Tender rabbit meat slowly cooked in a flavorsome bean casserole with smokey bacon, garlic, fresh herbs and a hint of spice from the pepperoni. This easy rabbit and bean casserole is warming and comforting, perfect for a chilly day!
rabbit cassoulet before the crust topping
Why you will love this recipe
- easy to make
- hearty one pan dish
- healthy
- delicious
Ingredients you need
- Whole Rabbit – wild or farmed
- onion
- garlic
- Bacon – smoked
- bay leaves
- thyme – fresh
- dried beans – white beans or black eyed beans
- white wine
- chicken stock
- pepperoni
- carrots
- crushed tomatoes
- bread crumbs
- fresh herbs
- parmesan cheese
- butter or olive oil
How to make wild rabbit cassoulet
- Soak the dried beans over night.
- Cut the rabbit up. First removing the front and back legs, then de bone the rest of the meat from the carcass and cut in to pieces.
- Fry the rabbit meat until golden then put it in a casserole dish or baking tray. Add the carrots, cooked onions, garlic and bacon.
- De glaze the skillet with white wine, reduce and add it to the casserole dish with the tomatoes, herbs, pepperoni, bay leaves and cover everything with chicken stock.
- Bake in the oven for 3 hours or until the meat and beans are tender.
- Mix the crust ingredients together and spread on top of the casserole. Put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes or until golden.
- Enjoy!
This simple cassoulet is a great dish for cooking wild rabbit. It’s easy to make, the meat is fall apart tender and it is full of flavors!
Wild rabbit meat
Rabbit meat is very tasty and very good for you and it works a treat in this dish instead of poultry meat which is traditionally used in a cassoulet.
The lean, healthy white meat is rich in protein and delicious to eat. It has a mild flavor and can be seasoned to taste and used in many dishes. The taste and texture is very similar to chicken, and it makes a great chicken substitute in many recipes.
What beans to use?
Beans are an important ingredient in a good cassoulet recipe.
Dried beans soaked overnight or a few hours are the best. I use white black eyed beans in this recipe simply because that’s what I had at home and it worked perfectly. However cannellini beans, butter beans or any other dried white beans are also great.
This is a hearty cassoulet that is easy to make and the rabbit meat is fall-apart tender. It has a lot of flavor and only simple ingredients. Which makes it a great family dinner recipe. Serve it with a dressed leafy salad and crusty bread for a light meal.
This fantastic Mediterranean rabbit recipe is best cooked in a Dutch oven or Deep pan dish like the ones below:
Try this healthy cassoulet recipe at home. I’m sure you will love it!
Left over cassoulet will enhance it’s flavors overnight and it taste even better when you reheat it the following day.
You might also like my Wild rabbit in tomato and saffron. That’s another great wild rabbit recipe.
Equipment needed:
- skillet frying pan
- cassoulet pan, dutch oven or other deep baking dish
- boning knife
- chopping board or butcher block
Other articles and recipes you might like to read
Wild rabbit cassoulet
Wild rabbit meat works well in this rabbit cassoulet recipe which is traditionally made with poultry.
Cassoulet with rabbit
Rabbit cassoulet
Cassoulet crust topping
Instructions
-
cassoulet with wild rabbit
- Put the oven on 150 C.
- Soak the white beans overnight or a couple of hours
- De bone the rabbit (a part from the back legs which I keep the bone in)
- Dust the rabbit pieces in seasoned flour
- In a heavy skillet fry the rabbit until golden then put it in a casserole dish or baking tray
- Fry the onions in the same pan until soft and the bacon until crispy. Add the garlic and carrots cook for another minute. Put in the same dish as the rabbit.
- De glaze the pan with the wine. Reduce by half then pour over the cooked rabbit
- Add the tomatoes, drained beans, herbs, pepperoni, bay leaves and cover everything with chicken stock.
- Cover the dish with a lid or t
in foil. - Bake in the oven for 3 hours or until the meat is tender
-
Cassoulet cheese crust
Tun the oven up to 180C
- Mix all the ingredients together and spread evenly over the top of the rabbit cassoulet.
- Put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes or until the crust is golden and crispy.
- Enjoy warm with a side salad and/or crusty bread
this recipe looks really interesting. I’m not really sure where i can find rabbit, is it ok to use pork or chicken?
Hi Nancy, Yes absolutely! I started off using this recipe with duck and that work great, chicken would be fine too!