Rabbit Recipies?

Hi guys,
    I got invited on a rabbit hunt this weekend and we did pretty well.  I only have one problem now, I have a fridge full of rabbits and have never cooked them before.  Can anyone help me out?
 
Thanks

Cook 'em like squirrel or chicken. But get the warbles off before you do anything else.
 

Michael Hoffman


Cook 'em like squirrel or chicken. But get the warbles off before you do anything else.

Michael,
You always amaze me with your breadth & depth of knowledge. Had to look up 'Warbles".
"Warbles are the larval stage of the botfly, which characteristically infect rodents and rabbits. They are found under the skin, usually around the legs and neck. They have also been reported from deer, cattle, cats, dogs, hogs, mules, mink, foxes and man. The adult botflies are large (20 mm or more in length) and dark blue or black with fine, dense hairs on the face, genae and thorax.
 
Only one genus, Cuterebra, is currently recognized from North America. Twenty-six species are known to occur in the U.S. and Canada. They are also found in Mexico and the neotropical regions. The taxonomy is poorly defined, and existing keys are for the most part inadequate for separation of the species.
 
In Michigan, warbles have been found in cottontail rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, house mice and white-footed mice. Undoubtedly, other mammals are infected as well. The parasites are usually not seen by the rabbit hunter since most of the warbles have dropped off before hunting season."
 

Buzzbait82


Hi guys,
   I got invited on a rabbit hunt this weekend and we did pretty well.  I only have one problem now, I have a fridge full of rabbits and have never cooked them before.  Can anyone help me out?

Thanks

I Assume the Rabbits have been gutted and skinned????? My wife's Grandfather was a big rabbit hunter. I remember one of his secrets was soaking the rabbits in Cold Salt Brine water for about 24 hours before cooking. As Mr Hoffman said, cook them like chicken. Her Granddad liked Rabbit Stew or fried rabbit.
German Style Rabbit Stew
Ingredients:
4 lb Rabbit
1 1/2 c Dry red wine
3/4 c Cider vinegar
2 ts Salt; optional
1/2 ts Freshly ground black pepper
1 Bay leaf
1/2 c Onions; chopped
1 tb Mixed pickling spice
1/2 c Flour
4 tb Butter
1 c Onions; thinly sliced
2 tb Sugar
1/2 c Sour cream
Directions:

Cut rabbit in serving-sized pieces. Wash, scrape, and soak in salted cold water for 1 hour. Drain and dry.
In a glass or pottery bowl mix together the wine, vinegar, salt, pepper, bay leaf, chopped onions, and pickling spice. Add the rabbit and let marinate in the refirgerator for 3 days. Turn the pieces occasinally. Drain the rabbit; strain and reserve the marinade. Dry the rabbit with paper towels and roll in flour.

Melt butter in a Dutch oven or deep heavy skillet; brown the rabbit and sliced onions in it. Pour off fat and add sugar and 1-1/2 cups marinade. Cover and cook over low heat 1-1/2 hours or until rabbit is tender. Turn the pieces occasionally and add more marinade if needed. Taste for seasoning. Mix the sour cream into the gravy just before serving.

 

 

Foodbme

Michael Hoffman


Cook 'em like squirrel or chicken. But get the warbles off before you do anything else.

Michael,
You always amaze me with your breadth & depth of knowledge. Had to look up 'Warbles".
"Warbles are the larval stage of the botfly, which characteristically infect rodents and rabbits. They are found under the skin, usually around the legs and neck. They have also been reported from deer, cattle, cats, dogs, hogs, mules, mink, foxes and man. The adult botflies are large (20 mm or more in length) and dark blue or black with fine, dense hairs on the face, genae and thorax.

Only one genus, Cuterebra, is currently recognized from North America. Twenty-six species are known to occur in the U.S. and Canada. They are also found in Mexico and the neotropical regions. The taxonomy is poorly defined, and existing keys are for the most part inadequate for separation of the species.

In Michigan, warbles have been found in cottontail rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, house mice and white-footed mice. Undoubtedly, other mammals are infected as well. The parasites are usually not seen by the rabbit hunter since most of the warbles have dropped off before hunting season."

Who doesn't know all this?

Was just in Hattiesburg this past week-end.  Small world.
I'm more familiar with domestic rabbit (we raise show rabbits).  Because there is almost no fat you must add moisture and cover when baking.  I usually pressure cook the butchered quarters just long enough to pull off the bone when cooled enough to touch.  Put in pint or quart freezer bags.  I use these boneless pieces in barbeque, noodle casseroles, almost anywhere I might use chicken meat. 

 I am surprised that CTF didn't mention putting them in the smoker!!! Brine with cold salt and brown sugar brine over night and smoke like chicken. Be sure to mop often as they have a tendency to dry out.
 
David O.

 Welcome to Roadfood WhaleyB. I noticed that this was your first post.  This is a great online community for those of us that like to talk about food and related topics. Have fun on this site!
 
  David O.

we raised show and eating rabbits when i was a kid....
nothing better then fried rabbit with gravy over rice!! make the gravy with the pan drippings from frying...mmmmmMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmm :)
cook it just like you would chicken, but keep it wet, it has very little fat content and will dry out on you if not careful 
baked rabbit, rabbit stew, rabbit and dumplings is a winner also
 
raised rabbits dont have the problems of hunted game, like most anything else
 
at one time we had 400 rabbits ready for butcher, with a freezer full already, and people coming from miles around to buy them up....during that time, on the weekends, i made the butcher of new york look like an amateur, lol

cottontail dumplings....i might just offer that on the food truck this fall !

My dad was a rabbit hunter(he took our beagle Sugar with him) & my mom did wonderful things with rabbit.  Mom would flour,salt & pepper the rabbit & fry like chicken.  Then she would take out the rabbit, add water to make a gravy, add back the rabitt,cover & slowly cook.  She served it with mashed potatoes.  It was so good.
The only thing to watch was for the buckshot.  As careful as my dad was, occasionally a buckshot would pop up so you chewed very carefully.

LOL ! thats why ya hunt 'em with a 22..... head shots only, and dont you dare hit one below the belt! (ribcage)
 
and yes, that sounds a lot like mom use to do as well, but we did rice with it..... :) mmmmmmmmm

rabbit spaghetti is popular around here - rabbit pieces cooked in your favorite red sauce over pasta.
 

Well I finally got the pictures up.  It was a huge success.  I made a rabbit bolognase and served over fresh pasta.  Here are the before and after pics.
 

 

 
 

How about Rabbit nuggets? 
Not for me, but whatever turns you on.  Rabbits are just supposed to show up at Easter, not on my plate.

Recipe for Rabbit Crumble:
Take one dead rabbit. Wait. And wait. And wait.

thumper nuggets and cottontail stew...... yep, thats going on the menu this fall

ALLGOOD


How about Rabbit nuggets? 
Not for me, but whatever turns you on.  Rabbits are just supposed to show up at Easter, not on my plate.

 
 
i'll give you a dollar if you can tell me the story behind rabbits and easter eggs

I have lunch and Breakfast at T Coons in Lafayette, LA several times.  Besides very good Cajun food, it offers Rabbit as a special each Monday.  I have never tried it but a local who went with me always ordered it.
 
https://tcoons.com/Home_Page.html
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

GoBurgeR

ALLGOOD


How about Rabbit nuggets? 
Not for me, but whatever turns you on.  Rabbits are just supposed to show up at Easter, not on my plate.

 

i'll give you a dollar if you can tell me the story behind rabbits and easter eggs

Ain't nothin' you can't find on Google:
The meaning of the many different customs observed during Easter Sunday have been buried with time. Their origins lie in both pre-Christian religions and Christianity. In one way or another all the customs are a "salute to spring" marking re-birth.
The white Easter lily has come to capture the glory of the holiday. The word "Easter" is named after Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. A festival was held in her honor every year at the vernal equinox.
The Easter Bunny is a rabbit-spirit. Long ago, he was called the "Easter Hare", hares and rabbits have frequent multiple births so they became a symbol of fertility. The custom of an Easter egg hunt began because children believed that hares laid eggs in the grass. The Romans believed that "All life comes from an egg." Christians consider eggs to be "the seed of life" and so they are symbolic of the resurrection.
 

Buzzbait82, That is probably the best before and after picture I have ever seen  Love rabbit in sauce
 
I get my rabbit at Stew Leonard's in CT, $4.99/LB.  Many times I just sear in in olive oil, toss in a splash of red wine vinegar and finish it in the oven.  

Rabbits do lay eggs in the grass, just not the kind you want to eat.  The little girl next door has a pet rabbit named Foo Foo which is as big as a cat, gets out of it's pen and visits the  neighborhood, leaving us little mementos of his visits.

bartl


Recipe for Rabbit Crumble:
Take one dead rabbit. Wait. And wait. And wait.

LOL--that's sick man.  ;)

boyardee65


 I am surprised that CTF didn't mention putting them in the smoker!!! Brine with cold salt and brown sugar brine over night and smoke like chicken. Be sure to mop often as they have a tendency to dry out.

David O.

Actually I don't know Jack about Rabbits!

There's just some animals I refuse to eat and rabbit is one of them.

Glad you enjoyed it.  I wasn't quite sure what kind of reaction the before pic would get.

I grew up eating fried rabbit for Sunday family dinners, loved it.  Wasn't till I bought a raised rabbit(for eating) from a co-worker, took it home, fried it up and offered some to a neighbor.  He declined stating he didn't eat rodents.  I haven't eaten any since.  I DID NOT know rabbits were rodents!

If you can take any comfort in pedantry, I offer the detail that rabbits are not rodents but lagomorphs.

I don't eat squirrel either and it's definitely a rodent.

Professor Melton is Correct sir!
The lagomorphs are the members of the taxonomic order Lagomorpha, of which there are two living families, the Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and the Ochotonidae (pikas). The name of the order is derived from the Greek lagos (λαγος, "hare") and morphē (μορφή, "form").
Though these mammals can resemble rodents (order Rodentia) and were classified as a superfamily in that order until the early twentieth century, they have since been considered a separate order.
So, take solice and go back to enjoying Rabbit!