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We first got meat rabbits in February 2021. We started with New Zealand and have branched out from there. We sell our rabbits as pets when they are younger but as they grow and reach the 12 week mark they are then processed. Honestly, when we first tried rabbit meat it was an older rabbit (2 years or so) and it was baked in the oven. We found it tough and we decided we had to try a younger one before we could say if we liked it or not. We tried younger ones and they are more tender and delicious. We decided that we do like rabbit meat. They are especially tender when cooked in the crock pot for several hours. See our recipe at the end of blog to see one of the ways we make rabbit meat.
To have the most tender meat the rabbit should be processed between 10-12 weeks. At this age, if you have quality breeding rabbits they should be around 5lbs. live weight. This will give you around 2-3lbs of rabbit. We have processed older larger rabbits and they are fine, but we cooked them in a crock pot with chicken broth. Rabbit is a very lean meat so you must be careful to not dry it out while cooking it. We also 'rest' the rabbit meat in the refrigerator at least 24 hours. We do 3 or so days before we eat or freeze it. This allows the meat to relax from the rigor mortis.
When we first got rabbits we did not realize how much more healthy rabbit meat is compared to all other meat. This is good news if you are on a diet or looking for healthier meat options. Taste and texture wise it would compare to chicken. We have substituted rabbit in place of chicken in quite a few recipes and it is just fine.
Rabbit is not commonly sold in regular grocery stores. Therefore, it is harder to find and thus more expensive. But with all the health benefits associated with rabbit meat it is worth the extra cost to provide you and your family with quality meat. Make sure that you get your rabbit meat from a reputable source (farm) that does not inject their rabbits full of antibiotics or growth hormones. Grown without medications and hormones makes them the cleanest meat source. This also will depend on what they are fed and where they are kept.
We are not food nutritionists but here are a few things that we have learned about rabbit meat.
One of the big difference is the amount of calories per serving compared to other meats. Rabbit meat has the least amount of calories. In a 3.5oz serving of rabbit meat there are 173 calories and chicken has 239 calories per 3.5oz serving. So if you are counting calories this might be good meat to consider.
Rabbit meat also has the highest amount of protein compared with other meats. It also has many other necessary vitamins and minerals.
It also has the least amount of fat compared to all other meats.
It is low in cholesterol so that is great for your heart as well.
Overall, rabbit meat is considered the healthiest meat to eat. I will say that if you are not used to eating rabbit it might be a little disturbing when served as a whole rabbit as it looks similar to a cat. Or when you think of the cute fluffy bunnies they used to be. But, in our thinking if you gave them a good life while they were alive and processed them humanely it is not mean and gruesome to the rabbits. It is the same with any other kind of meat animal raised on a farm. Take care of them the best you can and use them for their intended purpose. They are food to feed our families.
Oven Roasted Rabbit
One 2-3lb Rabbit
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Sweet Paprika
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
1tsp Thyme
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Make the spice rub and stir well to combine it into a paste.
Completely cover the rabbit with the spice rub.
Put coated rabbit on baking tray and place in oven on the lowest shelf.
Roast for about 1 hour or until internal temperature of the rabbit reaches 160 degrees F.
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