That a rabbit, in addition to valuable fur is also a diet of easily digestible meat, everyone knows in the post-Soviet space. And this is really not a joke! Low-fat and protein-rich rabbit is absorbed by the human body by 90% (for comparison - lean beef is only 62%). In addition, rabbit meat is rich in vitamins and microelements, necessary for normal growth and functioning of the body. The problem for small - to learn how to cook a rabbit so that you do not want anything more harmful, and all the useful substances are preserved in the dish as much as possible.
Soak the rabbit before cooking
The most common misconception is that a rabbit should always be soaked and marinated by analogy with a hare, otherwise you will not get a delicious dish. But usually on our table are still not wild representatives of this family, and grown on farms are tender and well-fed animals. Their muscles are tender and young, so there should not be any unattractive odors. And yet there are two cases in which marinade and soaking are really appropriate:- you want to diversify the taste of lean rabbit;
- you got a male, which was used for breeding.
- Soak the meat so that it becomes more tender, and all extraneous odors are neutralized. Soak it in plain water, in milk, in a weak solution of vinegar or wine. By time, adjust the process yourself depending on your resources. You can leave the meat soaked for the night, and you can limit yourself to 30 minutes, if you hurry. On how much the carcass will hold in the liquid, the result depends. For example, when soaked in vinegar or wine for several hours, the marinade may not be needed.
- Marinate the rabbit. The best way to diversify meat dishes, enrich them with new notes of taste, and meat to make melting in your mouth - to rule pick up a pickle. The most common options for a rabbit are:
- olive oil with crushed garlic will soften the meat, will add a rich spicy aroma;
- Milk whey will enrich taste, will make it more sated and thus fibers becomes more gentle;
- cream or sour cream makes the rabbit very juicy with creamy notes in taste;
- Onions or onion juice fill the fibers with moisture, emphasize the original taste, soften;
- mustard and honey - in no way mustard powder! - applied before frying or baking will create a ruddy crispy and aromatic crust.
- Correctly choose the dishes for cooking. This aspect is no less important than the two previous ones, because it is important for tender meat that the temperature during the whole cooking does not have sharp changes. Choose only dishes with good temperatures and thick walls:
- for frying and stewing thick-walled sauté pan approaches;
- for baking pots or a mattress will do;
- for cooking - enamel saucepan with a thick bottom.
Why to soak a rabbit?
Unlike a rabbit, a hare on a table traditionally gets a wild, experienced taste of freedom, and therefore its meat is quite tough. His growth and development, no one controlled, so the presence of extraneous smells may well be. And yet, the experienced owners know the secrets of how to soak the hare's meat so that it turns out to be very delicate, fragrant, juicy and tasty. Here are some tricks that will help to prepare game:- Soaking. Wild rabbit is recommended to soak for at least 24 hours, if possible changing the solution in which the carcass lies. It can be:
- ordinary clean water (it needs to be changed as often as possible);
- milk serum;
- a solution of vinegar or white wine;
- specially prepared brine (½ cup vinegar, ½ cup vegetable oil, bay leaf, bell pepper, celery roots and parsley, brought to a boil and cooled).
- Marinade. To marry a hare carcass, you can safely apply any options suitable for a rabbit - the meat is guaranteed to turn out to be gentle, spicy, and fragrant.