Red Wine Garlic Rabbit Sausage Recipe

As I said in the Sweet Italian Rabbit Sausage Recipe piece, rabbit is a meat that lends itself perfectly to flavored dishes and sausages.

This recipe is hands down one of the favorites in our home.

Not only does it have red wine and garlic (and plenty of it), but it has a nice little kick of spice, too (not too intense, but you do know it’s there). We are rather wimpy around here when it comes to spicy sausage, at least compared to some people I know, and this is not an offensive sausage.

Of course, if you want a milder sausage, you can easily adjust the heat just by cutting back on the red pepper and paprika (see suggested adjustments at the end of the recipe).

I mean, really – red wine, loads of garlic, and a little spice – what's not to love!?

Let’s get to it – here’s how to make it!

Jump to:

• Red Wine Garlic Rabbit Sausage Recipe
• Ingredients
• Directions
• Recipe Notes
• Enjoy Your Homemade Fresh Red Wine Garlic Rabbit Sausage!

Red Wine Garlic Rabbit Sausage Recipe

Makes about 5 pounds (but you can easily double, triple, or quadruple the recipe for more).

Ingredients

• 5 pounds of rabbit meat trim (include as much fat as you have on your rabbits)
• 1 cup dry red wine (cabernet is a good choice; merlot would be, too, or use your favorite red wine)
• 12 cloves of fresh garlic (if using minced or dried, use 3 to 4 tablespoons)
• 5 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes*
• ½ tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 ½ tablespoons white pepper
• 5 tablespoons paprika

*For a milder sausage, reduce the red pepper flakes down to 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons and use only 3 tablespoons of paprika. You can cut back on the black and white pepper, too, if you prefer.

Directions

1. Cut the rabbit meat into chunks. Cool thoroughly before grinding. Refrigerate the meat for several hours or overnight so it is thoroughly cooled. Work with cold meat! Even slightly warm meat is difficult to grind and stuff.

2. It is helpful to put your grinder tray and attachments in the freezer while you prep the meat and spices. This helps keep the meat cold while working and helps for smoother grinding and stuffing.
3. Grind all the meat through a coarse plate.

4. Mix in the spices, wine, and garlic. Mix to combine and evenly distribute the ingredients.

5. Return the meat mixture to the refrigerator for several hours or overnight (or put it in the freezer for an hour or two to speed things up – but don’t leave the meat in the freezer overnight. You want it very cold but not frozen).

6. Grind the sausage mixture through a fine or medium plate (I use medium plates for this part, but it’s a preference on texture here).
7. If you are making a loose sausage or patties, you can stop here and form and/or package the sausage. If you want to stuff your sausage, proceed as follows.
8. I recommend stuffing this sausage in hog middle casings.
9. Return meat to the refrigerator to cool through.
10. When you are ready to stuff your sausage, prep your casings according to the label’s instructions. This usually includes rinsing and soaking the casings because they are packed in salt to preserve them.
11. Prepare your stuffer. Use a stuffing plate on the grinder or stuffer, not a grinding plate. A stuffing tube goes on the end after the stuffing plate.
12. Keep the sausage mixture in the refrigerator until just before you are ready to start stuffing.
13. Load the stuffing tube. Tie a knot at the end of the casing and prick the end with a knife tip or sharp object to let excess air out.
14. Stuff the casings. Tie off at the end of each casing tube.
15. Twist to the desired size and length. Let the casings dry for a bit, then snip at the twists and package as desired.

For more tips for successful sausage stuffing (and for another great recipe), check out the Sweet Italian Rabbit Sausage Recipe.

Recipe Notes

• This recipe binds well when cooked, even though there is very little fat (because there is no added fat, like pork fat, in the recipe).
• This makes it a nice, lean, healthy sausage! But it also highlights the all-rabbit flavor since it is an all-rabbit sausage!
• If you prefer a sausage with more fat, you can mix in pork or chicken fat (or more rabbit fat if you have it).
• If you’d like to add fat, I would add between one-half and ¾ of a pound of fat to each 5 pounds of rabbit meat. You should not need to adjust the flavorings for this small amount of fat; it shouldn’t be enough to make a huge difference.
• This sausage is excellent when used fresh or frozen. It keeps well in the freezer.

Enjoy Your Homemade Fresh Red Wine Garlic Rabbit Sausage!

This sausage works well in many recipes, or as a featured main course, too. It is excellent when cooked, sliced, and tossed with pasta and olive oil and parmesan with a little wilted spinach.

It is excellent on the grill or pan-fried, too.

You’re sure to find many ways to enjoy this rabbit sausage. Be sure to come back, tell us what you think, and share how you like to serve this red wine garlic rabbit sausage!

Enjoy!

Check out this article for tips and tricks for de-boning and grinding rabbit: How to Grind Rabbit Meat + Tips for Boning and Grinding

Here’s another tired and true favorite rabbit sausage recipe: Sweet Italian Rabbit Sausage Recipe