Rabbit: lean meat with borrowed evidence and real food safety risks

Add 1.8 oz (50 g) of meat to a meal heavy in phytate and 45 young women absorbed 44 percent more non-heme iron from it, 57 percent more with 75 g, while 25 g made no significant difference. That meat was pork. We found no human trial of rabbit meat itself on any health outcome, so rabbit borrows its evidence from other muscle meats, on the assumption that the meat factor is common to muscle tissue. What is measured for rabbit is its composition. In US survey data a cup of cooked rabbit (135 g) gives about 41 g protein, 275 calories, 11 g fat and 8.7 ug vitamin B12, from one recipe-based entry, and farmed and wild rabbit differ.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• In UK food tables raw rabbit meat has 21.9 g protein and 5.5 g fat per 3.5 oz (100 g), and stewed meat 21.2 g protein and 3.2 g fat. — UK composition tables, meat only (n = 2 food codes) Evidence E source
  Raw 18-387: 137 calories, protein 21.9 g, fat 5.5 g, cholesterol 53 mg, iron 1.00 mg; stewed 18-388: 114 calories, protein 21.2 g, fat 3.2 g, cholesterol 49 mg, iron 1.10 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g)

What a real portion looks like

• A cup of cooked rabbit (135 g) gives about 41 g protein, 275 calories, 11 g fat and 8.7 ug vitamin B12 in US survey data. — US household measures, FNDDS (n = 1 food code) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: protein 30.14 g, energy 204 calories, fat 8.34 g, cholesterol 85 mg, B12 6.46 ug, niacin 7.103 mg; per cup 135 g: 40.7 g, 275.4 calories, 11.3 g, 114.8 mg, 8.7 ug, 9.6 mg

What your body absorbs

• Adding 50 or 2.6 oz (75 g) of pork muscle to a phytate-rich meal raised non-heme iron absorption by 44% and 57% in 45 young women, while 25 g did not. — 45 healthy women, mean age 24, single labeled meals (n = 45) Evidence B source
  +44% (P < 0.001) with 50 g, +57% (P < 0.001) with 75 g, 25 g not significant (P = 0.13)
• Over 5 days of controlled eating, 2.1 oz (60 g) of pork per main meal lifted non-heme iron absorption to 7.9% from 5.3% on a vegetarian diet with the same phytate and vitamin C. — 19 healthy women, three 5-day whole-diet periods, 180 g meat a day (n = 19) Evidence B source
  Fractional non-heme iron absorption 7.9% (Danish meat) and 6.8% (Polish meat) vs 5.3% vegetarian; P = 0.031 for Danish meat
• Cooking 2.6 oz (75 g) of meat at 248 °F (120 degrees C) instead of 158 °F (70 degrees C) did not reduce its boost to non-heme iron absorption in 21 women. — 21 women aged about 25, labeled test meals (n = 21) Evidence B source
  Absorption gain 0.9% at 70 C, 0.7% at 95 C, 2.0% at 120 C (P < 0.001) over the meal without meat

What cooking and storage change

• In Serbia a father and son developed throat tularemia with fever and swollen neck glands after eating under-cooked rabbit meat. — 2 cases, Serbia (n = 2) Evidence C source
  Oropharyngeal tularemia: fever, unilateral tonsillopharyngitis, cervical lymphadenitis
• CDC states that eating under-cooked meat of infected animals can cause throat tularemia and that skinning infected rabbits can pass the bacteria through the skin. — US public, hunters and cooks (n = -) Evidence E source
  Routes: under-cooked meat (oropharyngeal form), handling infected tissue when hunting or skinning rabbits

What it does to your health

• In 10 healthy adults, 3.5 oz (100 g) of lean game meat (kangaroo) caused smaller rises in blood fats, IL-6 and TNF-alpha over 2 hours than 3.5 oz (100 g) of wagyu beef. — 10 healthy subjects, single 3.5 oz (100 g) meals about 1 week apart (n = 10) Evidence B source
  TAG, IL-6 and TNF-alpha higher after wagyu at 1 and 2 h (P < 0.001 to 0.002); CRP higher at 1 h (P = 0.011)

Safety, limits and interactions

• Rabbit is a mammalian meat and carries alpha-gal, the sugar behind the tick-linked alpha-gal meat allergy, although reactions to rabbit products are poorly documented. — 1 man aged 44 with known alpha-gal syndrome (n = 1) Evidence D source
  No in vivo data on allergic reactions to rabbit products in alpha-gal syndrome

Who this works differently for

• A mother and her 8-year-old daughter got type A botulism from vacuum-packed rabbit-head meat, and the child needed mechanical ventilation. — 2 cases, a woman aged 45 and a girl aged 8 (n = 2) Evidence C source
  Onset under 24 h in the child and 1 week in the mother; both recovered after antitoxin
• Across 15 studies of 1,162 people with alpha-gal syndrome, 91.8% had symptoms starting at least 1 hour after eating red meat and 69.2% had gut symptoms. — 1,162 patients with alpha-gal syndrome confirmed by alpha-gal IgE, 57% female (n = 1162) Evidence C source
  Onset >= 1 h in 91.8% (84.6 to 96.8); urticaria 63.8%; any GI symptom 69.2% (49.3 to 85.9); tick bite recalled 78.7%

The bottom line

UK tables put raw rabbit meat at 21.9 g protein and 5.5 g fat per 3.5 oz (100 g), and stewed meat at 21.2 g protein and 3.2 g fat. Those are two separate samples, so the lower fat after stewing may simply be fat that went into the liquid. The iron effect of meat held up across a whole diet. Over 5 days of controlled eating in 19 women, 2.1 oz (60 g) of pork per main meal lifted non-heme iron absorption to 7.9 percent from 5.3 percent on a vegetarian diet with the same phytate and vitamin C. Heat does not seem to spoil it. In 21 women, meat cooked to 248 °F (120 degrees C) boosted iron absorption at least as well as meat cooked to 158 °F (70 degrees C). Both studies used pork. The lean game meat trial on this page used kangaroo. In 10 healthy adults, 3.5 oz (100 g) of kangaroo raised blood fats, IL-6 and TNF-alpha less over 2 hours than 3.5 oz (100 g) of wagyu beef, in meals that were not matched for energy. The cautions are real. Under-cooked rabbit can carry tularemia. CDC states that eating under-cooked meat of infected animals can cause the throat form and that skinning infected rabbits can pass the bacteria through the skin, and in Serbia a father and son developed fever and swollen neck glands after eating under-cooked rabbit. A mother and her 8-year-old daughter got type A botulism from vacuum-packed rabbit-head meat, and the child needed a ventilator. The case report does not say how the meat was stored or prepared. Rabbit is a mammalian meat and carries alpha-gal, the sugar behind the tick-linked red meat allergy, though no study has recorded reactions to rabbit in people with that allergy. Across 15 studies of 1,162 people with alpha-gal syndrome, 91.8 percent had symptoms starting at least an hour after red meat, with the species of meat not broken down. If you have that diagnosis, treat rabbit as red meat.

Sources

1. rbt-r6-02 · reference dataset
   CoFID 18-387 Rabbit, raw, meat only: Energy 137 kcal, Protein 21.9 g, Fat 5.5 g, Cholesterol 53 mg, Iron 1.00 mg per 100 g · CoFID 18-388 Rabbit, stewed, meat only: Energy 114 kcal, Protein 21.2 g, Fat 3.2 g, Cholesterol 49 mg, Iron 1.10 mg per 100 g
   CoFID 2021, Public Health England / OGL v3.0 · checked 2026-09-29
2. rbt-r6-01 · reference dataset
   FNDDS 2705912 Rabbit: Protein 30.14 g/100 g, 1 cup 135 g 40.7 g · Energy 204 kcal/100 g, 1 cup 275.4 kcal · Total fat 8.34 g/100 g, 1 cup 11.3 g · Cholesterol 85 mg/100 g, 1 cup 114.8 mg · Vitamin B-12 6.46 ug/100 g, 1 cup 8.7 ug · Niacin 7.103 mg/100 g, 1 cup 9.6 mg
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023 · checked 2026-09-29
3. rbt-r6-03 · RCT
   Twenty-five grams meat did not increase nonheme-iron absorption significantly (P = 0.13), whereas absorption increased 44% (P < 0.001) and 57% (P < 0.001), respectively, when 50 and 75 g meat were added to the basic meal.
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2003 · checked 2026-09-29
4. rbt-r6-04 · RCT crossover
   The mean fractional absorption of non-haem iron was 7.9 (se1.1), 6.8 (se 1.0) and 5.3 (se 0.6) % for the Danish and Polish meat diets and vegetarian diet, respectively.
   Br J Nutr, 2005 · checked 2026-09-29
5. rbt-r6-05 · RCT
   Increasing the cooking temperature of meat did not impair nonheme iron absorption compared with cooking at 70 degrees C.
   J Nutr, 2003 · checked 2026-09-29
6. rbt-r6-07 · case series
   We report 2 cases of oropharyngeal tularemia in a father and son after the consumption of under-cooked rabbit meat. Both presented with fever, unilateral tonsillopharyngitis and cervical lymphadenitis.
   Scand J Infect Dis, 2011 · checked 2026-09-29
7. rbt-r6-08 · agency guidance
   Oropharyngeal tularemia can result from eating under-cooked meat of infected animals. ... In particular, this can occur when hunting or skinning infected rabbits, muskrats, prairie dogs and other rodents.
   CDC, How Tularemia Spreads, 2026 · checked 2026-09-29
8. rbt-r6-06 · RCT crossover
   Postprandial levels for 1 and 2 h of TAG, IL-6 and TNF-alpha were significantly higher after eating wagyu compared with kangaroo (P = 0.002 for TAG at 1 h, P < 0.001 at 2 h; P < 0.001 for IL-6 and TNF-alpha at 1 and 2 h).
   Br J Nutr, 2010 · checked 2026-09-29
9. rbt-r6-10 · case report
   α-gal is most notorious for being found in "red meat" products but is present in mammalian meats such as beef, pork, lamb, rabbit, and others. Manifestations of AGS hypersensitivity are variable. There is currently no in vivo data describing allergic reactions against rabbit products in patients with AGS.
   J Oncol Pharm Pract, 2024 · checked 2026-09-29
10. rbt-r6-09 · case series
    We present two cases of foodborne botulism affecting a mother and daughter who were admitted to our department after consumption of vacuum-packed rabbit-head meat. ... Blood samples tested positive for botulinum toxin type A. The daughter developed pneumonia and respiratory failure and required mechanical ventilation.
    Foodborne Pathog Dis, 2026 · checked 2026-09-29
11. rbt-r6-11 · meta-analysis of observational studies
    Tick bite history was recalled by 78.7% (CI: 46.4-98.1; I2 = 99.1%), and 91.8% (CI: 84.6-96.8; I2 = 70.3%) had symptom onset ≥ 1 h post red meat intake.
    Neurogastroenterol Motil, 2026 · checked 2026-09-29