Extremely lean white meat — so lean that it cannot be the only thing you eat.
Rabbit is one of the leanest meats available: very high protein, very low fat, and
mild enough that it is often compared to chicken.
It carries a genuinely interesting
historical footnote. Rabbit is so lean that eating nothing but rabbit causes protein
poisoning — "rabbit starvation" — because the body cannot process protein without
adequate fat and carbohydrate alongside it. This is a real documented phenomenon from Arctic
exploration, not folklore.
In a normal mixed diet it is simply an excellent lean
protein.
Per 100g cooked.
Based on the nutrients and fibre this food supplies. These are supporting foods, not treatments.
Add fat, because it has none. Rabbit needs olive oil, bacon, cream or
a rich sauce. Cooked dry it is genuinely unpleasant.
Legs and saddle cook
differently. The saddle is tender and wants fast heat; the legs are worked muscle and
want slow braising.
Brine or marinate. As with any very lean meat,
this is the difference between good and dry.
It suits mustard, white wine and
herbs — the classic European preparations are classic because they solve the
leanness problem.
At roughly 33g protein per 100g with 3.5g fat, rabbit has one of the highest
protein-to-fat ratios of any meat. That makes it efficient, and also means it must be eaten
as part of a mixed meal rather than alone.
Protein metabolism produces ammonia and urea
that the liver and kidneys must clear, and there is a ceiling on how fast that happens.
Exceed it without fat or carbohydrate to fall back on and you get the documented rabbit
starvation effect. In practice, eat it with something else and this never arises.
Gout or high uric acid: all meat contains purines, and organ
meats most of all. Meat and seafood purines trigger flares far more reliably than plant
purines do.
Kidney disease: protein load often needs limiting. This
needs your doctor's numbers, not a general rule.
Pregnancy: cook all
meat through — no pink — and avoid liver because of its vitamin A content.
This is information, not a prescription. If you are managing a diagnosed condition or taking medication, talk to your doctor before making a large change to your diet.
Nutrition figures on this page come from standard food composition data. These links let you check the numbers and read the underlying research yourself rather than taking our word for it.