Effect of three cooking methods on cooking loss and edible weight of rabbit meat

Introduction: Mediterranean diet features gastronomic heritage that includes rabbit dishes. Some food composition tables present scant information regarding the yield and edible parts of rabbit meat. Objectives: This study seeks to investigate how various cooking techniques impact the cooking loss and edible weight of different cuts of rabbit meat. Methodology: Six male rabbits were slaughtered and the carcasses were dissected: hind leg, ribs, belly, saddle loin, saddle hindquarter and front leg were analysed in duplicated (n=12). Cooking methods included boiling, oven-roasting, and frying until the internal temperature reached 75°C. Post-cooking, samples were cooled, deboned, and weighed to determine edible weight percentage and cooking loss. Results: Frying method was the quickest (from 4.8 to 13.6 minutes), while boiling method was the slowest (from 26.9 to 33.9 minutes). After cooking, the average edible weight was higher in saddle hindquarter (86.7; SD 12.4 g) and saddle loin (52.7; SD 10.1 g) and lower in hind leg (17.8; SD 2.8 g) and belly (13.5; SD 4.6 g). The boiling method presented lower cooking losses (28.2; SD 6.4%) and higher edible weight (51.7; SD 7.6%), and frying the higher cooking loss (36.0; SD 10.0%) and lower edible weight (47.0; SD 8.3%). Conclusions: Boiling demonstrated superior performance despite longer cooking times, while frying showed the least favourable outcomes. This study offers valuable insights for gastrotechnics and culinary management.