How to soak rabbit and hare meat: recipes with water, wine, vinegar, milk

Rabbit and hare meat are dietary products, the preparation of which requires certain skills. It is a common belief that soaking the rabbit before cooking is mandatory. In fact, hare meat has a more specific smell - in the case of game, preparatory work is indispensable.

Differences between hare and rabbit meat

Both the rabbit and the hare belong to the order “Lagomorpha”, however, there are external and taste differences between them.

Rabbit meat

Rabbit meat is the meat of domesticated animals. Although rabbits are still found in the wild to this day, individuals from farms are used as food.

Farmers raise meat breed rabbits, which are characterized by large amounts of muscle tissue and rapid weight gain. The meat of these animals is more tender than that of hares. This is due to the feeding habits in captivity and a sedentary lifestyle.

In rare cases, rabbit meat may have an unpleasant odor. It is inherent in inseminating males. Such carcasses must be soaked.

Young animals are often sold on a large scale, since the average time for raising rabbits on a farm is about six months. Their meat has a delicate texture and pleasant aroma.

Soaking the rabbit allows you to get rid of the slightest foreign odors and give it a piquant taste.

Hare meat

Unlike rabbit meat, hare meat is more difficult to find on store shelves.A hare dish on the dinner table is the result of a successful hunt. Carcasses, as a rule, differ from rabbit carcasses in their larger size. When visually compared, hare meat is redder and rich in blood.

Special snares can be used for catching, but more often hares are killed in amateur hunting. The animal experiences stress, which triggers a series of chemical reactions; there is a sudden release of adrenaline. The hormone affects the metabolism of sugars, and as a result, the pH of the rabbit’s muscle tissue changes.

It is difficult to reliably determine from the appearance of a hare carcass whether the meat will be soft, aromatic, or have a specific odor. The age of the animal and its feeding habits remain unknown.

According to hunters, the most delicious will be a young hare - up to 1 year. Age can be determined by the following criteria:

• the knees are thicker, in contrast to the fragile paws;
• ears are smaller than those of adult hares;
• the neck is shorter.

Regardless of age, it is necessary to soak a hare, but the meat of a young animal is not subjected to such lengthy processing. The procedure will eliminate the unpleasant odor and slight bitter taste.

How to soak meat?

Before cooking, you should figure out how to properly soak wild hare and rabbit carcasses.

To improve the quality of meat, the following are suitable:

• water,
• vinegar solution,
• milk,
• wine,
• citrus water,
• serum.

Soaking the rabbit before cooking

It is enough to put tender rabbit meat in water for a couple of hours. If there is a lack of time, half an hour will be enough for the rabbit to become more fragrant and tender.

Suitable soaking liquids include:

• Milk serum. Without adding anything, you can soak a rabbit in it for up to 8 hours.
• Sour cream and cream are a classic addition to meat, giving it juiciness.
• A mixture of olive oil with chopped garlic and spices. This marinade will make the meat softer and more flavorful.
• White wine. It will help get rid of odor and soften muscle fibers.
• Water with kiwi pulp. Thanks to the fruit acids contained in the fruits, the meat will “melt in your mouth.”

To make the rabbit baked in the oven brown and look more appetizing, you need to grease the meat with a mixture of honey and mustard.

Often the carcass is soaked in vinegar, but if the rabbit is young and fresh, the meat can deteriorate and “burn out,” so you should prepare a very weak vinegar solution (2 tablespoons of vinegar per 1 liter of water). Half an hour will be enough to remove any foreign taste and smell.

Adviсe:

• The most delicious will be rabbit carcasses weighing up to 1.7 kg. The meat of large specimens is tough and will require prolonged soaking.
• The rear, fattier part is best used for frying, and the front part can be used to make dietary soup.

It is necessary to cook the rabbit in a container with a thick bottom to constantly maintain a high temperature. Ceramic pots are suitable for baking, and ducklings are suitable for stewing in sour cream according to the classic recipe.

What to soak a hare in and for how long?

If you do not soak the hare, the meat will have a specific smell and be bitter. Knowing the basics of preliminary preparation of a carcass, you can calculate how long the process of preparing a hare dish will take.

Suitable for soaking:

• Water. The duration of soaking is 12–24 hours. It is recommended to change the water 3-4 times during the process.
• Vinegar solution. It is prepared in the same way as rabbit marinade (2 tbsp per 1 liter of water). Processing time should not exceed 1 hour. To add a pleasant aroma, you can replace table vinegar with apple cider vinegar.
• Fresh milk. It will eliminate unpleasant odors and make the meat slightly sweeter. If you add spices to milk, you will get an excellent marinade.
• Grape juice. Soaking the hare in a spicy grape marinade with the addition of celery, thyme, and onion will allow you to prepare an aromatic dish with a unique taste. The soaking period is 2 days, and the carcass should be stored in the refrigerator. After the hare is fried in oil to give it a creamy taste, a little marinade is added to the frying pan, which will be the sauce for the meat.

Hare meat requires longer soaking. The same should be done with the carcass of a wild rabbit.

Rabbit and hare meat are low-calorie, hypoallergenic products rich in B vitamins, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. The value is protein, which is absorbed by the body by 90%. You should not deny yourself the use of such a nutritious product because of the specific smell, because it can be easily eliminated by soaking.