Roasted Rabbit Recipe

4.77 from 42 votes

This roasted rabbit recipe uses white wine, garlic, and rosemary. Detailed instructions show you how to cut, marinate, and roast a whole rabbit.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Additional Time1

Total Time1

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: European

Servings: servings

Calories: 606kcal

Defrost and cut the rabbit. You will need six parts for roasting: 2 hind legs, 2 front legs, and the backstrap (loin) cut into 2 pieces.
1 rabbit
Place the rabbit on a large cutting board lying on its back and open it up. Cut the belly flaps. Go under the armpit and cut the front legs with the whole shoulder.
Grab the back legs with your hands and break that part open. Find where the tailbone is and cut along there.
Cut the backbone and the ribs. Find the last rib with your fingers and cut right along that last rib. Repeat on the other side. The whole cut will be like a V. Grab the piece with your hands and break it apart so that you can see the joint between the bones and cut right there.
Divide the backstrap or the loin in the middle. Find where the vertebra is and cut right there. Press with the knife or use a cleaver (Note 3).

Place the pieces in a roasting tin.
Marinate the rabbit: In a small bowl, mix olive oil, white wine, 4 grated garlic cloves, 2-3 sprigs of chopped rosemary, salt, and pepper. Pour over the meat and turn the meat a few times in the marinade to coat it all over. Cover with plastic wrap/cling film and marinate for at least one hour, preferably 3-4 hours. Remove from the fridge about 30 minutes before cooking.
2 tablespoons olive oil + ⅓ cup white wine + 4 garlic cloves + 2-3 sprigs rosemary + fine sea salt and ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F/ 200°C
Add 3-4 whole garlic cloves and the remaining rosemary sprigs to the roasting pan. Pour in the water.
½ cup water
Roast the rabbit for about 30 to 40 minutes, flipping the meat pieces about every 10 minutes. If you’d like the meat to get more color, turn on the grill during the last 5 minutes of the cooking time.
Cooking times: The front legs and back strap pieces are smaller than the hind legs. I usually remove them after 30 minutes, but I always check to see if the internal temperature is right; it should be 160°F/ 71°C (Note 4).

Type of rabbit: This method is intended for a young, farm-raised rabbit weighing approximately 3.3–3.5 lbs/1.5 kg. A wild rabbit, hare, or an older animal may be tougher and is better suited to slow cooking or braising.
If the rabbit is frozen, defrost it in the fridge in a large, deep dish. It will need about 36 hours, so you must plan ahead.
Leftover raw rabbit parts: You can fry the leftover belly flaps in the pan or add them to stock. After eating, use the carcass, backbone, and leftover bones to make rabbit stock.
Doneness: Checking with an instant-read thermometer is the best way to ensure that the rabbit is safe to eat but not overcooked. If you overcook it, it will become dry (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab).