Buying and lighting calculator · Lamb and rabbit
How much rabbit do I buy and when do I light?
Farmed rabbit is sold whole, cleaned and headless, in pieces of 1.3 to 1.5 kg that serve four. It is lean meat with little fat, so it dries out quickly if you overdo it, and the best approach is moderate indirect heat with the deflector in. The carcass is nearly one sixth bone, and the rest loses about a third of its weight as it cooks, so we work with 340 g raw per person, which leaves about 200 g of meat on the plate. Count about 40 minutes per kilo at 160 °C, with the probe in the thickest part of the thigh, which is the slowest to cook. A short rest under foil keeps the meat juicy.
How to ask for it
For 4 people: Ask for a whole farmed rabbit, without head or offal and jointed if you prefer, 1.4 kg in total; each one 1.3 to 1.5 kg.
A whole rabbit is about a sixth bone and loses water in the oven: 340 g raw leaves about 200 g of meat. 71 °C in the thickest part of the thigh.
How we calculate it
We start from a reasonable cooked portion (about 200 g of meat on the plate, 170 g of cleaned fish) and convert it to raw weight using each cut's bone and trim loss. "Hungry" adds 25 %. We round up to what is actually sold: quarter kilos, whole pieces, units.
To the cook time (per kilo or per piece, at each method's temperature) we add the kamado's lighting and stabilising (20-45 min depending on the method, as on the recipe pages), the rest, and a margin for long cooks, which vary from one piece to the next. Times are approximate: your kamado, the wind and the charcoal decide; on big cuts, trust the probe.
Frequently asked questions
How much rabbit per person?
About 340 g raw per person. A whole 1.4 kg rabbit serves four: after the bone (nearly a sixth) and what it loses in the oven, about 200 g of meat per portion remains. For six guests, buy two rabbits.
How long does a whole rabbit take in the kamado?
At 160 °C with indirect heat, about 40 minutes per kilo: around 55 minutes for a 1.4 kg rabbit, plus the lighting. It is done when the probe reads 71 °C in the thickest part of the thigh. Rest it 10 minutes under foil before jointing.
Whole or jointed rabbit?
Whole keeps more juice and looks better at the table, but the saddle cooks before the thighs. Jointed gives you more control over the heat: start the thighs first and add the saddle later. Either way, the internal temperature of the thigh decides.
Other Lamb and rabbit cuts
Approximate figures. Sources and the portion rule are in "How we calculate it".