ramblingrabbit
Well-known member
We culled a 3 1/2 year old NZ white breeder, Mr. Pinky, last week. His clean, well-rinsed, carcass was transferred promptly to a refrigerator, placed in a glass bowl with a lid and a clean rag in the bottom to absorb liquids. This was last Thursday, so it's now exactly one week later, and when I went to pull him out of the bowl to crock-pot him, to my surprise he was still almost stiff as a board--like I've seen with fryers just 24 hours after slaughter.
Is it typical for older rabbits to take so long to go through rigor? I don't want him to spoil before we can cook him, but at the same time the degree of stiffness seems to suggest he's still quite fresh at this point...? Or will he never really soften up again? I want him to cook up tender of course. He was much loved, and it's really important to us that he be prepared in a way that suitably honors his memory.
I've cooked a few old roosters and other fowl before (so I'm familiar with the moist, low heat principles of mature meat and all), but we've never processed an older rabbit, so this specific case is uncharted territory for us.
Any thoughts or advice...? Thank you...
Is it typical for older rabbits to take so long to go through rigor? I don't want him to spoil before we can cook him, but at the same time the degree of stiffness seems to suggest he's still quite fresh at this point...? Or will he never really soften up again? I want him to cook up tender of course. He was much loved, and it's really important to us that he be prepared in a way that suitably honors his memory.
I've cooked a few old roosters and other fowl before (so I'm familiar with the moist, low heat principles of mature meat and all), but we've never processed an older rabbit, so this specific case is uncharted territory for us.
Any thoughts or advice...? Thank you...