This cacciatore recipe features rabbit instead of chicken for something new! Fry rabbit in olive oil, then sauté with onions, garlic, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and herbs. It’s a real hunter’s stew.
When I first had rabbits, I was 19 and visiting a friend’s grandparents’ ranch in Cuernavaca, Mexico. They raised rabbits, among other things, and I was asked to go outside and pick out a few of the hundreds in their pens.
Not knowing why I was being asked to do this job, I picked the cutest ones I could find. An hour later I was mortified when I walked into the kitchen and saw these rabbits, skinned and sticking out of a huge steaming pot on the stove!
Out of politeness and because of my complete lack of language skills (if I had been more fluent I might have found a way out of this situation), I took a bite.
It was absolutely delicious. From that point on I loved rabbits.
Rabbit vs Chicken Cacciatore
People often compare the taste of rabbit to chicken. I think it has the texture of chicken, specifically chicken thighs or legs, but it really doesn’t taste like chicken. It has its own wonderful taste.
Years ago, cooking rabbit was much more common and easier to find at a butcher shop. But these days, in the age of chicken and supermarkets, you probably have to go to a specialty market to find something.
What is cacciatore?
Cacciatore is a traditional Italian dish that resembles a stew, but is made with whole boneless cuts of meat rather than boned cubes of meat. Cacciatore means “hunter” in Italian. A traditional cacciatore is usually made with chicken or rabbit and often includes onions, tomatoes, peppers and herbs.
Where to buy rabbit meat
If the meat section of your grocery store doesn’t have rabbit meat, try a butcher’s or a farmer’s market. There are also several sources of rabbit meat online that can have frozen rabbit already cut into chunks delivered to your door.
How to save this recipe
Like most stews, this dish tastes really good on day 2 or 3, so feel free to prep it ahead of time. Refrigerate the cooled rabbit cacciatore, tightly covered, for 4 to 5 days.
Freeze chilled rabbit cacciatore in a freezer-safe zip-lock bag or container for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight.
More rabbit recipes
- Rabbit in mustard sauce
- Rabbit stew with mushrooms
- Rabbit stewed in Belgian ale
- Braised rabbit with plums
From the editors of Simply Recipes
Rabbit cacciatore
A whole rabbit is much more difficult to cut up than a whole chicken. If you can, have your butcher cut it for you.
Recipe based on a chicken recipe by Georgeanne Brennan.
ingredients
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1 (2 1/4) lb Harecut into 6 to 8 pieces
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Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
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3 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tablespoon dried)
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1 teaspoon fresh rosemary Leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
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1/4 Cup all purpose flour (or wonder flour works great)
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2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
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1/2 Cup chopped Onion
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2 cloves garlicchopped
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2/3 Cup chopped Mushrooms
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3 cups chopped, very ripe tomatoes (or canned tomatoes)
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2 red bell pepper, seeded, cut into 1-inch cubes
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1 bay Sheet
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16 salted olivesblack or green, pitted
method
Before you begin, cut up the rabbit into chunks or have your butcher do it for you. Hank Shaw has an excellent guide here: How to Cut up a Rabbit.
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Fry the rabbit pieces:
Generously sprinkle the rabbit pieces with salt and pepper. Grate half of the thyme leaves into the pieces, then dust with flour to lightly coat.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Place the rabbit pieces in the pan in a single layer. Don’t stir.
Fry on one side for 2 to 3 minutes until lightly browned, then flip the pieces and brown on the other side for another minute or two. Remove the rabbit pieces into a bowl to set aside.
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Add the onions and then garlic, peppers, mushrooms, rosemary and thyme:
Reduce the heat to medium. Add onions to pan, cook 1 minute. Then add the garlic, peppers and mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes. Add the rosemary and the remaining thyme.
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Return the rabbit to the pan with the tomatoes and bay leaf:
Reduce the heat to medium low; cover the pan and cook for 35 minutes.
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Add olives:
Cover the pan and add the olives. Leave the cover off.
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Boil excess liquid:
Increase the heat to high and cook for a few minutes to cook off excess moisture and reduce the sauce.
When the liquid has reduced by half, check the seasoning, add salt or pepper to taste, remove from heat and serve.
Serve with rice, pasta or potatoes.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 552 | calories |
| 24g | Fat |
| 16g | carbohydrates |
| 65g | protein |
