Rabbit

**Tootsiepop254** · 10-06-2009, 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by rwc1969

I think rabbit is one of the tastiest wild games, but, after reading this thread I've lost my appetite.

LOL. I haven't had it since I was a little girl, when my cousin would go hunting and make us skin them. The supermarket sometimes carries rabbit, but I'm trying to get away from commercially produced meats, and want to teach my boy how to skin. As for hunting, we feed them kitchen scraps, so we can get pretty close to them.
~T

**COWBOYSURVIVAL** · 10-06-2009, 12:33 PM

I have eaten rabbit most every way possible. By far ground rabbit burgers were absolutely the best! Just debone and grind!

**Tootsiepop254** · 10-06-2009, 04:14 PM

Can I take a home killed rabbit somewhere and have them grind it? Sorry for all the questions...

**COWBOYSURVIVAL** · 10-06-2009, 04:37 PM

Down South There are wildgame processors. I am not sure about your neck of the woods..... I would order the hand grinder from Cabela's and do my own as it will take a few rabbits to make any satisfactory amount of ground meat. This would also open alot of doors such as ground venison half and half with ground pork. Yummy!

**Tootsiepop254** · 10-06-2009, 04:45 PM

You have much knowledge.

**COWBOYSURVIVAL** · 10-06-2009, 05:53 PM

Like this...

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...set=ISO-8859-1

**hoosierarcher** · 10-07-2009, 12:32 AM

Snares, the skin of a wild rabbit is only good for making a coyote lure.
When I was growing up we raised rabbits as table fair. Their hides were usable for glove linings. We just salted them with lots of Kosher salt on the inside and rolled them up and froze them then took them to a processor that tanned them.

In the field one of my favorite recipes is to brine the rabbit in the cooler overnight in one quart of vegetable stock 1 quart of apple cider, one cup of pickling salt, one large finger of ginger sliced, four or five crushed cloves of garlic, and 1/4 cup cracked black pepper and a handful of sage rough chopped.
then roasting it over coals while lightly basting it with butter or lard or bacon grease.
As for at home I really love chicken fried rabbit; but I still brine it the same way first.

**hoosierarcher** · 10-07-2009, 12:40 AM

Oh by the way more recipes will cost ya as my "intellectual property" has real world market value.
Because I am an artist afterall

**Tootsiepop254** · 10-07-2009, 01:36 AM

Wow. I've never thought about pickling rabbit... Sounds weird.

**your_comforting_company** · 10-07-2009, 06:16 AM

cabelas is pretty proud of the products they sell. Pretty much anything they have in the catalog can be gotten somewhere else cheaper. I got my hand crank grinder from wally world and it came with all the attachments, & extra blades for 25 bucks.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...ct_id=11371623
this one is similar, but I think mine was the "ozark trail" wally brand. easy to clean and unjam if sinews get around the blade base. I dont take anything to game processors. they want money and thats something I don't have much of.

**hoosierarcher** · 10-07-2009, 01:44 PM

Originally Posted by Tootsiepop254

Wow. I've never thought about pickling rabbit... Sounds weird.

Brining is not pickling.

**crashdive123** · 10-07-2009, 03:31 PM

Drinking a fifth of whiskey is pickling.

**trax** · 10-07-2009, 04:08 PM

Rabbit meat has been proven to be one of the healthiest meats available, wild rabbit is better for you than domesticated. I believe I posted a link to a chart here once upon a time that delineated fat/protein ratios and cholesterol levels in different domestic and wild meats, but that was a long time ago and I don't recall what thread it was.

Skinning the little boogers is the easiest thing in the world and their skins are great for lining mitts and slippers.

**Old GI** · 10-07-2009, 04:29 PM

Ahem. Matron, think it's time to lock the doors (before they all get out).

**COWBOYSURVIVAL** · 10-07-2009, 06:23 PM

I have investigated raising meat rabbits, White new Zealands are the predominant breed. You can buy the meat via the internet where I live there are very few breeders of meat rabbits in the SE. It is still a possibility for me and actually could be a great homestead survival plan.

**nell67** · 10-07-2009, 10:02 PM

Californians are also a desired breed (most poular breed in my area) stay away from breeds with colored fur if you plan on selling them for meat,people do not want the blacks,browns and reds as the fur tends to show up more on the meat when skinning.

If you can get contracts to sell to the fancy restaraunts out east,you can make a killing selling them,big bucks (pun ,pun!) in that aspect of it.

Unless all your rabbits die,there is no way you can lose raising rabbits,what you don't sell,goes into your freezer,or as replacement breeding stock

**rwc1969** · 10-08-2009, 12:24 AM

I saw a big, fluffy, grey, tame rabbit in the wild the other day. It let me walk right up to it. I don't think it's gonna make it in the wild. It's the second one I've seen.

**nell67** · 10-08-2009, 08:45 AM

Originally Posted by rwc1969

I saw a big, fluffy, grey, tame rabbit in the wild the other day. It let me walk right up to it. I don't think it's gonna make it in the wild. It's the second one I've seen.

Which is why I do not advocate breeding and selling rabbits for pets,the majority of them end up being turned loose after the new wears off,I did sell for pet one year,just to have half the people tell me they had turned them loose after only a week because no one wanted to take care of them,it's a rabbit,doesn't require a whole lot,food,water and shelter and they are good to go.

I never allow my rabbits on the ground,nor feed them grass,so I don't have issues with worms and other diseases you might find in the wild rabbits,only thing I ever have a problem with is ear mites,and may see one case of that a year,easily remedied with a few drops of baby oil in the ears for a couple of days,it smothers the mites,they loosen up and the rabbit shakes them out.then a thurough cleaning of the hutch with bleach to kill any remaining mites that may be around.

If you really want a pet,try keeping it in the house,rabbits tend to potty in the same area,find where they do it,and place a litter box there,it's that easy.