Rabbit

Why rabbit is rated low

Rabbit is lean muscle meat and fat, so there is essentially no fermentable carbohydrate in it and it comes in low. That verdict is estimated from the composition of the meat rather than from a weighed and measured serving, which is why the portion data stays in plain words: the ladder records Any typical portion as low, and portions well beyond a normal helping have not been looked at. Where rabbit differs from most plain meats is in how it is nearly always cooked. It is a braising animal, and the classic treatments start with onion softened in fat, a splash of stock and a long simmer, so the liquid is what turns a low ingredient into a high plate.

What changes your risk

• The pot, not the rabbit Plain rabbit holds at Any typical portion. A braise built on onion, shallot and garlic, or finished with a stock cube, puts the FODMAPs into the sauce, and with a slow braise the meat sits in that sauce for hours.
• Stock and ready-made sauces Bouillon powder, bottled gravy, mustard and cream sauces and jarred cooking bases are usually built on onion and garlic. Stock simmered from the rabbit bones with carrot, bay and thyme gives the same depth without them.
• Preserved and prepared rabbit Rabbit terrine, pâté, rillettes, sausages and canned rabbit cassoulet all carry seasonings, and cassoulet in particular carries beans, which bring their own load. These are ingredient-list foods rather than plain meat.
• The plate around it A low rating is per serving and not per meal. Rabbit contributes essentially nothing, but the bread, the beans, the pasta and the dessert are what the day's total is actually made of.
• Marinating and long cooking do not alter it Rabbit is often marinated overnight and cooked for hours to tenderise it, and neither step changes FODMAP content. Cooking does not destroy FODMAPs, and what the meat gains is whatever was in the marinade.

What else works

Rabbit does not need replacing, and it keeps good company: plain chicken, turkey, pork, beef, lamb and plain fish all sit in the same place, along with eggs and firm tofu. The forms to look at separately are rabbit pâté and terrine, rillettes, rabbit sausage and canned cassoulet, since onion, garlic and beans are part of what those dishes are. To get the flavour the traditional soffritto would have given, cook in garlic-infused oil with no solid pieces in it, use leek leaves and the green tops of spring onions in place of onion, and lean on rosemary, thyme, bay, juniper and a pinch of asafoetida. Serve it over polenta, potato, rice or gluten free pasta.

How to keep it low

Buy it plain and jointed from the butcher, farmed or wild, and skip anything sold ready-marinated or in a sauce. Make the braising liquid yourself: brown the joints in garlic-infused oil, then add water or homemade stock with carrot, bay, thyme and a few peppercorns, since a cube would undo the whole dish. Rabbit is very lean and dries out, so it wants gentle heat and enough liquid to stay covered, and the saddle cooks faster than the legs and is worth adding later. Check the label on mustard, cream sauces and anything jarred before it goes in. Leftovers shredded off the bone are useful for a pie filling or a rice dish, and they stay exactly where the meat started.

Common questions

is rabbit low fodmap

Yes. Plain rabbit is lean meat with essentially no fermentable carbohydrate, and the portion data records **Any typical portion** as low. That rating is estimated from what the meat is made of rather than from a measured serving.

can i eat rabbit stew on a low fodmap diet

It depends entirely on the stew. The rabbit is low at **Any typical portion**, but a base of onion, garlic and stock cubes puts a real FODMAP load into the sauce, so build the braise with garlic-infused oil, leek leaves and homemade stock instead.

is rabbit ok during the elimination phase

Plain rabbit fits, as long as it is cooked without onion, garlic or shop-bought stock. Treat terrine, rillettes, sausage and canned cassoulet as separate foods and read their labels.

what can i use instead of onion when braising rabbit

Garlic-infused oil with no solid pieces left in it, leek leaves, the green tops of spring onions, chives and a pinch of asafoetida cover the savoury base. Rosemary, thyme, bay and juniper carry the rest of the flavour.