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    Home » Meat and Game

    How to Cut up a Rabbit

    Published: Dec 10, 2018 Modified: Feb 8, 2023 by Alan Bergo This post may contain affiliate links 2 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    I've processed thousands of rabbit carcasses by hand and I've shared my favorite recipes for rabbits on this website. In those recipes are some butchering and processing tricks. But, before you attempt a recipe, you need to know the basics of how to cut up a rabbit.

    Trapped rabbit for dinner
    A rabbit that ate the pumpkins in my garden. I prefer to trap them as it's gentler on the meat, but I'll hunt them too.

    I had a couple requests for really basic breakdowns of butchering rabbits, so I'm dedicating a whole post and quick tutorial video here focused only on my process. 

    How to cut up a rabbit
    Endless possibilities.

    The beauty of rabbits and other small game like squirrels is that the technique for breaking them down I use is the same. After dispatching, gutting and skinning, I remove the legs, then use a poultry shears to cut the rest of the torse into even-sized pieces. 

    How to cut up a rabbit for cooking

    Small, even pieces. This is the most common method of cutting up rabbit, and is good for soups and stews like Rabbit Chasseur with Wild Mushrooms. Once you've mastered this, branch out and save some of the different pieces for special recipes.

    Alternate cutting techniques 

    The ways you can cut up an animal are only limited to your imagination. Here's two slightly different methods you could consider. 

    Ribs off

    Butchered wild rabbit for stew
    A cleaner method where the ribs are removed and saved for another purpose. This method prevents small rib bones from migrating into your stew, and is great for making fried rabbit.

    Loins off 

    This one I don't use too much, but it helps illustrate possibilities. When I worked for Chef Lenny Russo, we were instructed to remove the loins from the torso, which were saved by themselves to make a boneless roll of rabbit loins wrapped in lardo, which was an experience.

    Many years, and many rabbits later, I've found I like to cook the loins on the bone as it keeps them moist, but if you want to fry them up as a quick snack or alongside other pieces you could do that too. 

    rabbit, butchered rabbit
     A slightly different treatment. Here the loins are saved to cook by themselves as they cook very fast. the torso will be cut up with a kitchen shears and roasted for stock.

    The Saddle 

    Without a doubt, among chefs in the know, the saddle is the most prized part of the animal. But, if you haven't seen or tasted one before that's been made properly, you might just throw them in the stew pot, which is perfectly fine and is what most people will do, especially if you only have one rabbit.

    How to debone a rabbit
    Deboning a rabbit torso so I can stuff and cook the saddle. This is the most refined recipe I have for rabbits, and it takes some decent knife skills.

    But, if you're adventurous, skilled with a knife, and have more than one rabbit to work with, saving the saddle is something you must try, at least once. 

    Stuffed rabbit saddle with speck ham and baby vegetables.
    Example of a finished rabbit saddle, stuffed, rolled in paper thin smoked ham and sliced. I like to slice a couple pieces as an entree, as opposed to serving it in a big lump with a steak knife.

    Rabbit "wings" 

    The anatomy of a rabbit's back legs is such that after you remove the back legs via the joint, there is another bone that can be removed before the torso is left in one whole piece (sometimes called the helicopter bone as there's a hole in the middle).

    At first glace they may not look big, but if you're butchering a bunch of rabbits, it is well worth the time it takes to separate them for cooking on their own.

    Rabbit helicopter bones or rabbit wings
    Rabbit wings or helicopter bones, these are attached to the bottom of the torso after the back legs are removed. They're good eating. 

    These were something I used to run at my first restaurant after I noticed them in the stock pot after butchering. After I tried some prepared like dry-rubbed chicken wings, I was hooked, and I had my line cooks save every single one when we had rabbit on the menu to run as a special. Slow roasted and eaten off the bone, they're fantastic. 

    Dry rubbed rabbit wings or helicopter bones
    A little pan of dry-rubbed rabbit wings.

    Recipes mentioned in this post and video 

    Boneless Rabbit Roulade

    Rabbit "Wings" 

    Stuffed Rabbit Saddle

    More Rabbit

    Butchered wild rabbit for stew
    Print Recipe
    5 from 2 votes

    How to Cut up a Rabbit for Cooking

    A simple, quick tutorial on how I cut up a rabbit for general cooking.
    Prep Time20 mins
    Author: Alan Bergo

    Equipment

    • 1 Kitchen shears
    • 1 Boning knife for detail work (optional)
    • 1 8 inch Chefs knife to cut meat and tendons

    Instructions

    • Skin and gut the rabbit, reserving the organs since they're delicious.
    • Using a sharp knife, remove the front legs and hind legs.
    • Next, using a kitchen shears, cut the torso into even-sized serving pieces, the exact size of which can depend on the size of the rabbit. I usually cut mine into 3 pieces. Save the choices part of the torso (the saddle). The other parts don't have a lot of meat and are good for soup and stocks.
    • I like to cut the rib cage off using shears to use for stock.

    Video

    Buttermilk fried rabbit recipe
    Buttermilk fried rabbit is one of the first things you should make.
    « Hen of the Woods Mushroom Fritters
    Squash Agnolotti with Cream and Balsamic Vinegar »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jake

      February 06, 2023 at 1:55 pm

      5 stars
      Helped a lot with my wild rabbits from my garden!

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        February 08, 2023 at 10:14 pm

        Thanks Jake.

        Reply

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    Chef Alan Bergo

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