How do I cook a rabbit?

Me and my friends caught a nice rabbit the other day, and we tried to cook it by boiling it for a while in a pan brought from my house. it looked right (I was thinking of how it looked when bear made one on man vs. wild), but it still felt a little weird to eat. I couldn't tell if it felt undercooked or if it was just a fat rabbit, but I spit it out anyways. It was real bland and felt a bit weird.

So wasa wdonering... is there a better way to cook a rabbit? Keep in mind that we will be "in the wild", we won't have any extra stuff for flavoring either.

Videos/Tutorial would be nice Very Happy

Last edited by hellsflame64 on Fri Jun 08, 2007 9:50 am; edited 1 time in total

I agree with you (tutorial) but I have never cooked a rabbit or let alone hunted one down. I would cook it on the fire sort of like Les did because i know when it would be done. However I have no idea how to gutt it properly. I bet I could figure it out but still.

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"There dosen't look like there's much shelter over in those mountains, but that's the only choice I got right now, this is gonna be a long week" - Les Stroud Arctic

I assume you properly cleaned and dressed it... but I seriously doubt you tried to soak or marinade it... that will soften the gamey flavor.

I personally like it roasted over coals on a fire, but there's a few ways to cook it. If you remember, that's how Les cooked his in one of his shows.

I wouldn't personally pick boiling, I've never liked boiled meats... but remember anyway that rabbit's going to have a different taste from other things, a little gamy... I know, goes without saying.

Pan-frying is good, broiling also, baking.. a little white wine helps for a sauce... boiling for me, with most meats, yields the least tasty flavors... although boiling is probably one of the safest ways to cook.

Check out recipes on the 'net for frying and such. There's some great recipes floating around.
A few ideas:
http://www.samcooks.com/flavor/Rabbit.htm

http://www.petcaretips.net/rabbit-recipes.html

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"Asinus sæculæ maximus."

Last edited by Dobry on Fri Jun 08, 2007 10:00 am; edited 2 times in total

Well, my friend taylor said he knew how to prepare it, and it "looked right" when he was done.

Not guts, blood, leftover fur or anything, just rabbit meat that looked oddly like a piece of sashimi Shocked

I dont remember les cooking a rabbit on any of his shows... unless it was the one during the winter in Canada, I forget which one that was. The one with the plane crash, and he tried to act like a victim with a broken arm and put a splint on... eventuallly he got tired of it and took it off. But that's really all I remember from that episode, other than he made rabbit traps. However I can't remember if he caught anything.

That or it was the one in the canyonlands. But I dont' remember that one either.

hellsflame64 wrote:

Well, my friend taylor said he knew how to prepare it, and it "looked right" when he was done.

Not guts, blood, leftover fur or anything, just rabbit meat that looked oddly like a piece of sashimi Shocked

I dont remember les cooking a rabbit on any of his shows... unless it was the one during the winter in Canada, I forget which one that was. The one with the plane crash, and he tried to act like a victim with a broken arm and put a splint on... eventuallly he got tired of it and took it off. But that's really all I remember from that episode, other than he made rabbit traps. However I can't remember if he caught anything.

That or it was the one in the canyonlands. But I dont' remember that one either.

Yep, it was the plane crash show.

"Look" has very little to do with tasty cooking (except for noting that something's done cooking Wink

) ... it's mainly about prepping, soaking/marinading, spices used, and the cooking method. Roasting fresh rabbit over hot coals is just fine too!

I personally hate boiled meat and will avoid eating it if I can. Same reason I refuse to eat boiled chicken, or boiled beef. Very safe, but yuck! Worst way, in my opinion, to bring out good flavor. Also, I still imagine that your's wasn't soaked or marinaded which could have helped the flavor. Probably still a bit gamey or bloody I imagine. As n example, it's a good idea to soak/marinade venison as part of prepping it before cooking. Then it's delicious!

A basic cooking principle... fried, roasted, fire-cooked, etc. meats usually taste better because they cause the fat and the sugar in the fat to caramelize, becoming sweeter and more flavorful... this is what provides much of the flavor in fried, roasted, broiled, etc. meats. Boiling doesn't accomplish this as much, which is why I don't like boiled meats... and boiling in my opinion screws up the texture. Anyway, my own opinion.

Rabbit's very tasty, just has to be prepped and cooked right.

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"Asinus sæculæ maximus."

Check the liver and other guts for things like worms and white spots. If you see that stuff, throw it out Wink

eric

first make sure you gut the thing right. find a tree with a branch that is sturdy and cut it off so you have at least 5 inches or so sticking out. you want it to be about 1/2 of an inch or less thick. Next take your knife and put it between the tibula and fibula bones of one off the rabidts back legs (between the two bones) Next put the rabit on the tree you just cut by putting the branch through the hole you cut in the fur between the two lower rear leg bones. Grab the fur under that branch and pull it down to the tail, do the same to the other leg, firmly grab the fir and pull it down to the chest, pull off the tail, pull the fur down to the rabbits neck, pull the front feet through. Cut the thin skin from the groin down to the neck, internals will fall to the neck or on the ground. trip the skin along the ribs, pull out the liver/bladder and discard... you could cook and eat the liver i supose... but be carfull of the bladder, if you cut that it will smell brutal. Ok, so now that all the internals are out, cut the head/front legs/rear legs off (legs at the bottom of the bones where the meat ends).

I like to roast them over a fire. Around here I woudln't worry too much about getting sick from them unless there are spots on the liver or other things that just dont' look right. I would prefer to cook them over a fire, rotate it so it doesnt burn. it would be good too if you could let your fire burn down real low so that you are basicly cooking on the coals.

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Never explain. Your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe you anyway.

Yep, liver spots or worms, and you should stay away from it, don't eat it.

Daffy, good tutorial. Smile

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"Asinus sæculæ maximus."

I've read a few different articles about skinning/preparing rabbits and you need to be careful about some chemical in a gland, your suposed to wear gloves or lather up your hands with a thick soap film before cleaning them... anybody know anything about this?

	lowbike1 wrote:
	I've read a few different articles about skinning/preparing rabbits and you need to be careful about some chemical in a gland, your suposed to wear gloves or lather up your hands with a thick soap film before cleaning them... anybody know anything about this?

I've heard of scent glands in the round of deer. If you don't cut it out and make a roast the whole thing will taste bad. I'm sure it's the same for rabbits too. If it doesn't look like meat cut it out. It looks white and slimy. Confused

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I don't know for sure if rabbits have scent glands(and you need to be careful with those anyway), but what you need to watch out for is the gallbladder. That is the danger of gutting just about any animal. DON'T PUNCTURE THE GALLBLADDER!

You'll know it when you see it. Wink

You'll say, "What the heck is that?"

Just carefully pull it out and throw it away.

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Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. - Prov. 27:17