This is a famous Czech recipe for a roasted rabbit with garlic. Because rabbit meat is very lean, I add pork belly slices, which add juiciness and the perfect flavor to the dish.
Especially in the 20th century, domestic rabbit breeding was widespread in the Czech Republic. Rabbits were roasted in the oven, slowly stewed on the stove, or prepared with various sauces. The rabbit head and giblets were used to make a delicious white soup.
➤ The recipe I am presenting today is one of the best. The whole rabbit is rubbed with pressed garlic. Strips of pork belly and onions cut into rings are added, and everything is roasted until golden in the oven.
MY TIP: Try also these braised beef cubes (they taste heavenly!)
➜ Pronunciation
In Czech, this recipe is called "králík na česneku." To give you an idea of how these words sound in Czech, I have recorded a short audio clip for you.
➜ Ingredients
For an oven-roasted rabbit, you need:
- Rabbit; gutless, chilled, weighing around 5-6.5 lbs (2.5-3 kg)
- Pork belly; somewhat leaner, without skin and bones
- Onions
- Garlic
- Salt
Next, prepare water to baste the rabbit.
✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
➜ Instructions with Photos
STEP 1: Clean the rabbit of any remaining hair, rinse with water and pat dry. Peel the onion and cut it into rings. Peel and press the garlic. Cut the pork belly into pieces about 1 and 1/2 inches (3-4 cm) thick.
STEP 2: Salt the pork belly. Rub the rabbit on all sides with garlic and salt.
STEP 3: Place the pieces of pork belly in the baking dish, then put the onions on top. Place the rabbit on the prepared base. Pour about ½ to ¾ cup (120-180 ml) of water over the rabbit.
STEP 4: Cover with a lid and cook.
How long to roast a rabbit? Roast the rabbit in an oven preheated to 340 °F (170 °C). After an hour, remove the lid. Bake for another 60-90 minutes until the water you've basted the roast with has evaporated. The rabbit will begin to roast (not stew). During this time, check that the meat does not overcook and baste it with the juices every 10-15 minutes.
After two to two and a half hours, the rabbit and pork belly are done.
➜ Serving
Potato dumplings and creamed spinach go well with this rabbit roast.
Arrange 4-6 dumplings per serving around the perimeter of the plate, and add rabbit and pork. Top the dumplings with the onion and juices. Finally, add a scoop of sautéed spinach.
➜ Useful Tips
- Rabbit meat is lean and does not contain much fat so that the roast may be dry. Therefore, a combination of roast rabbit with pork belly is very suitable. This method is how my granny roasted a rabbit, and I have to say that the rabbit and pork belly in her rendition was absolutely delicious.
- If you're going to bake the rabbit without the pork fat, it's a good idea to add pork lard to the roasting pan.
- You can reduce the baking time a bit if you pre-cut the rabbit. You can learn how to carve a rabbit in this video.
➜ How does rabbit taste like
Have you never eaten rabbit meat and don't know what it tastes like? Rabbit meat is low in fat, high in protein, and has a delicate flavor that some people describe as having a milder variation of chicken or turkey.
It can be cooked similar to other poultry, such as roasting, grilling, baking and searing. Rabbit will remain juicy if cooked correctly with enough liquid and seasoning; otherwise, it can become dry.
Rabbit meat pairs well with many herbs and spices to create delicious dishes.
More Czech recipes:
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Garlic Roasted Rabbit
Ingredients
- 1 rabbit whole; weight around 5-6.5 lbs (2.5-3 kg)
- 1 pound pork belly (450 g) somewhat leaner, without skin and bones
- 1 onion large
- 4 cloves of garlic
- ½ Tablespoon salt
- ½ cup water (120 ml)
Instructions
- Clean the rabbit of any remaining hair, rinse with water and pat dry. Peel the onion and cut it into rings. Peel and press the garlic. Cut the pork belly into pieces about 1 and ½ inches (3-4 cm) thick.
- Salt the pork belly. Rub the rabbit on all sides with garlic and salt.
- Place the pieces of pork belly in the baking dish, then put the onions on top. Place the rabbit on the prepared base. Pour about ½ to ¾ cup (120-180 ml) of water over the rabbit.
- Cover with a lid and cook.
- How long to roast a rabbit? Roast the rabbit in an oven preheated to 340 °F (170 °C). After an hour, remove the lid. Bake for another 60-90 minutes until the water you've basted the roast with has evaporated. The rabbit will begin to roast (not stew). During this time, check that the meat does not overcook and baste it with the juices every 10-15 minutes. After two to two and a half hours, the rabbit and pork belly are done.
Notes
- SERVING: Potato dumplings and sautéed spinach go well with this rabbit roast. Arrange 4-6 dumplings per serving around the perimeter of the plate, add rabbit and pork. Top the dumplings with the onion and juices. Finally, add a scoop of sautéed spinach.
- Rabbit meat is lean and does not contain much fat so the roast may be dry. Therefore, a combination of roast rabbit with pork belly is very suitable. This method is how my granny roasted a rabbit, and I have to say that the rabbit and pork belly in her rendition was absolutely delicious.
- If you're going to bake the rabbit without the pork fat, it's a good idea to add pork lard to the roasting pan.
DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:
Conversion chart
Neka
Great recipe! I used just the hind legs and no pork belly, and adjusted the recipe to size but the meat was full of flavour and juices. Definitely will make again.
Petra Kupská
Ahoj Neka, thank you very much for your comment with feedback! Happy to hear that the rabbit roast turned out well 🙂
Klaus
I used white wine instead of water and a cast iron Dutch over.
Petra Kupská
Dutch oven for everything (cooking, baking, slow braising, frying, etc.) is always my first choice! 🙂
janet jarrold
I followed your recipe exactly
It was so easy I was beginning to worry how good it would taste
Result Best ever ,,,,will never bake rabbit any other way in future
Taste divine and so succulent
Thank You
Petra Kupská
Ahoj Janet, thank you very much for your feedback! I am happy to hear you liked the recipe.