should just try cooking myself! Gorgeous pictures!
It is difficult to find in many places Nami. But I do hope you can either cook some or try it at a restaurant. Thanks!
This looks delicious! My family isn’t really fans of rabbit (but I think that’s the preparation more than the meat), but I’ll definitely try this mustard sauce on some chicken. Or if I somehow acquire rabbit, it’s the first thing I’ll be trying :)
Hi Rochelle,
A few comments back Helene commented that preparation can be tricky and so result in tough meat. This is such an easy and fool-proof recipe. Many you can try it either on rabbit or chicken sometime. Thanks and enjoy!
My husband is a big fan of rabbit, cooked any which way. I’ll have to make this recipe for him soon.
BTW Rabbit is widely available here in Spain, but I have to say I’ve never seen it the size yours appears to be!
Hi Debs,
He sounds like mine:) They are super rabbits here then, hehe. Enjoy the recipe and thanks!
I grew up on a farm, so we occasionally had rabbit, though it was fried like chicken and served with country gravy, which I liked a lot as a kid. I made rabbit once, years ago, but because of cost and availability, it hasn’t graced our table much. I want to try this recipe, you have created something very special here, I look forward to enjoying rabbit again. :)
Hi Judy,
My husband tells me that is the way his mom prepared it too, battered and fried like chicken — he loved it. That’s too bad and I hope you can find some soon. Thanks!:)
It’s been years since I’ve had rabbit, and your gorgeous photos just reminded me how tasty they can be.
Thanks and hope you can enjoy it again soon.
That looks like a wonderful recipe. The funny thing is that New Zealand farmland is overrun with rabbits and yet it is not a common dish here at all. It must be decades since I have eaten it.
I’m surprised by that Suzanne, but of course it depends on what people are used to eating.
I have actually never had rabbit before, it is not that common in Australia.
Your images look so delicious though!! I am tempted to try and find one to try. I don’t think it is wrong to eat bunny at Easter, after all, it isn’t the “real” Easter bunny!
You should Julie, and enjoy! Haha, you’re the only one that caught that — thanks!:)
Nancy, that looks like a very delicious dish but I guess I have to get used to the idea of eating rabbits. Rabbit dishes are not very common but there are satay outlets that sell rabbit satay. I haven’t had the courage to try that.
It’s not much more different than chicken. Maybe you’ll get the courage one day:) Thanks Phong!
We made this tonight, was fantastic, thanks!!
Hi Jenn,
That’s wonderful! Thanks for letting me know and glad you enjoyed it. :)
I wish I had had this recipe when I lived in Louisiana and had access to an endless supply of rabbit. (My uncle raised them.) This does look like the perfect rabbit dish! Love the sauce and cooking process. I was raised to just smother it in gravy because that’s the was done there. I haven’t had rabbit since I left Louisiana back in the 70’s and now you have me craving it. I definitely need to find me some rabbit! Love this recipe! Your man was luckier than mine to get this for his first dish. The first thing I ever cooked for Bobby was cow’s tongue. He was very sweet and ate it (having never eaten it before), but it was definitely something he didn’t want to eat again. :)
Thank MJ, and I hope you get some rabbit soon.
Wow — your husband is so brave! Mexicans eat it, as I’m sure you already know, and when ever my mom made it I cringe. I’m with him and don’t ever want to eat it again, Lol:)
I’m attempting this recipe as we speak! Could you clarify on exactly how much mustard to use? Your recipe says 3-4 german style or ground mustard!
Hi Morgan,
Sorry about that, it should state 3-4 teaspoons of mustard. Of course you could also adjust it to your personal taste. Enjoy!
I love this dish and order it whenever I see it, especially when in Paris. In fact, there is an Italian restaurant that makes it in Marrakech, and I will order it there in a few weeks/1 Thanks for this lovely version.
Hey, came back to tell you how much I love this recipe! i’ve made it at least three times since the first time I tried it. It’s so good! However, my sauce never comes out quite as thick as it seems to in your pictures. Am I not using enough mustard? How do you get it so thick?!
Hi Morgan! Thanks for letting me know and thrilled you enjoy it as much as we do. You could try using more mustard if you like, but the thick sauce in my photos is just the result of the long roasting time. Play with the proportions until you get your desired thickens. Thanks:)
Just the recipe I was looking for! I bought two whole rabbits, and I’m looking forward to trying this on Wednesday!
Enjoy!
Rabbit and Duck. Duck and Rabbit. I could alternate them daily, but in fact rarely enjoy them. This recipe looks divine to me!
I love the challenge of what to do with a rabbit. This sauce is just right and will definitely be getting tried out. Delicious.
I am so excited to try this tonight! My husband shot a rabbit and it’s in the freezer :) gotta try some new recipes! Last time we made chicken and dumplings with rabbit instead of chicken ;). It was a bit tough though. Should I put it in the crockpot for a few hours to thaw it first?
Hi Morgan,
I’ve never used a crockpot, so I really can’t advice you. Good luck and thank you!
Hi!
I’ve never cooked or even had rabbit before.. But I am very adventurous! I am wondering if I can use a whole rabbit in this recipe? I will be buying a whole one and don’t want to end up wasting the meat.
If so, how would you go about changing the recipe/cook time for that? Any tips for a new rabbit cooker? (is that a term?)
Thanks!
FYI the rabbit I have is about 3lbs, maybe a little less.
Hi Jillian,
Congratulations on venturing into new foodie territory.
I’ve never cooked a whole rabbit, but there’s no reason why you couldn’t cook it using this recipe. The only thing I would suggest would be to double, or maybe triple the ingredients to make sure that enough of the flavour is there for the meat.
As for the roasting time I really can’t guide you. Perhaps a Google search will help you find the correct time. ALSO don’t let the sauce dry out or cook off so that it can help keep the meat tender and not dry out. If needed add a bit more water or broth to the pan to prevent the drying out.
Enjoy and good luck :)