NO more questions about my rabbit recipe

So I just butchered and cooked a 12 week old rabbit and now I have questions that will help me to do better next time.

First, I'm not good at frying things so when it comes to things like chicken it goes in the oven and we bake it. I can generally tell when the chicken is done because the leg bone will start to show. This brings me to my first question. When you bake or fry rabbit, how can you tell it is done? I don't like cutting into my meat because that tends to let the juices out and they dry up.

Secondly, I let it stay in the oven for about 30 min on 425F. This was the entire rabbit quartered. So you have the 4 legs, and the other misc. parts that I can't think of the name for. When we finally ate the rabbit it seemed to be a bit chewy and still had a touch of the "rabbit" taste with it. I feel dumb saying that since it is a rabbit. This is the first time for myself and my wife eating baked or fried rabbit so we don't really know what to expect. Is the rabbit supposed to be a little chewy? We thought it was supposed to be like chicken in as far as it just falls off the bone. If it's not supposed to necessarily be that chewy then what did I do wrong? Did I leave it in the over too long or not long enough? I suppose that goes back up to my first question about how to tell if a rabbit is done.

Thanks.

__________ Thu Dec 27, 2012 8:23 pm __________

I guess after reading a few things I should say it hadn't rested but maybe 2 - 3 hours not 2 - 3 days. Does this have anything to do with the chewiness of it?

mystang89":1wq7myum said:

I guess after reading a few things I should say it hadn't rested but maybe 2 - 3 hours not 2 - 3 days. Does this have anything to do with the chewiness of it?

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Yup. It was in rigor. If you intend to butcher and eat the same day, you need to cook it immediately.

Personally... I need a couple of days between killing them before I can bring myself to eat them anyway.

The texture is NOT the same as chicken so you're ok as far as that goes. When I roast mine I never put it on any higher than 350. Covered, low, slow and moist heat is what you want. I usually put it in for 45 min or so.

Thanks. I'll try cooking it slower and reduced heat after its set for a few days.

MamaSheepdog":34b53jtl said:

mystang89":34b53jtl said:

I guess after reading a few things I should say it hadn't rested but maybe 2 - 3 hours not 2 - 3 days. Does this have anything to do with the chewiness of it?

Click to expand...

Yup. It was in rigor. If you intend to butcher and eat the same day, you need to cook it immediately.

Personally... I need a couple of days between killing them before I can bring myself to eat them anyway.

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You know, I just said almost the exact same thing to my wife while we were eating it today. I told her that it was weird to eat what you butchered immediately after butchering it. I still remember what everything looked like before it was cut and cooked.

The first time we butchered a batch of rabbits, we did it as a family. After we were finished, the kids asked "Are we having rabbit for dinner?" :dinner:

My Hubs and I looked at each other :shock: - looked back at the kids- and said "Uh... no."

We couldn't stomach it, but the kids were more than willing to cook one up! :lol:

mystang89":22qq954k said:

I still remember what everything looked like before it was cut and cooked.

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We (my friend and I) butchered as soon as poor Schatzi was dead, and I popped her into separate baggies and put her at the back of the freezer. I am probably going to trade the legs for eggs, and only cook the back, as it's not so obviously "her". My husband said that was the only way he could eat rabbit, if he only saw the food after cooking. I have butchered rabbits before, but they were already skinned and cleaned, so they didn't look much different from chickens. No idea how "aged" those were, but they had more of a pork chop texture, if fried. I found I preferred marinating in different "tenderizing" blends, or making a stew to frying. Rabbit livers however are very tasty, rolled in seasoned flour and fried.

mystang89":3lnc9whl said:

I told her that it was weird to eat what you butchered immediately after butchering it. I still remember what everything looked like before it was cut and cooked.

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yeah, the feeling lasts a while for me,and the fact that I did the deed. Killing one's own food is more than a notion. I have the stomach for the killing but not for the eating.

MamaSheepdog":2tk7rlzx said:

mystang89":2tk7rlzx said:

I guess after reading a few things I should say it hadn't rested but maybe 2 - 3 hours not 2 - 3 days. Does this have anything to do with the chewiness of it?

Click to expand...

Yup. It was in rigor. If you intend to butcher and eat the same day, you need to cook it immediately.

Personally... I need a couple of days between killing them before I can bring myself to eat them anyway.

Click to expand...

What we do is this...*if* you want to eat it the same day, then only rinse in tepid water and get it cooking within 5min of being butchered. Otherwise, chill immediately and let it rest in the fridge for 2-3 days. You want to use low, slow, moist cooking methods. Foil packets, crock pot, soups and stews. You can grill or bake, but it has to be a young fryer and you MUST let it rest for a couple of day. The one you ate was likely in full rigor and you cooked it on too high of a temp. I think almost everyone makes this mistake at first...I know we did.

Me too, I threw my first one on the BBQ on 'nuclear'

MamaSheepdog":19xjmaqp said:

The first time we butchered a batch of rabbits, we did it as a family. After we were finished, the kids asked "Are we having rabbit for dinner?" :dinner:

My Hubs and I looked at each other :shock: - looked back at the kids- and said "Uh... no."

We couldn't stomach it, but the kids were more than willing to cook one up! :lol:

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lol, gotta love kids.

OneAcreFarm":19xjmaqp said:

What we do is this...*if* you want to eat it the same day, then only rinse in tepid water and get it cooking within 5min of being butchered. Otherwise, chill immediately and let it rest in the fridge for 2-3 days. You want to use low, slow, moist cooking methods. Foil packets, crock pot, soups and stews. You can grill or bake, but it has to be a young fryer and you MUST let it rest for a couple of day. The one you ate was likely in full rigor and you cooked it on too high of a temp. I think almost everyone makes this mistake at first...I know we did.

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Thanks. I will definitely let the rabbit rest. My parents just gave me a frig and a freezer that I put out in the garage so I have plenty of space now. Gotta love parents too. 29 years old and they're still taking care of me.

__________ Sat Dec 29, 2012 12:15 pm __________

Another question about a different recipe. I made some rabbit jerky a few nights ago which turned out decent. All I did was put some BBQ sauce on it. Put it in the oven for 30 min on 250 and 1 hour on 150. It ended up with the texture of jerky just not as flavorful. I made another batch last night which was a bit more flavorful. I put some pepper, italian dressing and garlic on it.I turned the temp to 250 for 30 min and 150 for another hour. When I checked on it it was greasy and looked like cooked meat. So I kept it in there for another 1 1/2 hours and it still looked the same. I took it out because I didn't want to burn it.

Anyone know what I did wrong?

Secondly, when you let a rabbit rest in the frig after you butcher it do you put it in a plastic zip lock baggy and zip it up? How do you keep the meat from drying out?<br /><br />__________ Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:36 am __________<br /><br />Just wanted to update. I did what you all told me. I let the rabbit rest for a few days. It still seemed like it was in rigor but once I "broke" it free it moved just fine. I wanted to chase my wife around with a ninja rabbit leg but controlled myself.

I cooked the meat on 350 for 45min covered. I put some bbq sauce, mustard seed, thyme, basil and tiger seasoning, (if you don't have any get it, you'll thank me later,) and the meat came out nice, tender and mouth watering. It was sooooo much better than what we had done last time.

I also sauteed the liver, heart and kidneys with some onions. Unfortunately my wife didn't care for the livers but I was very happy that she tried them. (She's big on the, "it's an organ and you shouldn't eat organ wagon." But like I said she tried them. The kids didn't like them either. MORE FOR ME!!!

When doing jerkey you should marinate. remember to use some salt it will help with drying.I have always used a dehydrater for jerkey. try 225 for a half hour then drop downthe temp. and leave it in for longer

When I did my big batch, 6 rabbits, I put them all in a large bowl with plastic wrap on top for three days in the fridge. Worked just fine. Ate one and froze the rest.

My first rabbit was made into soup. It was not tough at all. I overcooked the soup and it LOOKED as if it had no meat, but the whole thing tasted like rabbit. It was really more of a stew when I was done. It was delicious though!

If I didn't let them rest for 3 days and froze them already, will they be okay if I let them rest after they thaw?

SherryB":dk5ifor4 said:

If I didn't let them rest for 3 days and froze them already, will they be okay if I let them rest after they thaw?

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Yes, as long as you let them pass through rigor before you cook them. You may need to pull the rabbit out of the freezer a few days early, so it can thaw and have time to come out of rigor. You can check it every day or so, so you will know how long it takes for your fridge. It differs according to temperature.

Once the rabbit is somewhat floppy again, it's through rigor. It won't be as floppy as it was before rigor, but when it's in rigor, you can't bend it.

We do butcher and eat the same day with anything we raise or hunt. Yes rigor is a minor problem, but there are ways around it. You can cook it low and slow for a long time (4 hrs or more at 300 or less), you can slice it think and go hot and fast (stir fry) or, an acidic marinate (terriaki, bbq, lemon, lime.) Or simply know that it will be a bit chewy if you eat it on the day you kill it.

Really, you do learn to expect the texture and, it isn't a bad thing. Eat enough of the not from the store meats and, you end up thinking store bought is mostly mushy LOL.

Now older animals, well those are tough, stringy, chewy things even a week after butcher so, either stew them for hours or, get a pressure cooker/caner and use it on them. Canned rabbit replaces canned chicken or tuna nicely in most dishes and, the 90 minutes under pressure it takes to can them will tenderize even a retired breeder.

You should use a meat thermometer to tell when your rabbit is done. I cook my rabbits till they reach a internal temp of 170 degrees. I use the thermometer when I am smoking meats and when I am cooking chicken. This way you don't have to cut into the meat.