Americans Learn to Say 'Mmm, Rabbit'

Rabbit as food is a troubling conceit for many Americans—“it’s this weird association with Easter,” a chef says—but the animal is taking off with a small group of budding butchers, urban farmers, and those just enamored of its lean, healthy meat. “This is my gateway animal,” a woman at a recent rabbit-killing seminar who envisions raising the critters in her backyard tells the New York Times.

The dish is coming to more restaurants, as well, though it can be a challenge. “The more you can make rabbit not look like rabbit, the easier it is to sell people on it,” an owner says. Still, it has much to recommend it. Rabbits tend not to be factory-farmed, and their physiology is almost identical to a pig’s but easier to butcher, like a starter carcass for the DIY meat crowd. “American palates are expanding and looking backwards,” says a booster, hopefully. “Rabbit is a big part of that.” (More Slow Food stories.)