Update to commercial processor! Yay!

[fuzzy9]

Once again, one of our customers comes to the rescue! The son of one of the meat processors we used to work with, but no longer do, due to quality issues, is a good customer of ours. Turns out, he doesn't agree at all with how his father does business, or handles orders! So he started out on his own, and has built his own meat processing facility just a few miles from us! He'll be starting in 3 weeks, he's state inspected, and he's happy to process our rabbits for us! He comes in to eat every Thursday, and he offered to even pick up our rabbits for us right in our parking lot so we don't have to run to deliver! How sweet is that! So we will now have commercially processed rabbits to offer in our restaurant! Woot Woot!

 

[skysthelimit]

YeaH!!!!!!!

 

[fuzzy9]

Thanks sky! I'm very excited! Finally! It makes me feel less guilty about keeping the rabbits I have now.....the expense of feeding them, housing them in the indoor rabbitry, and the work they require. Maybe we'll finally get to see some financial return from them, or at least pay backs to help me support my rabbit habit. :lol:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

That is wonderful!

Make sure to post pics and the recipe for the first rabbit dish that makes it on the menu! :dinner:

 

[fuzzy9]

I will MSD! Thank you!

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

Oh wow, CONGRATS!!! That is HUGE!!!!!! I'm so happy for you, and I bet he's happy too...gives him more reasons than ever to eat at your fine establishment!!!

 

[Miss M]

Wonderful!!! Can't get much better than that! And yes, you must post pix!

 

[fuzzy9]

Thank you Kyle, and Miss M. It is kinda huge actually.......serving something I've raised myself in our own restaurant. Yay! I'm hoping this goes over ok, we do have alot of farmers, and folks who have actually raised rabbits themselves in the past, so they know what it is. Alot of hunters as well, but we also have those who will completely be offended by rabbit meat. That's the one hurdle that's making me very cautious about this.

 

[MaggieJ]

Sounds promising. Hope it works out well, Geri!

 

[Marinea]

Wow, that's a huge step! Congrats on it coming together.

 

[trinityoaks]

Oh, wow! What a blessing for that to fall into your lap!

 

[zee]

That's awesome!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

 

[fuzzy9]

Thanks so much everybody! I think we're going to start first with a oven roasted rabbit, in a wine mushroom sauce, and stuffed rabbit. They are recipes we've tried, and loved ourselves.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

Thank you Kyle, and Miss M. It is kinda huge actually.......serving something I've raised myself in our own restaurant. Yay! I'm hoping this goes over ok, we do have alot of farmers, and folks who have actually raised rabbits themselves in the past, so they know what it is. Alot of hunters as well, but we also have those who will completely be offended by rabbit meat. That's the one hurdle that's making me very cautious about this.

Yeah but some people will get offended just from you serving meat, PERIOD. People are silly. :roll:

Maybe start out with it as a once-a-week "special" so it isn't on the menu but it's on a little insert or something for that night? I know a local place has "wild game" night each Wednesday...it's farmed "wild" game, but still good, and if someone gets offended at being served alligator or elk they just don't go on Wednesdays.

Thanks so much everybody! I think we're going to start first with a oven roasted rabbit, in a wine mushroom sauce, and stuffed rabbit. They are recipes we've tried, and loved ourselves.

That sounds AMAZING!!!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Alot of hunters as well, but we also have those who will completely be offended by rabbit meat.

Some of those people may be "on the fence" about it... maybe you could offer a complimentary rabbit hors d'oeuvres on "rabbit night". Something small... :hmm: perhaps a stuffed mushroom with minced rabbit and bacon? Who can resist anything with bacon, after all? :twisted:

 

[Miss M]

Alot of hunters as well, but we also have those who will completely be offended by rabbit meat.

Some of those people may be "on the fence" about it... maybe you could offer a complimentary rabbit hors d'oeuvres on "rabbit night". Something small... :hmm: perhaps a stuffed mushroom with minced rabbit and bacon? Who can resist anything with bacon, after all? :twisted:

oooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooo... That might be a very good way to get people to try it, who might be reluctant.

You could make a pirogue (PEE-roh). A pirogue is a shallow, flat-bottomed boat that is used very often around here to get through the bayous. It also is used to refer to a couple of dishes that involve hollowing something out and stuffing it -- bread, eggplant, etc. But with bread, you could use French bread or another bread with a small cross-section. Make about 1" slices, maybe a little smaller, and pull out enough of the middle to make a shallow hollow in each slice, and fill it with something.

Like rabbit and sausage with just a little gravy, and topped with a little cheese, run under the broiler for a moment. Rabbit Pirogue (Pirogue Lapin, if you want to sound hoity-toity :lol: ).

 

[desertcat]

And sometimes sounding hoity-toity is the way to get people to eat different things. Escargot is a delicacy (?), but snails are just icky...gutting a fish - no way, but eviscerating one doesn't sound too bad!

 

[fuzzy9]

Thanks everybody! ALL great suggestions! A friend also mentioned to me today to find a restaurant that serves rabbit already, and see if I can ask them how they deal with it, if they have issues. We definitely aren't putting it on the physical menu right away, and like Kyle mentioned, it will be a "special" as available. Right now we're still working on details, so these suggestions are GREAT!

My processor was in last night, and we got to talk in person. He called the county extension agent, who confirmed to him everything I had said, and he gave him the go-ahead! So we're good to go, it's just a matter of him finishing his shop! Yay! :bunnyhop: It works out good though, because the 11 I have that will go for meat will be ready in 3-4 weeks. I've got does also due very soon, so we'll start out slow, and by that time I'll have some juniors hopefully ready to breed. I can buy some as needed too. I can't believe this is finally going to happen!!!