Fresh Cottontails for Breakfast

[rbwhatever1]

32 degrees, light fog, no wind and a nice morning walk through a pasture. A perfect morning to take a few rabbits for breakfast!

[WildBill]

Looks like a plentiful bounty.

I know it's not like beef, but I have always wondered if rabbit is best if cooked right away or does it benefit from a little ageing. The reason I ask is that I had some freshly killed [domestic] rabbit and it seemed a little tough. Of course, it could be the way my wife prepared it. Being from the South, she fried it of course.

[puma guy]

Nice photo. A shotgun and a brace of rabbits. It could easily be on an old ammunition calendar!
edited for word addition

[Texsquatch]

So how did you prepare them? I smell gravy bubbling... So hungry now.

[Oldgringo]

I used to love to hunt rabbits and my mother could make the best fried rabbit, mashed taters and green pea dinners in my world. All of it washed down with sweet ice tea, of course. She'd do alright with the squirrels I'd bring home too.

My first wife could/would do 'em up pretty good too. We ate a lot game when I was in college. We had guns in our dorms at TPI and later in the married student apartments at UT in Knoxville. My current wife of 30 years was not chosen for her kitchen skills.

[Abraham]

My yard is full of em after dark.

Night before last I counted 9, but the only critters I've harvested in my yard is feral pigs, but since they were destroying my yard I had a fence put in, so no more pig in the pot.

[rbwhatever1]

These rabbits were fried with biscuits, gravy and eggs. We used McCormicks unseasoned meat tenderizer and pounded the pieces with a meat mallet for about a minute on each side. The meat doesn't fall off the bone but it's a lot more tender than taking a chance on them being too old & tough to enjoy. You can also soak them in salt water for a few days in the refridgerator to tenderize them if you don't want them freshly taken but i would still use a tenderizer and pound them with a meat mallet. I've had my share of tough rabbit and squirrel over the years, even young ones mostly straight from the field to the fire with just salt & pepper.

[WildBill]

These rabbits were fried with biscuits, gravy and eggs. We used McCormicks unseasoned meat tenderizer and pounded the pieces with a meat mallet for about a minute on each side. The meat doesn't fall off the bone but it's a lot more tender than taking a chance on them being too old & tough to enjoy. You can also soak them in salt water for a few days in the refridgerator to tenderize them if you don't want them freshly taken but i would still use a tenderizer and pound them with a meat mallet. I've had my share of tough rabbit and squirrel over the years, even young ones mostly straight from the field to the fire with just salt & pepper.

I never thought about rabbit, but it makes sense that brining would probably be a good idea. I know that it would be hard to do knowing that there was fresh meat to eat. I would let the meat age in the refrigerator for a couple of days and then brine before cooking. It works great for chicken!

http://www.livestrong.com/article/48108 ... ne-rabbit/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Blindref757]

I've always brined rabbit for 48 hours...changing the water after the first 24. My grandma always said that it helped pull the blood out and made it taste better. Her cooking was what set me on the path of fighting obesity for the past 44 years and although I hate it, I sure do miss her cooking! Haven't had her rabbit since 1982. Thinking back, I'm pretty sure that if she needed to, she could have made the sole of a shoe taste good!

[airborned]

I don't like rabbit. But im think im going to try your brine method's to see if it makes it better for me.Maybe i just haven't had someone cook it well for me. On a side note i love squirrel. Salt pepper and flour then fried in a cast iron skillet.

[pancho]

A friend used to raise rabbits and they did taste better than free range bunnies.

[Dirthawking]

Rabbit is very good. And is a very versatile meat. Any recipe you have for chicken will work for rabbit. Cooks the same.

[Divided Attention]

My daughter's have raised rabbits for 12 years - I have used it in place of chicken for many, many years. It is the "other other white meat" to us. You just have to remember it is so low in fat it cannot be a primary protein source - it does not have enough fat. It is also lean to the point that you should add extra broth/stock for things like enchiladas, pot pie, "King Ranch Rabbit" and the like. We like it fried, grilled - just be careful not to dry it out. Enchiladas verde de conejo is one of my family's favorites. (green rabbit enchiladas). It is higher in protein, lower in fat and cholesterol than other commercially available meats. We think it is darn tasty, and chicken feels slimy to me now.

I do know that wild rabbit is more susceptible to parasite infection, so make sure you cook it well.

Bunny-n-dumplings is quite amazing as well!

[BigGuy]

Brings back memories. Living in town now, I don't get a wild hair (pun noted but not intended) and go rabbit hunting anymore. As a kid, I treated the the woods like an EZ mart. I even had selection. Swampers in the woods and cotton tails in the fields. There are a lot of things I miss about those times, not the least of which is my youth.
Anyway, thanks for posting the pics and the flood of good memories it brought back.