Taste difference between cervical dislocation vs bleeding method, what is your opinion?

[Bike guy]

I've done both. Now I shoot them with a pellet rifle. No mistakes with this method. Rabbits never know, eating grass, chilled out relaxed. Dispatch, immediately remove the head, big heavy sharp knife, I have a bucket ready with the bottom of a milk jug or soda bottle type jug with the bottle cut off. After the head is removed it goes into the funnel which controls any body reactions stopping any possible bruising, similar to chickens. I have a real estate post that I hang rabbit by rear legs n process. Pat dry any blood, actually I put a paper towel in the neck cavity to suck up blood. Keeping everything clean. After butchering, wipe with a paper towel. Very clean and no broken blood vessels in neck. Refrigerator for 2-3 days, vaccuum seal freeze. When we get caught up in life we will thaw n can to get freezer space and it makes for a great protein all ready for the table. Great snack for sandwiches n such

I'll try paper towel, it took too much time for me to clean clogged blood in the neck. I was also too late to cut the head because of the blunt knife which was probably the main reason of the clogged blood.

 

[anuttyfarm]

My experience with butchering rabbits and the quality of the finished product is hydration if the animal. That is the key to a tender meat. That means allowing the animal a small amount of food and lots of water immediately before dispatching. Make sure the animal is killed quickly buy snapping the neck on the rabbit with a quick jerk (a broom stick may bruise the neck area) and then slice the jugular vein in the neck. Soaking the carcass in water or a brine solution is not necessary If you intend to freeze it. Wait till you defrost it for consumption. Introducing water to the carcass before freezing is also introducing bacteria in the water to the meat. It can make the meat go bad faster in the freezer. Unless you boil the soak water for at least 3 minutes. Boiling also helps the brine solution to mix with the water better. There is nothing wrong with blood. It has a lot of nutrients in it. It will not harm you if you eat it. If you are selling it to someone it is just a better presentation without the blood in the vein or bruising around the neck.

The fat of the rabbit or any other animal for that matter is where the flavor is. There is nothing wrong with it except it is a bit strong in flavor. Since rabbits eat an all-vegetarian diet, it contains the proper Omega fatty acid profile to keep us healthy.

I have found if you cook rabbit and serve it as chicken; and then you tell them it is rabbit they might change their mind. It is the best meat to eat except for maybe lamb. It not only has a good Omega 3 and 6 ratios, but it is easy to digest and is good for those convalescing from injuries or surgery.

 

[creekhouse14]

Interesting to read about. Certainly I do not experience "bloody meat" But here in the western US we have the "bunnies are cute, how can you eat them" problem

This is what I get all the time. I'm pretty sure there are a few people that are truly offended that I would raise such cute cuddly animals only to butcher them at 4 months to eat them.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

This is what I get all the time. I'm pretty sure there are a few people that are truly offended that I would raise such cute cuddly animals only to butcher them at 4 months to eat them.

Those same people are also the ones who think every rabbit needs a whole room to themselves, as well as thinking that a rabbit can't be aggressive

 

[dizzybumblebee]

I'm going to butcher my first rabbit tomorrow and I read different comments about the taste of dispatcing methods. Some people claim that rabbits that dispatched by cervical dislocation doesn't taste good because of the extra blood that it contains compared to bleeding method which allows blood to go out while the heart of the rabbit still beats.

The answer I want to hear is a big no, I would prefer cervical dislocation. My biggest concern about bleeding method is the rabbit might scream during the "hit the head and cut the artery" process. I don't know how will I explain those screams to my neighbours. I heard one of them scream when I vaccinate them, it was incredible. Plus, cervical dislocation seems more humane way of dispatcing.

I don't want to go with the bleeding method if I don't have to. Broom stick is the method of my preference. So what is your experience, any significant taste difference? Does it taste bloody when cervical dislocation method applied?

The thing we don't realize is that cervical dislocation is paralyzation not death. Your still doing the killing by bleeding out. Not that I mind that, it is fine, keeps the bunny from screaming. I also have neighbors that could be unhappy with me.
I use a pump pellet gun (hand not rifle) It is quiet and immediate. Still have nerves moving limbs so it is still something to get used to. I've done dislocation, I don't like the blood at the neck. And some of that meat is bruised so I don't eat it.

 

[CedarRidge]

BTW in my country when I tell someone that I raise rabbit for meat, they say that the rabbit meat contains too much blood. I don't know where this "rabbit meat is too bloody" myth comes from, it's very common urban legend in my country. I made some search in internet and it seems this myth is specific to my country. Many people refuse to eat rabbit meat because it is "too bloody". Even rabbit farmers admit that rabbitry cannot flourish in this country because of this myth.

I have a theory about the source of this myth, in our language (Turkish) both rabbits and hares are called rabbit (tavşan), many people think that this two are of the same species. Since actual rabbit meat is not common, the only "rabbit" that people happen to eat is the hares that hunted down by hunters. Hares are hunted by guns and hunters keep hares with them all day long. During all these hours the blood of so called "rabbit" (actually hare) coagulate. This is how this urban legend born. I have no other explanation for this myth.

I can tell you, as a rabbit hunter during my youth (cottontail, swamp) in the Deep South, using dogs and shotguns, it is quite common to have bloody rabbits. This is not from the rabbit running from the dogs, but from the damage done by the lead shot used to kill them. I spent many a minute picking lots of shot from the rabbits we took. The rabbits often looked like someone had taken a ball peen hammer to them when we were done. Additionally, if a rabbit was wounded, the dogs often caught them and mauled them somewhat before we could get to them. Very easy to see how folks (nonhunters) would be repulsed by seeing a rabbit taken by hunters, even after it is gutted and dressed. Ironically, if we caught a rabbit wounded but still alive, we used the tried and true “karate chop on the back of the neck” method for final dispatch. Still good eating, but being wild and often older, they were somewhat gamey and tough.

 

[bitbyter]

BTW in my country when I tell someone that I raise rabbit for meat, they say that the rabbit meat contains too much blood. I don't know where this "rabbit meat is too bloody" myth comes from, it's very common urban legend in my country. I made some search in internet and it seems this myth is specific to my country. Many people refuse to eat rabbit meat because it is "too bloody". Even rabbit farmers admit that rabbitry cannot flourish in this country because of this myth.

I have a theory about the source of this myth, in our language (Turkish) both rabbits and hares are called rabbit (tavşan), many people think that this two are of the same species. Since actual rabbit meat is not common, the only "rabbit" that people happen to eat is the hares that hunted down by hunters. Hares are hunted by guns and hunters keep hares with them all day long. During all these hours the blood of so called "rabbit" (actually hare) coagulate. This is how this urban legend born. I have no other explanation for this myth.

In reference to wild hares being too "bloody", they may be referring to what we call "gamey" for the particular taste associated with wild meat vs. domestically raised meat. While I've never compared them personally, I imagine that wild hares do taste more "gamey" than domestically raised rabbit meat.