The benefits and harms of rabbit meat
Everyone knows rabbit meat for its delicate taste, juicy and soft texture. This product is included in many diets, including those used for treatment.
Why rabbit meat is useful
Many people wonder why this particular type of meat is in special demand, and the price of rabbit meat is higher compared to the product obtained from chicken, beef and pork. This is what will be discussed below. We will find out whether rabbit meat is healthy, whether it is really dietary, what is the calorie content of rabbit meat and what are the secrets of cooking using this product.
Rabbit meat composition
Rabbit meat differs from other varieties both in chemical composition and in taste. The rabbit meat contains all the standard components:
- protein;
- fat and fatty acids;
- vitamins and trace elements (this is exactly what rabbit meat is useful for).
The same composition is typical for cow or chicken meat, but rabbit meat is different in that the percentage of nutrients is significantly higher. There are also other advantages that make this product attractive to the buyer.
The benefits of rabbit meat
Speaking about the rabbit meat product, it is worth dwelling on what are the benefits and harms of it. Let's start with the positives.
- Low energy value. The calorie content of rabbit meat is much less than other varieties, since the percentage of fat in the product is no more than 20%. According to this criterion, rabbit meat can be compared with turkey meat. Rabbit meat is the main ingredient in many diets, both for weight loss and for the treatment and prevention of disease. The calorie content of the product is only 160 kcal per 100 g.
- Rabbit meat contains essential amino acids, trace elements and vitamins. The chemical composition contains about 18 amino acids, including such unique components as lysine and methionine. You also need to say about such components as ascorbic, niacin, manganese, phosphorus, iron, fluorine, and so on. Some useful ingredients are unique, and rabbit meat is the product in which they are presented in the maximum amount.
- The composition contains vitamin E. Its regular consumption will make hair strong, as well as improve the condition of nails and skin. Also, rabbit meat is an excellent antioxidant, which significantly slows down the aging process.
- Rabbit meat is absorbed almost completely (the figure is 90-95%). When it is digested, the load on the digestive tract is minimal, which is why rabbit meat is a frequent component of dietary menus. For example, cow meat cannot boast of such characteristics; the digestibility percentage is no more than 65%.
- Rabbit meat is a hypoallergenic product, so it can be safely included in the baby's menu even with the introduction of complementary foods, because the risk of allergy to a rabbit is minimal.
- Products from eared ones practically do not contain cholesterol, only 20 g per 100 g, for this reason it is included in the diet for atherosclerosis during treatment, as well as as a preventive measure. This fact is important for the nutrition of overweight people, as well as for people in old age.
How to choose quality meat
All the benefits described earlier apply only to fresh produce, as well as young rabbit meat. The fact is that as the animal grows up, the chemical composition of the meat product changes: the water content sharply decreases, while the protein and fat, on the contrary, grow. The greatest nutritional value is represented by young animals (rabbits up to 4 months old): their meat is especially useful and tender, the content of useful components in it is maximum.
How to choose quality products and make your purchase safe? Only fresh meat can be healthy. If it has lain down for a while or has been thawed, all useful properties are leveled. The same thing happens under the condition of improper storage.
How do you know that you are buying fresh goods? It is necessary to conduct a careful external examination of the carcass. Normally, the color of the meat should be light pink, the surface under the skin should not be sticky, some moisture is a variant of the norm. Fresh rabbit meat should not exude an unpleasant odor, otherwise you have a poor-quality product in which the process of tissue decomposition has begun, because of this it smells unpleasant.
Choosing quality rabbit meat
The skin pressure test will be effective and indicative. If you have fresh meat in front of you, then the depressed fossa will even out in a few seconds and not a trace will remain of it. It is important to pay attention to the color: the darker the pink, the older the slaughtered rabbit was.
Of course, in order to eat a 100% ecological and healthy product, you need to raise rabbits yourself, which is what many residents of villages and country houses do. On breeding and selling these pets, you can build a good profitable business with minimal initial investment. You just need to buy rabbits and cages.
If we talk about how much meat can be obtained from one fluff, then the average slaughter weight is about 2.5-3 kg, waste - about 30%.
The harm from rabbit meat
It would seem that after all the useful characteristics that were listed earlier, there can be no harmful properties, but this is not the case. Diet rabbit meat contains purine inclusions. The danger lies in the fact that in the process of digestion, they produce uric acid, which negatively affects the muscular system of the human body. If you do not follow the rules for cooking white rabbit meat, there is a risk of developing gout (in adults) or diathesis (in children).
If a person has a history of diseases associated with an increased content of uric acid, or diabetes, it is worth consulting with a doctor about the possibility of consuming rabbit meat, this can adversely affect the functioning of the whole body.
Summing up the story about the harmful properties of rabbit meat, let's say that this aspect directly depends on how healthy and young the killed animal was.
Rabbit meat sales
Rabbit meat is not a cheap product, it costs more than chicken. On average, at the moment, the price for 1 kg of rabbit meat varies in the range from 200 to 400 rubles per 1 kg. Moreover, no matter how paradoxical it may sound, Russian-made rabbit meat is more expensive than similar products made in China. This applies to both wholesale and retail, although the latter option for purchasing meat is more expensive.
Breeding rabbits at home
If you are breeding rabbits for sale, then you need to plan in advance what the market will be like. You can sell slaughtered rabbits:
- to markets and bazaars that have meat departments;
- to shops, super- and hypermarkets;
- butcher shops and specialty stores;
- in cafes, restaurants, canteens;
- as individual orders.
Of course, not everyone succeeds in expanding their business to the level of regular sales. To do this, you need to have powerful marketing and always keep the quality of products at the level.
How to cook rabbit meat
In order for the meat to be tasty, juicy, not tough and healthy, you need to cook it correctly.
Rules for the preparation of rabbit meat
- Place the carcass in cold water. Usually the soaking procedure lasts about 5-7 hours. This is necessary so that it does not taste bitter. In this case, it is advisable to periodically change the water in order to remove all harmful components as much as possible. Instead of water, some housewives use milk, which has a positive effect on the taste of the cooked meat.
- When cutting, keep in mind that the back of the carcass is best suited for frying. For rabbit soup, it is best to use the front of the carcass, as it is tougher. In general, the meat of the animal can be boiled, fried or stewed.
- In order to remove the characteristic odor, you need to soak the rabbit in water with a few teaspoons of apple cider vinegar.
- A rabbit is rarely cooked whole, most often housewives cut it into small pieces: this way the dish turns out to be tasty and spicy, but the legs are cooked completely. Rabbit meat will be equally tasty both in tandem with a side dish, and as an independent dish, while the benefits of rabbit meat will be preserved, and there will be no harm.
- You need to cook rabbit meat at medium temperatures, for example. So, you need to bake at a temperature not higher than 170 ° C.
Rabbit dishes
There are many dishes in which rabbit meat is the main ingredient, but they often take a long time to prepare. This is exactly the case when the energy spent is worth it, because the taste will be simply divine.
At home, you can cook the most tender cutlets or meatballs from rabbit meat, diet pilaf with a minimum calorie content, classic soups or pureed soups, pates and incredibly tasty terrine, the recipe of which came to us from France.
In cooking, rabbit meat is usually served only with sauce in order to advantageously cut the taste of the product. These can be sauces based on sour cream or cream, as well as gravy cooked on tomatoes.