Conejo a la Cazadora — hunter's rabbit — is rabbit cut into pieces, browned, then braised in a sauce of onion, garlic, peppers, tomato, white wine, and herbs. It is the Spanish country cousin of Italian cacciatore, the dish a hunter made with what was on hand after the hunt: the rabbit, garden vegetables, wine, and wild herbs.
Conejo a la Cazadora is the Spanish version of the Mediterranean 'hunter's style' (cacciatore) dish — every country on the sea has one. In Spain it is a dish of the inland plains and foothills, where rabbits were the cheapest protein and grew in every orchard. The 'hunter' here was often just a farmer with a slingshot. The sauce — onion, pepper, tomato, wine — is the Spanish sofrito base, and the dish is a Sunday family meal.
Tender chunks of rabbit in a deep red, glossy sauce. The meat falls off the bone; the sauce is sweet from slow-cooked onion and pepper, with bright tomato acidity and a hit of wine. Herbs (thyme, bay) run underneath. Eat it with bread, with rice, or with fried potatoes. It is better the next day.
The rabbit is browned hard first to develop the Maillard crust; this flavor dissolves into the sauce during the braise. The vegetables form a sofrito base — sweet, thick, glossy — that thickens the sauce without flour. The long, slow braise dissolves the collagen in the rabbit, making the meat tender and giving the sauce body.
Variations
Some add chorizo; some use sherry instead of white wine; some add wild mushrooms; the herb mix varies.
On the Palate
Where Conejo a la Cazadora sits in the Spanish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 45 min active + 45 min waiting
- 13 min
Cut rabbit into 8 pieces; season with salt.
- 28 min
Brown rabbit in olive oil in a wide pot, in batches; remove.
Watch outBrown the rabbit hard in batches so each piece gets a real crust — crowd the pot and it steams grey, and you lose the flavor the braise is built on.
- 38 min
Soften chopped onion, garlic, and diced red pepper in the same oil 8 minutes.
- 46 min
Add grated tomato; cook until darkened, 6 minutes.
Watch outCook the grated tomato down until it darkens to brick-red and turns jammy — this is when the sofrito loses its raw edge and starts to thicken the sauce.
- 55 min
Add white wine; reduce by half.
- 63 min
Return rabbit; add thyme, bay leaf, and water to nearly cover.
- 740 min
Simmer covered 40 minutes until rabbit is tender.
- 88 min
Uncover; reduce sauce to glossy; adjust salt; rest 5 minutes.
Watch outReduce uncovered until the sauce coats the back of a spoon and turns glossy — thin, watery sauce means it needed a few more minutes open.
