# What does rabbit taste like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 23, 2015, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-rabbit-taste-like/735533 "2015-10-23T13:25:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-rabbit-taste-like/735533/41 "2015-10-24T18:13:51Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > I would agree. There must be some different kind of rabbit that other people are eating, because I have consumed a number of wild and domestic rabbits and would not compare the taste to chicken. That is the problem with rabbit–it tastes like rabbit. If it tasted like chicken, there would be a much larger market for such a lean meat. If it indeed tasted like chicken, wouldn’t it then be unpopular as chicken is cheaper and easier to find? IMHO alligator tastes like chicken (I realize that diet plays a role, but this is from restaurants, not fresh off the bayou). Expensive chicken, so it’s only a novelty when in Florida. Whereas if it had a distinctly different taste, people might seek it out more? Aside for protests from People for the Ethical Treatment of Cute Animals. I guess aside from that it might work if it were marketed as “chicken, but healthier (as long as you don’t eat exclusively rabbit.” Or if it has an image problem, call it coney, then I can pretend that it’s being served by Samwise Gamgee. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-rabbit-taste-like/735533/42 "2015-10-24T19:39:15Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Is this a whoosh? What is a “whoosh”? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-rabbit-taste-like/735533/43 "2015-10-24T20:20:21Z")
Not helpful, but it tastes like milder porcupine. I recall it being very dense. ---
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-rabbit-taste-like/735533/44 "2015-10-24T20:57:30Z")
The only time I’ve eaten rabbit (since becoming old enough to remember what it tasted like) was a small restaurant that had delicious roast rabbit. It tasted like very lean pork, and I loved it; it was what I always ordered at that place. Unfortunately we moved away and I haven’t been back for years. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-rabbit-taste-like/735533/45 "2015-10-24T21:19:58Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > What is a “whoosh”? You’ve been here longer than me and you haven’t seen that? It’s the sound something makes as it goes over your head. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-rabbit-taste-like/735533/46 "2015-10-24T22:18:15Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > You’ve been here longer than me and you haven’t seen that? > > It’s the sound something makes as it goes over your head. Or as a _Geococcyx californianus_ goes by. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-rabbit-taste-like/735533/47 "2015-10-24T22:53:20Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > If it indeed tasted like chicken, wouldn’t it then be unpopular as chicken is cheaper and easier to find? Possibly. I did not post to theorize why rabbit is not more popular, but to give my opinion on the taste of rabbit. Like **Oly** , in my youth I ate many rabbits that we either raised or hunted. Regardless of the source, the taste was always somewhat “gamey”. Due to the slightly odd flavor, when we ate them, it was always in seasoned soups, stews, sauces, or with combined with other meats–never by itself. It could be that there are different breeds of rabbits that just taste blander. It could be that there are methods of cooking that take the edge off of the flavor. It could be that people just taste things differently. Who knows. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-rabbit-taste-like/735533/48 "2015-10-24T23:49:44Z")
I’ve only had wild rabbit, cooked in a stew with garlic, onions and other vegetables. It was really good, probably due to the cook’s skills. I don’t remember the meat itself tasting much different than pork or chicken. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-rabbit-taste-like/735533/49 "2015-10-25T00:18:32Z")
Too urban here, with too many chemicals used to grow lawns as well as oil, paint thinner & worse dumped behind garages (no to mention the Comercial dumping). I wouldn’t eat wild rabbit here… or fish pulled from the Passaic River or Port Newark for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-rabbit-taste-like/735533/50 "2015-10-25T00:18:41Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > Possibly. I did not post to theorize why rabbit is not more popular, but to give my opinion on the taste of rabbit. Like **Oly** , in my youth I ate many rabbits that we either raised or hunted. Regardless of the source, the taste was always somewhat “gamey”. Due to the slightly odd flavor, when we ate them, it was always in seasoned soups, stews, sauces, or with combined with other meats–never by itself. > > It could be that there are different breeds of rabbits that just taste blander. It could be that there are methods of cooking that take the edge off of the flavor. It could be that people just taste things differently. Who knows. I’ve only had wild cottontail and captive-bred, whatever breeds are best for that. They tasted similar. The cottontail was good and tasted close enough (I won’t claim that a double-blind taste test will fool people). Last time I did it simply, dredge in flour and fry. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-rabbit-taste-like/735533/51 "2015-10-25T01:01:30Z")
I’m lovin’ this thread. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-rabbit-taste-like/735533/52 "2015-10-25T02:04:09Z")
I must confess that I used to read Barbara Cartland “romantic” novels. In one novel the protagonist is taken out to supper by a nobleman who is temporarily employing her as a chef. One dish she is served is supposed to be chicken, but she has a keen taste sense and knows it is really rabbit. It is surmised that the substitution was made because, at the time, rabbit wassupposed to be a cheaper meat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-rabbit-taste-like/735533.md?page=2)