aged meat vs. super duper fresh

[Racingjunky]

My wife and I did a little experiment tonight. Out of curiosity, we wondered if rabbit meat that was cooked and eaten before rigor set in would be as tender and juicy as aged rabbit meat. We had a frier that was frozen, then thawed and aged for 1 week in the fridge. Then we took one of same age, and had it in the frying pan within less than 10 min. of dispatch. We cooked them both at the same time. The aged rabbit was for certain more tender and juicy than the super duper fresh rabbit. They were both good tho. Just thought I'd share our evening with like minded friends.

 

[Miss M]

Very interesting!!! Thank you... I have wondered if there would be a difference, and if so, what the difference would be.

I'm glad y'all went to the trouble to do this experiment.

 

[Dood]

Aged meat is more tender because the muscle cells are slowly decomposing themselves (no bacteria involved)

Most store bought meat is aged 3 days at the most and is tough and bland IMHO. We dry age our meats, the beef for 2 weeks, and the flavor is absolutely AMAZING in comparison.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Good to know, Racingjunky!

Sometimes I will toss an older rabbit into a pot of boiling water directly after processing to make shredded meat for tacos or enchiladas. I have never tried fresh versus aged for the same meal though.

 

[coffeenutdesigns]

I know they hang beef at least 3 weeks before butchering whenever we have a cow done. I am not fast enough at processing rabbit to have one super fresh, so I have to age mine. Glad to know I'm not missing out on anything special!

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

Unless the weather is too hot, my dad and I always, ALWAYS hang and "age" our venison. Makes it much better for the table! The notable exception is the tenderloins...we cut those out within 24 hours and usually eat them then, no freezing or aging. :mrgreen: Best part of the whole deer!!!!!!

 

[Racingjunky]

Kyle@theHeathertoft
I do the exact same with my deer. I love them tenders, yum yum!

 

[LearningAs-I-Go]

I'm very new to breeding meat rabbits. I just butchered my first rabbit a few weeks ago. I make all my own raw pet food for my cats and dogs using chicken and rabbit meat for flavoring. I understand the difference between pre rigor and post rigor meat. What I'm not sure is the hanging part. Where would you hang it? Since most of what I breed has been for raw pet food this wasn't an issue but now I am getting requests to sell them. Would you hang them in a fridge? (not sure my husband would appreciate a rabbit hanging in the fridge when he went to make something to eat lol) Any advice you can give to someone just starting out would be appreciated.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

What I'm not sure is the hanging part. Where would you hang it?

"Hanging" applies to large livestock such as cattle. They are suspended in a walk-in refrigerator for varying amounts of time depending on the buyer's preference. Longer hanging means more tender meat, but also more trimming of the outer carcass, so you get less edible meat.

Rabbits just need to rest a couple of days to a week depending on the size of the rabbit and the temperature of the refrigerator. I processed some very small rabbits once that were about 1 1/2 to 2 lbs dressed along with some 4+ pounders, and the little ones actually went bad before I got around to putting them all in the freezer.

Luckily, my dogs actually like "overripe" meat, so they weren't wasted. But now I realize that smaller rabbits will come out of rigor faster, so don't allow them to rest as long.

 

[Miss M]

:yeahthat:

For a rabbit, you can put them all into a roaster or pot, press plastic wrap down on top of them, cover, and refrigerate until rigor passes... or you can bag them individually, pressing out the air, and refrigerate them that way until rigor passes (what I do). No hanging needed.

Though I was getting a funny mental picture of your husband opening the fridge to a skinned and cleaned rabbit hanging in there. :lol:

 

[TMTex]

Thanks for doing this test, Racingjunky.

 

[dayna]

:yeahthat:

For a rabbit, you can put them all into a roaster or pot, press plastic wrap down on top of them, cover, and refrigerate until rigor passes... or you can bag them individually, pressing out the air, and refrigerate them that way until rigor passes (what I do). No hanging needed.

Though I was getting a funny mental picture of your husband opening the fridge to a skinned and cleaned rabbit hanging in there. :lol:

Oh my goodness! A bar across the fridge with little hooks in them. I can see it now. lol

I usually let mine sit for 2 days.