Rabbit in Sour Cream

Name: Rabbit in Sour Cream: Rabbit Paprikash with Tomato and Peppers
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: Rabbit 1.5 kg; Bell pepper 1; Onions 1–2; Sour cream 100 ml; Butter 50 g; Flour 1 tbsp (10 g); Sweet paprika 1–2 tbsp (7–14 g); Tomato pulp to taste; Water as needed; Salt, ground black pepper, chili pepper to taste

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I remember the days of happy chaos when, being a kid, I didn’t much care what sausage, patties or cottage cheese were made of. The grocery stores had Soviet abundance: 4-5 kinds of bologna-style sausage, bread on a schedule, cheese, milk in the morning, vodka from 2 pm and plenty more.

But I don’t remember being able to just walk into a store any time and buy a chicken, a duck or meat. Not to mention delicacies like red fish or rabbit… Rabbits were everywhere in the form of winter hats. But you couldn’t buy rabbit meat. So somebody was eating them, just not us.

As two comedians used to say, rabbits aren’t just valuable fur, they’re very tasty meat. The famous Father Fyodor quickly figured out that rabbits breed easily, need minimal care and are very tasty when cooked right. Rabbit in sour cream is part of our family traditions.

I, for one, like the way it’s made in Hungary: paprikash. Hungary has a rich culinary tradition, including a whole category of dishes called pörkölt. That’s meat cooked in a special way (beef, veal, chicken, rabbit, pork, lamb or wild boar). If the dish is stewed with sour cream, it’s called paprikash (paprikás).

We don’t copy Hungarian paprikash exactly. At home we make something similar, but our own way. Rabbit with paprika and tomatoes in sour cream is a great dish for breakfast on a holiday.

Hare needs marinating, or it will have quite a smell. But rabbit meat can be cooked right away, although it’s said a rabbit should rest in the fridge for a couple of days.

We most often make rabbit in sour cream on holidays, to have a filling breakfast. Then you can sit down to the holiday table with your strength fully restored.

Rabbit in sour cream based on the classic Hungarian paprikash. An extraordinary combination of sweet paprika, tomato and rabbit meat.

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Ingredients

4–6 servings

Rabbit 1.5 kg
Bell pepper 1
Onions 1–2
Sour cream 100 ml
Butter 50 g
Flour 1 tbsp (10 g)
Sweet paprika 1–2 tbsp (7–14 g)
Tomato pulp to taste
Water as needed
Salt, ground black pepper, chili pepper to taste

Step-by-step recipe

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Preparing the rabbit

A dressed rabbit usually weighs 1.3–1.5 kg. That’s enough for a holiday dish for the whole family.
Wash the rabbit thoroughly and remove the membranes and clumps of fat inside.
Remove any remaining lungs, the kidneys and other unwanted bits.
Cut into serving pieces, taking care not to create bone splinters.

Onion with paprika

Melt a piece of butter in a deep frying pan and fry the coarsely chopped onion until soft.
Get the sweet ground paprika ready. Double-check that the paprika isn’t hot.
Add the sweet paprika to the fried onion. The usual amount of paprika for one rabbit is 1–2 tbsp.
Fry the paprika with the onion briefly, literally 1 minute, so the paprika spreads evenly and turns the onion dark red.

Stewing the rabbit

Add the rabbit pieces to the pan with the onion.
Brown the meat lightly, stirring from time to time.
To keep the meat very juicy, cover the pan and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes. The rabbit will release a lot of liquid. Take off the lid and let the liquid almost completely evaporate. This usually takes about 10 minutes.
Add the coarsely chopped bell pepper, red or green, whichever you like.
Add the tomato right away. When they’re in season, of course, use fresh tomatoes. Out of season, canned tomato pulp, sold in almost any store, works great.
Stir everything well and simmer, covered, over the lowest heat until the rabbit is tender. If needed, you can add a little water. But it’s still better for the meat to stew in its own juices. Besides, the pepper and tomato will release liquid as they cook.

Sour cream sauce

Add good full-fat sour cream to the stewed rabbit. If the sour cream isn’t very thick, mix it with the flour.
If the sauce comes out thick, you can add water. The rabbit needs to simmer in a pourable sauce for a while. Season with salt and pepper as you like. Simmer the meat in the sour cream sauce, covered, over low heat for another 10 minutes.
Rabbit in sour cream goes great with potatoes. For a side, I recommend potatoes with garlic and dill. It’s especially good with new potatoes.

Calories and macros

560 kcal

Serving ≈ 300 g

Protein59 g44% of kcal
Fat31 g51% of kcal
Carbs7 g5% of kcal

100 g189 kcalProtein 19.9 gFat 10.4 gCarbs 2.5 g

Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.

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To Get It Right

No paprika?

Instead of paprika, try cayenne or chili pepper in a small amount with the rabbit. Or any smoked seasoning.

With white wine

Readers suggest adding a splash of white wine once the liquid from the rabbit has evaporated, before the pepper and tomato.

Storing

Keep leftover rabbit in sour cream covered in the fridge, usually for 1–3 days. Reheat over low heat; if the sauce has thickened, add a little water.

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Questions and answers

How long to stew rabbit in sour cream?

Usually 40–60 minutes over low heat after adding the pepper and tomato, plus another 10 minutes with the sour cream. A young rabbit can be done in about 40 minutes, while an older one may need more than an hour. Check with a knife: if the meat comes away from the bone easily, it’s done and you can add the sour cream.

Do you need to soak rabbit before cooking?

No, there’s no need to soak rabbit in vinegar: that’s done with hare, which has a strong smell. Store-bought rabbit is tender and can be cooked right away. If you want to be on the safe side, keep the pieces in cold water for an hour or two, but it isn’t necessary for this recipe.

Can you make rabbit in sour cream in the oven?

Yes. Fry the onion with paprika and the rabbit pieces in a pan, transfer to a baking dish, add the pepper and tomato, cover with a lid or foil and braise in the oven at 180 °C for about an hour. Then add the sour cream and return to the oven for another 10–15 minutes.

How do you make rabbit in sour cream in a slow cooker?

Fry the onion with paprika and the rabbit pieces on the Fry setting, add the pepper and tomato and cook on the Stew setting for about an hour. Add the sour cream about 10 minutes before the end.

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