Southern Fried Rabbit

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Jeff Benda

Contributor at Harvesting Nature

Cooking gives me a creative outlet to transform wild game and bring it into traditional recipes from around the world to help expand people's perceptions.My goal is to celebrate local fish and wild game and provide achievable, bright recipes designed to build confidence for new cooks, and inspire everyone to elevate their cooking.

I hope that by sharing and celebrating the food I create with the fish and wild game I harvest, I can highlight the great contribution so many hunters and anglers have made to conservation in this country, and reflect the freedom we have to enjoy America's great outdoors.

Latest posts by Jeff Benda (see all)

• Hearty Rabbit and Bean Soup - January 20, 2023
• Pronghorn & Portobello Mushroom Chili - December 16, 2022
• Fried Oyster Mushroom Tacos - July 25, 2022

I hunt a lot. And every year I consistently harvest mule deer, whitetail deer, pronghorn antelope, upland birds, ducks and geese, squirrels, and rabbits. My wife eats and loves everything – except for the squirrels and rabbits. I’ve tried multiple recipes, but nothing has converted her.

But when she saw the crispy golden fried rabbit on the plate, she couldn’t resist trying it. She and our 5-year-old daughter devoured the juicy, crusty pieces of finger-licking goodness.

When I asked my daughter if she liked the rabbit, she said, “I don’t like it, I love it, and could eat this for days!”

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Southern Fried Rabbit

Recipe by Jeff BendaCourse: Wild Recipes

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

4

hours 

Cooking time

15

minutes

Ingredients

• Leg/thigh pieces from two cottontail rabbits

• 2 cups milk

• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar

• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

• 2 cups flour

• 1/2 cup cornstarch

• 1/2 cup cornmeal

• 2 teaspoons each garlic powder, onion powder, celery salt, sage, & Montreal Chicken seasoning

• 1 teaspoon each paprika, black pepper, Tony’s Creole seasoning

Preparation

• Soak rabbit leg/thigh pieces in large bowl with milk, vinegar, & lemon juice for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• When ready to cook, preheat oil in deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.
• In bowl or Ziploc bag, combine dry ingredients and mix well.
• Take rabbit pieces out of milk, one at a time, and dredge in flour mixture until very thoroughly coated and set aside on plate until all pieces are coated.
• Gently place pieces in hot oil and fry for five minutes. Remove from oil and put on pan and in oven at 250 degrees F for 10 minutes.  Remove and serve.