Recipe needed for Tough rabbits

[crystalineshadow]

I was given some 3-4 year old rabbits and am sending them to FC today. My fiance doesn't like the 'put it in the crockpot and cook till it falls apart then cover in BBQ sauce' foods (aka pulled pork sandwiches), but I do have a meat grinder. How in the world should I cook these things??!?!?!??? Last (and so far only) time I made rabbit I over cooked it (I think) and it got tough, so something that I can't screw up would be a plus.


Crystal

 

[dragonladyleanne]

ANY tough meat can be made more tender by cooking and prep methods, and marinades. First sprinkle either a commercial meat tenderizer or mustard or papaya juice on the meat, then stab it with a fork all over until it's perforated every 1/4 inch to allow it down into the muscle fibers. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours, before freezing or cooking. The freezer also breaks down the cell walls (which is why you don't freeze tomatoes or other soft walled things), so frozen meat will be a bit more tender than meat cooked after only 24 hours. Cooking methods which further tenderize are stewing and bacon-wrapping, in addition to crockpot.<br /><br />__________ Sun Sep 30, 2012 12:39 pm __________<br /><br />From what this site says, seems almost any acidic juice helps tenderize meat, so pick one which enhances the flavor of the rest of the meal. http://voices.yahoo.com/natural-ways-te ... 70893.html Oh, and the "don't add salt until it's cooked" is a MUST! I forgot that one because I have cooked that way for so long.

 

[MaggieJ]

When you butcher those rabbits be sure to age the meat in the fridge for 3-4 days. That will help tenderize them, but it won't be enough with older rabbits.

You can grind the meat, but unless your grinder is electric you will probably find that raw rabbit meat is very hard to grind. You could cook it first and then grind it for a dish like shepherd's pie.

Here, our favourite recipe for old rabbit is an old fashioned meat pie. Here's the thread about it:
i-m-making-a-rabbit-pie-t3094.html

 

[crystalineshadow]

I forgot to mention that I also have a pressure cooker. That thing is a lifesaver when it comes to cooking on a budget.

DLL, sadly the time I ended up with tough rabbit it was wrapped in bacon... give me a complex dish and I can make anything, try to cook something simple and it ends up a mess (probably because I don't pay enough attention to what's going on, lol).

MaggieJ, that pie looks delicious and I'll definitely try your recipe for one of my 'mature' rabbits (in a week or so when they're done sitting in my fridge)... one rabbit down, two to go (and thankfully two nice tender ones to reward myself with when those are gone). And yes, my meat grinder is electric... it's actually an attachment to my seriously ancient 'oster kitchen center' and I pray that thing never breaks down (it's my mixer, blender, slicer, grater, food processor, meat grinder, and ice crusher )

 

[jollysrabbits]

look up chicken tortilla soup, replace with rabbit, amazing!

 

[rockeee]

Definitely age in fridge & I think your Pressure cooker is the way to go. I have not cooked rabbits much over a year old, but here's my old rooster secret recipe:
skin rooster for ease of butchery. cut back open to flatten. salt & pepper him. smoke @ 185/200 for 2 - 3 hours or so. rooster will then be stiff as a board & tough as nails. break down into pieces that fit into pressure cooker put some of your fave bbq sauce on the pieces & layer into pressure cooker using steam insert so that pieces are held above water. cook @ high pressure for 45 min to an hour. use natural pressure release, remove pieces, debone & chop, adding more sauce as needed. the end product is much like chopped pork bbq.