QUEBEC RABBIT: Healthy Meat to Vary Your Menus
Rabbit, a delicate, lean white meat, corresponds perfectly to one of today’s biggest trends, which is EAT HEALTHY, as it is one of the healthiest meats on the market. Its exquisite and refined taste is combined with several nutritional qualities: low in cholesterol, rabbit meat is known for its high content of proteins, calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, copper, selenium, omega-3, vitamins B2, B3, B6, B12 and E as well as its low fat and sodium level.
In fact, rabbit ranks first among the meats recommended for a low-sodium diet. It is lower in calories than beef, lamb, pork and even chicken. In addition, rabbit leg has the lowest cholesterol content of all meats. The rabbit is not yet part of Quebec culinary traditions, but it certainly has all the nutritional qualities to deserve its place on the menu.
Comparative table of nutritional values
For 100 g of raw meat
Source: Fichier canadien sur les éléments nutritifs 2010. Feeding and breeding conditions affect the nutritional value of the animals. Figures have been rounded except for quantities less than 10.
Interesting Info
1. The Quebec rabbits that can be found on the market come from breeding known as cuniculture.
2. Nearly 300,000 rabbits are eaten per year in Quebec. This represents about 70 g per capita per year.
3. A 1.3 kg rabbit gives 4 portions.
4. The main cuts are two saddles, two legs and two shoulders, so a total of 6 pieces. The saddles can be cut in half, depending on the size of the rabbit. If you hate small bones, ask the butcher to debone the saddles and legs for you.
5. You can freeze your raw or cooked rabbit.
6. This specialty meat goes well with white wine and red wine.
7. Fresh herbs go wonderfully with rabbit. The most popular are bay leaf, sage, basil, marjoram and rosemary.
8. Its favourite cooking broths are cider, beer, chicken broth. Maple syrup, white wine and cooking cream are also excellent with rabbit.
9. Rabbit is delicious with a fruit sauce (apple, pear, raspberry, blueberry, cranberry).
Characteristics
Rabbit is very lean and therefore provides a good yield, because there is little loss during cooking. This tender and tasty meat retains its distinctive taste, regardless of seasoning. Rabbit meat is easy to cook, but you have to take a few precautions when cooking it because it doesn’t have skin to protect its meat. It must first be seared and then cooked at a low temperature, so that its flesh stays juicy. It can be cooked in several ways: in the oven, in a casserole dish, on the BBQ, in the slow cooker. It also makes excellent pâtés and terrines.
Each piece has a different flavour and texture:
- Saddle, this meat is very tasty, can be cooked in a pan, in the oven or on the barbecue.
- Legs and shoulders are softer and delicious cooked in a casserole dish.
Some tips
- To roast it, this is better to wrap it with fresh lard or to baste it during cooking so that the flesh does not dry up.
- For the barbecue, simply marinate the meat for a few hours or brush it with olive oil, lemon juice and herbs. First, sear it at high temperature, then continue cooking over medium-low heat with the lid closed, turning it over and basting it a few times.
- You can cook the rabbit in duck fat as you do with duck legs.
- It can be steamed with a deliciously flavoured court-bouillon.
- The rabbit is cooked when the meat can be easily detached from the bone. A chewy rabbit in the mouth is undercooked.
Cooking table
Cooking is an art and science; the ideal cooking will be obtained more precisely with the help of a meat thermometer. Insert it deep in the centre of the cut of meat and cook up to 158°F (70°C). The following cooking table shows you the approximate cooking time depending on the piece chosen as well as the cooking method that suits it best.
Recipes
There are many ways to prepare rabbit. Here are 5 recipes to try:
For a hundred other recipes:
Click HERE!
Where to buy it?
Do you want to cook Quebec rabbit? It is available in most supermarkets in Quebec. Most of the time the rabbit is sold whole and frozen. A good number of butchers, food markets, farms and distributors offer this tender and tasty meat. There are also several restaurants and hotels that serve rabbit. You just need to browse this LIST.
Without a doubt, people eager to vary their diet buy Quebec rabbit.
