What's the best way to cook rabbit?

I have never tried rabbit, but up here they have arctic hares that are about as big as a small dog, and apparently good eating. I have thrown rocks at them (they seem that dumb, I can get pretty close) but no luck yet. I want to bag one with a slingshot to see if I can, before I shoot one.

Dilligence, havent tried cooked beluga whale, but I can tell you the raw blubber is nothing to write home about.
 
I hear you brother! I can't get over the raw fish heads in a stored in a seal skin sack...not for me.

You should check out that recipe book link I posted...maybe some of your kids would get a kick out of the recipes....I think you said you were a teacher? - if not, then maybe you'll find a new recipe for labrador tea enfused cariboo flank.

D
 
That detail about the grub inside a dead rabbit was most interesting,what could it be?Some gross beetle larva? Cooking rabbit is a lot better IF you remembered to take wine and garlic with you on your survival trip..not so likely but possible.Rabbit meat needs some marinade such as wine, juniper berries or bluberries then the toughness disappears,probably the alcohol does in those parasites too! Soak joints of the bunny in the wine,bit of garlic for a couple of hours,remove and fry with olive oil onions and wild mushrooms plus anything green you've been able to scavenge(from a garden or farm..) a tasty meal is an understatement,then there's the rest of the wine,a brew up of tea or coffee then a good sleep.Not bad? Consider too, that despite pests or parasites,wild game is a good deal healthier than farmed meat stuffed full of chemical feeds,hormones,growth enhancers,antibiotics,gene alterations,birdflu,madcow disease,estrogen etc etc.And it's been outdoors in its element exercising. I know which I feel I trust more!
 
I hear you brother! I can't get over the raw fish heads in a stored in a seal skin sack...not for me.

You should check out that recipe book link I posted...maybe some of your kids would get a kick out of the recipes....I think you said you were a teacher? - if not, then maybe you'll find a new recipe for labrador tea enfused cariboo flank.

D

A year or so ago I was doing some subbing, but now I'm just full time at the prison (as a guard!) but I will check out the recepies, caribou is good eating,
its the non-red meat I have trouble with, like the fermented/aged walrus blubber and seal eyeballs.
 
Hey there Fellows,
After reading through this whole thread I realize that you guys are for the most part not sharing your favorite rabbit recipes.. I am thinking that is just sooooo wrong.:D

In all seriousness, Yes, it is best to hunt/take rabbit after several hard(especially in the southern United States) freezes. Mainly because parasites can not stand the cold and thrive in warmer weather, however, that said, it is just a rule of thumb and not the gospel. I have eaten hundreds and hundreds of rabbits in all seasons and I can tell you that I am no worse for wear. I always look closely at the meat for parasites and inconsistencies which is always a good idea no matter what meat you are preparing to eat.

First and foremost, you MUST marinade in Butter Milk for 24 hours. This is the key to the best tasting and tender Rabbit on earth no matter the recipe..

I learned this buttermilk tip from from an old Mountain Man hermit named Jed Shaliae in about 1969-70 in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. He was a true through back Mountain Man of the 20th century who belonged in the 19th. Anyway that is another story..

Favorite Rabbit Recipe:

~ 3-4 pounds of dressed rabbit meat grilled over an open flame until grill marks show very prominently well on both sides.
~In a large pot water or broth to cover.
~2-3 Georgia Vidalia Onions Sliced(or any sweet Onions).
~2-3 Whole bay leaves.

Bring above ingredients to a boil, then simmer for 2 hours or so while at the same time adding celery hearts, good Idaho spuds, plum tomatoes. After the 2 hour simmer add 1-2 ounces of medium to full bodied red wine. Reduce and add salt and pepper to taste. Meat should literally be ready to fall off the bone by now and can be served with any good bread and butter of your choice..

This is the best Rabbit I ever had!:) :D :thumbup:
 
Buttermilk is the secret, for chicken livers and gizards too.

Where in NC did this hermit live, I am from the mountains of NC myself. Chris
 
Way back in the mountains off the beaten path just about 8-10 miles south of Blowing Rock, NC. in the NW portion of the state. He was one of the most true blue human beings that I ever had the pleasure of knowing:thumbup:
 
Once while hunting with an old timer I noticed the first thing he did was check the liver of the rabbit. If it looked ok he kept the rabbit but still hung the liver in a tree so the dogs wouldn't eat it.
 
The rabbit starvation thing is played up too big, probably due to Les Stroud's show , it goes like this......

Rabbits, especailly in the far north reaches, is totally lean meat, has no fat.
They tend to call deer a lean meat, but it does have some small amounts of fat, just is much much leaner than beef.
So, way back in the day, up north , the new arrivals to that frozen region, would get rabbit starvation.
BUT, it's from ONLY eating rabbit, and nothing else, for periods of up to 30 days or even far longer. Without any kind of fat in your diet, you'll actually starve, very very slowly though.

Add some nuts, and you get your needed fat. Add a few fish and you get the fat you need to keep going. So really, unless we plan on living up north, in snow country, and ONLY subsisting on rabbit, and rabbit alone, we've got very little to worry about.

Now here is a puzzlement for ya.... how can a fur bearin critter, from far north territory not have any fat in it's meat? You would think that the farther north, and colder it gets, the more fat an animal would have to keep warm? I don't know why this is, it just makes me wonder.
 
My favorite, is to cook them like wings.... my family has a good oven baked wing recipe that is great!

Once my dad and uncle went out and bagged about 28 rabbits right before Thanksgiving. Oddly enough, there was a huge pile of large "wings" served at Thanksgiving. We laughed when the familys not in the know threw a fit after the wings were gone!!!!
 
If I'm cooking in a field camp, I boil the rabbit for a little while and then fry in bacon grease. Not fancy but it works for me. My last one was a snowshoe that crossed my path while I was hunting grouse on the north side of Mt. Adams.
 
By the way, I really like that Koster knife in the Salted and Styled story but good luck actually finding one. Maybe at the Blade show in Atlanta on the one day Dan sets up.
 
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