What can I do with the meat on the sides of the rabbit?

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ekaelliott

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I am fairly new to the meat rabbit thing (about 3 years). I have yet to find a good way to consume the tougher meat that makes up the sides of the rabbit. I tried grinding it last time and it kept clogging up my meat grinder. I know when I cook a whole rabbit in the crock pot it gets cooked and mixes up well with the other meat (rabbit tacos are my favorite) but I'm not sure what else to do with it. Any suggestions?
 
Do you mean the "belly flaps" that enclose the internal organs? You can use those to make jerky or to add meat to soups and stews or rabbit pie - anything cooked long, moist and slow. My sister and I once stuffed them with mushrooms etc. and rolled them up, wrapping them with bacon. They were deilicious, but you do need to use your teeth to chew them. The younger the fryer they came from, the easier they are to use.
 
Yes, exactly, the belly flaps! I might try to make jerky with them this time. We butchered nine twelve-week old rabbits last night. I was also thinking of saving all the "belly flaps" and cooking them all in the crock pot at once for some shredded meat for casseroles or enchiladas or something like that. I don't want to waste it!
 
No, don't waste it - it's good quality lean meat, just on the tough side. It's like flank steak on beef.

It should work well crock potted and shredded.

One thing I do when butchering rabbits is to freeze meal sized portions of each cut. There are three of us here, so I try to butcher in multiples of three to get the best mileage from the meat.
 
ekaelliott":1eodszfe said:
Yes, exactly, the belly flaps! I might try to make jerky with them this time. I don't want to waste it!

:fainting: Waste it?!?!?!?! :eek: :eek: :eek:

Once you make jerky with it, the belly flaps will be your favorite part of the rabbit. :mrgreen:

I have yet to find a way to have it get all the way dry before my family descends upon the oven like a ravening horde of locusts. I have considered locking them all outside, but fear that they would simply break the windows to get to it. ;)
 
Yes! Good! I really had no intention of wasting it but was looking for an alternative to the dredge of getting it through my meat grinder. I will look for a jerky recipe. I'm assuming there are some in earlier posts. I have been packaging them whole from time to time to make crock pot rabbit tacos; then the rest I have packaged both sets of legs together (its just my husband and I) and then deboned and ground the backs and belly flaps. So far I have had success using the ground rabbit in any recipe I would usually use ground turkey for.
 
I grind my belly flaps and do not have a problem with sinew clogging the grinder, even on older rabbits. :?

Hmm, so you might want to consider investing in a different model of grinder if the opportunity presents itself.
 
Zass":ag16cy7e said:
I grind my belly flaps and do not have a problem with sinew clogging the grinder, even on older rabbits. :?

Hmm, so you might want to consider investing in a different model of grinder if the opportunity presents itself.

We bought the one we have just for rabbit. It's a nesco 400-watt and we just bought it last year. Any advice?
 
MamaSheepdog":3nm7wn8l said:
ekaelliott":3nm7wn8l said:
Yes, exactly, the belly flaps! I might try to make jerky with them this time. I don't want to waste it!

:fainting: Waste it?!?!?!?! :eek: :eek: :eek:

Once you make jerky with it, the belly flaps will be your favorite part of the rabbit. :mrgreen:

I have yet to find a way to have it get all the way dry before my family descends upon the oven like a ravening horde of locusts. I have considered locking them all outside, but fear that they would simply break the windows to get to it. ;)

As someone who has never made jerky before (me), I'd LOVE your recipe for bunny jerky!
 
Sali":2smr4lgl said:
MamaSheepdog":2smr4lgl said:
ekaelliott":2smr4lgl said:
Yes, exactly, the belly flaps! I might try to make jerky with them this time. I don't want to waste it!

:fainting: Waste it?!?!?!?! :eek: :eek: :eek:

Once you make jerky with it, the belly flaps will be your favorite part of the rabbit. :mrgreen:

I have yet to find a way to have it get all the way dry before my family descends upon the oven like a ravening horde of locusts. I have considered locking them all outside, but fear that they would simply break the windows to get to it. ;)

As someone who has never made jerky before (me), I'd LOVE your recipe for bunny jerky!

Ditto! Pretty please??
 
ekaelliott":1tglj4w0 said:
Zass":1tglj4w0 said:
I grind my belly flaps and do not have a problem with sinew clogging the grinder, even on older rabbits. :?

Hmm, so you might want to consider investing in a different model of grinder if the opportunity presents itself.

We bought the one we have just for rabbit. It's a nesco 400-watt and we just bought it last year. Any advice?

I actually can't help with newer models. I have a model bought from gander mountain maybe 8 years ago. It wasn't too pricy(about $100) and the specs are not too high compared to never ones, but it really gets the job done fast and well. It still gets clogged on occasion, but not usually when we do a batch of rabbits. Maybe once or twice with a deer or goat if we aren't careful about sinew.

Do you do a coarse grind before attempting the finer one?
 
Zass":30h0no14 said:
Do you do a coarse grind before attempting the finer one?

It usually gets clogged not at the part with different sizes but it has a spiral part that feeds and pushes into the actual blade. I think what happens is the really tough meat gets stuck in this part and then backs up against the blade instead of pushing through it. <br /><br /> __________ Tue Jul 28, 2015 8:59 pm __________ <br /><br /> Result of jerky = delicious! I marinaded in store-bought teriyaki sauce for 12 hours and put in my dehydrator for about 14 hours on high. Yum!
 
Sali":1oaya3fo said:
As someone who has never made jerky before (me), I'd LOVE your recipe for bunny jerky!
heritage":1oaya3fo said:
Ditto! Pretty please??

Errrrr... recipe?

Once again, we run into the "MSD just wings it" recipe wall. ;)

Recently I have been "cheating" and using a Teriyaki marinade as a base. (My base used to be soy sauce, red wine, brown sugar, honey, crushed garlic, and pepper.)

To the cheater marinade add crushed garlic, pepper, mustard, brown sugar (or honey or molasses), diced onions, red pepper flakes, etc. Basically whatever flavors you prefer...

Marinate the belly flaps for at least 12 hours. I have left them marinating as long as 72 hours (maybe more) with no ill effects.

To dry the flaps, place them on a rack above a cookie sheet lined with foil to catch the drippings. Set the oven at about 200 to 225 degrees.

Drying time will vary according to the thickness of the belly flaps, but will probably take at least 8 hours or more.

The "jerky" that we eat as a snack today is nothing at all like traditional jerky, and will not store over the long term if it is not refrigerated. (Since it is impossible to keep any but the most dedicated Vegan away from rabbit jerky, long time storage is a moot point.)

True "jerky" was thoroughly dried out, had little or no fat content, and was meant to be added to soups or stews in order to absorb enough moisture so it could be eaten.
 
MamaSheepdog":1851k9n4 said:
Sali":1851k9n4 said:
As someone who has never made jerky before (me), I'd LOVE your recipe for bunny jerky!
heritage":1851k9n4 said:
Ditto! Pretty please??

Errrrr... recipe?

Once again, we run into the "MSD just wings it" recipe wall. ;)

Eh... I'm allergic to recipes anyway :lol: . For some reason I can't follow one (well, I can, if I wanted to, but I don't). I rarely measure anyway, add a little of this or that as I see fit. DH laughs b/c a lot of times if he really likes something he'll ask what it is (Uhhh... chicken something?) and then wonder if I can replicate it (hmmm.... maybe?).

I have never made jerky before, sounds like something new to try!
 
ekaelliott":vo0fylmd said:
Zass":vo0fylmd said:
I grind my belly flaps and do not have a problem with sinew clogging the grinder, even on older rabbits. :?

Hmm, so you might want to consider investing in a different model of grinder if the opportunity presents itself.

We bought the one we have just for rabbit. It's a nesco 400-watt and we just bought it last year. Any advice?
I know I have seen mention of grinding them while partially frozen. I don't know anything about your grinder, but that might be an option.
 
I'm trying some bunny belly bacon now. 2 days in the cure and popped in the smoker tonight for a few hours oh hickory at 160. I'll know tomorrow how good it tuned out :D
 
I usually just save the belly flaps for my dogs, who go completely bonkers over whatever bunny bits I bring them after a butcher session. I may have to reserve them for an attempt at jerky, though! I think I'll probably go the very simple salt-and-pepper route with mine, since I'm a savory kinda gal. ;)
 
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