you can make it as hard or as simple as you want.
to my palate a rabbit is the only thing that actually tastes like chicken (though rattlesnake tastes like chicken-flavored art gum eraser).
any recipe you have for chicken will work for rabbit.
breaded and panfried is my favorite.
or braise it in oil with garlic, whatever spices you like and serve with pasta.
rabbit parmesan is simple and easy.
dumplings and rabbit stew.
the real trick to most small game is cleaning it as soon as you can.
the warmer the temp outside the sooner you should clean it.
since it's tender and not "gamey" don't bother aging (hanging) it.
if you aren't going to eat immediately, rinse any hair or dirt off, pat the carcass dry, cover it and stick it in the refrigerator or freezer, it will taste better.
a lot of the recipes for rabbit stem from eating spoiled meat (i think). hassenpfeffer for instance. it's good but why cover up the mild rabbit flavor unless it wasn't.
our season for bunnies doesn't start until autumn and conventional wisdom says wait for the first frost. supposedly to prevent picking up rabbit fever.
i wait until it's good and cold because i don't like fleas, ticks and spoiled meat.
as i understand it some of you in the uk run sighthounds and lurchers against rabbits. our greyhound and wolfhound wouild go stark raving nuts chasing bunnies but they just broke the critters' necks. almost as cleanly as shooting them. my terrier however would shred the poor guys if she cornered them before i could pop them.
like any animal if the innards are damaged too badly before or during butchering the meat is going to taste bad. the only thing you can do then is the brine soak or even milk works. rinse it well and use a pretty aggressive spicy recipe, mexican, indian or even thai. something hot and strong.
that's about all i know about cooking bunnies.
addendum: the rabbits we take locally are cottontails. they eat grass and the vegetables in my garden.
a couple hundred miles west of here you get jackrabbits as well. they eat sage and bushes, etc.
their flavor is very strong. for them i just skip right to the spicy recipes. the meat is stringier. some
folks pressure cook it, i just braise some good flavor into it, then cook it on low until it's tender.
