Game

Hare and wild rabbit meat: delicate & artisanal at HANOS

In the Netherlands, the hare hunting season starts on 15 October and runs until 31 December. For wild rabbit, the season runs from 15 August to 31 January. Both hare and rabbit are managed in the Netherlands within the framework of wildlife management and sustainable game management. Almost all of HANOS’s supply comes from the Netherlands, and its quality is very good. If there is still livestock in the fields at the start of the season, hare cannot yet be hunted, which can limit availability. To keep hare accessible to a wider public, HANOS imports a more affordable fillet and leg meat from Argentina. HANOS also supplies hare and rabbit from other game-rich regions of Europe, such as France and Hungary.

View the hare range View the rabbit range

Gerechtbeeld van gebraden konijn of haas

Flavour and texture of hare

Hare has an intense game flavour. It is spicy, often with light notes of juniper, nuts and forest floor, depending partly on diet and season. The meat is deep red to almost brown in colour and muscular, with a firm bite.

Flavour and texture of rabbit

Rabbit has a much milder, finer flavour than hare, slightly sweet with a subtle game accent. Because of its accessible flavour, rabbit is often seen as an entry-level game meat. The meat is pink to light red in colour and has a finer texture than hare.

Difference between hare and rabbit meat

Hare offers a powerful, robust game flavour with dark, fibrous meat, ideal for slow cooking. Wild rabbit offers a milder, more accessible flavour with finer, lean meat, suitable for both quick frying and slow braising.

General information about hare

The European brown hare and the rabbit both belong to the Leporidae family. The hare’s elongated, supple, ‘lean’ body rests on a pair of slender forelegs and two much higher-set, very powerful hind legs. The body is covered with different types of hair, with guard hairs in the wild colour. The fur on the underside of the belly and tail is white. The black ear patches and much longer ears distinguish a hare from a rabbit.

The life of a hare

The hare is a solitary steppe animal with a clear preference for large open spaces (at least 5 ha). It can move slowly but also very fast: hopping leisurely or at a gallop. Its leaping gallop reaches speeds of up to 70 km per hour. Hares rest, sleep and give birth in a ‘form’, nothing more than a shallow hollow in arable land or grassland. As a fairly small herbivore with many natural enemies, the hare has a considerable reproductive capacity. During courtship, the doe sometimes literally boxes the buck, who can suffer serious injuries. So, contrary to popular belief, these are not fights between bucks.

A selective diet

The hare has a selective diet, preferring seedlings, young plant parts with a relatively low cell-wall content and arable weeds such as dandelion, crucifers, violets and all kinds of clover.

From polder to plate: the origin of hare

Hare has a somewhat stronger, distinctive flavour of its own. Because hares live in wooded areas and heathland, but also in the polders among the bulb fields and sprout crops, each will have its own individual flavour.

A traditional Dutch dish is ‘hazenpeper’ (jugged hare). It can be made in different ways, and the cuts required can vary widely. Shoulders, legs or stewing pieces are common.

Hares have several layers of membrane. When buying hare, you can choose between trimmed and untrimmed cuts. Removing the membrane yourself takes some skill, but the advantage is that the product looks much nicer when presented.

Hunting season:

15 October to 31 December

Sex:

Male: buck

Female: doe

Origin:

The hare is found throughout Europe.

Determining quality:

Meatiness, clear unblemished eyes and not too much shot damage.

Determining age:

Young hares can be distinguished from older ones as follows:

The skin between the ears is loose

The pubic bone or sacrum is still cartilage

The periosteum of the radius has not yet fused with that of the ulna

The radius is shorter than the ulna

Small protrusions can be felt below the joint

Storage:

In the skin: chill & freeze

Oven-ready: frozen & vacuum-packed

Weight:

Half hare: in the skin 2 kilos, oven-ready 1–1.2 kilos

¾ hare: in the skin 2–3 kilos, oven-ready 1.2–1.6 kilos

Whole hare: in the skin 3 kilos +, oven-ready 1.6–2.2 kilos

Colour:

Reddish to greyish-brown coat and long ears with black tips.

A white undercoat and large amber eyes.

The tail is black on top and white underneath.

Technique & inspiration

In this instructional video, the HANOS game specialist shows you step by step how to fillet and prepare small furred game, using a fresh saddle of hare. Among other things, you will learn how to remove the neck and tail piece, loosen the ribs, cut away the membranes and neatly remove the fillets from the carcass. A practical technique video for chefs, hospitality professionals and game lovers who want to work professionally with game.

General information about rabbit

The wild rabbit’s coat is sand-coloured; the undercoat is bluish. Especially on the back, the hairs have black tips, making the back darker. The belly and the inside of the legs are white. Unlike hares, wild rabbits live in colonies in underground burrows, also known as a warren.

Origins

The wild rabbit originates from south-west Europe and North Africa, where wild rabbits have been hunted with ferrets since the beginning of the Common Era. All breeds of domestic rabbit descend from the wild rabbit. In the Netherlands, wild rabbit is found almost everywhere on ‘drier’ soils.

Mainly a herbivore

The wild rabbit’s diet is plant-based and consists mainly of grasses, marram grass and all kinds of herbs and vegetables, and sometimes bark.

Wild rabbit has pink meat: not white like farmed rabbit, but certainly not red like hare. However fresh, the meat always smells slightly of urine. This can be masked by soaking the meat in milk or buttermilk. Marinating in a light, sweet marinade can also reduce the somewhat pungent smell and taste.

Hunting season:

15 August to 31 January

Sex:

Male: buck

Female: doe

Origin:

The wild rabbit is found in almost all of Western and Central Europe and in Australia.

Determining quality:

Meatiness, clear unblemished eyes and not too much shot damage.

Determining age:

In an old rabbit, the pubic bone and sacrum are hard bone and the radius is fused to the ulna. The radius is as long as or longer than the ulna.

Storage:

Chilling: in the skin

Freezing: in the skin or skinned and vacuum-packed

Weight:

In the skin: 1–2 kg

Oven-ready: 500–1,200 grams

Colour:

The coat is grey-brown, ochre at the nape. The ear tips have a thin dark edge on the outside. The short tail is black on top and white underneath. The hairs have a black tip. The belly and the inside of the legs are white.

Cuts:

Oven-ready, whole saddle, saddle fillet, hind leg

Preparations and serving tips for hare and rabbit

Preparing hare and rabbit

As with other animals, how hare and rabbit meat is prepared depends on the cut. Some basic preparations are:

Pan-frying pink

Use: Hare/rabbit fillet.
Method: Pan-fry or grill quickly over high heat, preferably serve pink.
Result: Tender and juicy, keeping the powerful game flavour.

Braising

Use: Legs, shoulder or carcass pieces.
Method: Cook slowly in wine, beer or stock with vegetables and herbs.
Result: Tender meat that becomes soft and flavourful.

Roasting in the oven

Use: Whole hare or rabbit
Method: First sear briefly, then cook gently in the oven.
Tip: Baste regularly to prevent drying out.

Serving tips for hare

Traditionally, hare is served with red sauces such as a red wine or port sauce. Fruit such as blueberries and blackberries balances its powerful game flavour. Root vegetables such as celeriac or parsnip are often served with hare.

Serving tips for rabbit

Traditionally, rabbit is served with a white wine sauce or mustard sauce. Fruit such as apples and prunes nicely complements its flavour. Rabbit is often served with carrots, leeks or green beans.

Recipes with hare or rabbit

Discover a number of great recipes with hare and rabbit below, or go straight to FoodXperience for all hare and rabbit recipes.

View all recipes

Game and poultry

HANOS is a leader in game and poultry. All year round, also outside the traditional game season. Our vision is simple: game should be wild. That is why nowhere else in Europe will you find a comparable range of game and poultry from the wild. And we are proud of that! Explore our very extensive range of game & poultry, read all about techniques and background information from our poulterer and get inspired by our recipes.

Hare and wild rabbit meat: delicate & artisanal at HANOS

Flavour and texture of hare

Flavour and texture of rabbit

Difference between hare and rabbit meat