Rabbit Recipes

Rinderciller · Post by **Rinderciller** » Sun. Jan. 29, 2023 4:03 pm

Does anyone have some rabbit recipes to share. I raise them and do the standard, BBQ, Pie, Jerky, Fried, Popcorned, but I am always on the look out for other ways to use it.

waytomany?s · Post by **waytomany?s** » Sun. Jan. 29, 2023 7:40 pm

Rinderciller wrote: ↑
Sun. Jan. 29, 2023 4:03 pm
Does anyone have some rabbit recipes to share. I raise them and do the standard, BBQ, Pie, Jerky, Fried, Popcorned, but I am always on the look out for other ways to use it.

Is it economical to raise them for food? I could never make the numbers work.

Rinderciller · Post by **Rinderciller** » Sun. Jan. 29, 2023 8:00 pm

It is right now, chicken up here is now 40 bucks for 4 chicken breast. I just like the fact I know what's in it, and I know its there when I need it. Now if I could just figure out how to get eggs out of them, 8 bucks a dozen is a bit rich to be eating a lot of eggs. And food to meat ratio rabbits are one of the best return on feed to meat. Plus they are ready in 12 weeks. My dog eats everything I don't use, and I am learning to tan the hides my son wants a king size blanket so that will be a few rabbits.

waytomany?s · Post by **waytomany?s** » Sun. Jan. 29, 2023 8:49 pm

What breed are you raising? 12weeks is how many bags/pounds of food? Slaughter weight?

Rinderciller · Post by **Rinderciller** » Sun. Jan. 29, 2023 10:43 pm

I'm doing a French Lop and Californian mix, and at 12 to 14 weeks I average 6 pounds cleaned in the freezer bags. Some are above 8 so are 5 1/2 so roughly when I do a batch, usually 5 at a time I'm over 30 pounds. Hard to say on feed as I never have just fed one cage with one bag. But I have 5 cages, right now I am feeding 5 does, 4 12 week old babies, and one set of 8 babies that are 4 weeks old. And I have gone through just a touch more than half a bag since the 19th of Jan, but I mix my feed so that helps stretch it out. Rabbit feed up here is 25 CAD. And alot of mine gets turned into Jerky and well that stuff is on par with the price of gold.

ColdHouse · Post by **ColdHouse** » Mon. Jan. 30, 2023 6:23 am

Rinderciller · Post by **Rinderciller** » Mon. Jan. 30, 2023 9:58 am

I'll give this a watch in a bit, is it your video?

coalder · Post by **coalder** » Mon. Jan. 30, 2023 1:08 pm

Rabbit in brown onion gravy ( this is for cottontail of snowshoe...they would be smaller)

Soak up to four, quartered rabbits in a bowl of milk for 5 to 10 min.

Remove from milk & coat all pieces with flour.

Melt a stick of butter in a large fry pan.

Brown all rabbit pieces 5-8 min per side.

Place browned pieces in a crock pot.

Pour the onion gravy ( see below ) over the rabbit pieces covering all the pieces.

Turn the crock pot to low & cook for at least 12 hrs. Do not stir.

Onion Gravy

Cook two packs of Lipton dried onion soup mix in four cups of water for 8 to 10 minutes.

Thicken the soup mixture with 1/2 cup cold water, Three tablespoons of corn starch & one tablespoon of gravy master, stirring for about a minute.

ENJOY
JIm

ColdHouse · Post by **ColdHouse** » Mon. Jan. 30, 2023 1:52 pm

I found slow cooking and making stew was great. Cook until falls off the bone. I would cook the meat and put in a few core ingredients making kinda concentrate. Then divide and freeze a portion. Then add water and vegetables. When I slaughtered the rabbits I separated front legs, rear legs, torso, and organ meats and stored separately.

I never sold any meat or meat products. All it takes is one complaint. Seems like a lot of regulations to meet to butcher and sell meat. I would imagine the same about jerky.

I messed with tanning pelts a little bit but decided that I raised rabbit for the meat. The tanning is pretty labor intensive. I had a dog get into the soaking pelts once. Stinks pretty bad also and at the time I could if I wanted purchase tanned hides in bulk pretty damn cheap if I wanted them so I figured it wasn't worth my time and or effort.

I had chickens and rabbits. The rabbits were definitely productive and sustainable. The layer chickens were a big mess of dirty animals. I ended up getting these little black mites on me once. That was freaky. Also purchase and raise until 6 months or whatever until they start laying then they only lay good for a year or so. Too expensive to buy and care for back then when I could buy eggs for $0.89 dozen. Another issue was I let them free range and had coyotes and foxes and dogs and raccoons and hawks and??? after them. Came home one evening to find about 15 headless chickens all around my yard. I set traps and next day got 3 huge raccoons.

Rinderciller · Post by **Rinderciller** » Mon. Jan. 30, 2023 3:06 pm

Oh yes chickens are disgusting and smell horrible when you butcher them. The jerky I do for me and my son who will sit and eat a whole medium sized ziploc while he sits and visits. My dog keeps everything cleaned up, besides the point she likes to age her stuff 4 or 5 days before actually eating it. Yes god forbid you want to sell something now a day's you have to have a license for everything.

That sounds good Jim I will give that a try. I am going to try some Tandoori "Chicken" for supper tonight or tomorrow. Yes I have found low and slow is better for rabbit, unless you wrap it in bacon, and everything is better wrapped in bacon.

I processed 5 today and got close to 30 pounds, threw the pelts and the feet and tails in the freezer to deal with later.

waytomany?s · Post by **waytomany?s** » Mon. Jan. 30, 2023 6:54 pm

ColdHouse wrote: ↑
Mon. Jan. 30, 2023 1:52 pm
I found slow cooking and making stew was great. Cook until falls off the bone. I would cook the meat and put in a few core ingredients making kinda concentrate. Then divide and freeze a portion. Then add water and vegetables. When I slaughtered the rabbits I separated front legs, rear legs, torso, and organ meats and stored separately.

I never sold any meat or meat products. All it takes is one complaint. Seems like a lot of regulations to meet to butcher and sell meat. I would imagine the same about jerky.

I messed with tanning pelts a little bit but decided that I raised rabbit for the meat. The tanning is pretty labor intensive. I had a dog get into the soaking pelts once. Stinks pretty bad also and at the time I could if I wanted purchase tanned hides in bulk pretty damn cheap if I wanted them so I figured it wasn't worth my time and or effort.

I had chickens and rabbits. The rabbits were definitely productive and sustainable. The layer chickens were a big mess of dirty animals. I ended up getting these little black mites on me once. That was freaky. Also purchase and raise until 6 months or whatever until they start laying then they only lay good for a year or so. Too expensive to buy and care for back then when I could buy eggs for $0.89 dozen. Another issue was I let them free range and had coyotes and foxes and dogs and raccoons and hawks and??? after them. Came home one evening to find about 15 headless chickens all around my yard. I set traps and next day got 3 huge raccoons.

Any idea cost per pound? Just a.close guess is.fine. my wife and I have done both. I thought the rabbits had more of a.smell. I just don't like being the slaughter boss. I've gotten where I don't mind doing the chickens, but never have.gotten used to slaughter of rabbits.

Rinderciller · Post by **Rinderciller** » Mon. Jan. 30, 2023 7:14 pm

How are you doing your rabbits? I am under 2 minutes per rabbit, and I find there is zero smell when hanging. Poultry just smells every part, the processing and the poop. Ducks and Geese are better as there is not as much ammonia as land birds. But they still smell when processing.

coalder · Post by **coalder** » Mon. Jan. 30, 2023 7:40 pm

Rabbits only smell if you puncture the guts......Then look out. This happens in hunting, which can't be avoided. But shouldn't ever happen when butchering a live rabbit.
Jim

waytomany?s · Post by **waytomany?s** » Mon. Jan. 30, 2023 7:46 pm

Rinderciller wrote: ↑
Mon. Jan. 30, 2023 7:14 pm
How are you doing your rabbits? I am under 2 minutes per rabbit, and I find there is zero smell when hanging. Poultry just smells every part, the processing and the poop. Ducks and Geese are better as there is not as much ammonia as land birds. But they still smell when processing.

Been six years or so. I'm very tentative with a knife. I have a.phobia of being cut.

ColdHouse · Post by **ColdHouse** » Tue. Jan. 31, 2023 5:10 am

waytomany?s wrote: ↑
Mon. Jan. 30, 2023 6:54 pm
Any idea cost per pound? Just a.close guess is.fine. my wife and I have done both. I thought the rabbits had more of a.smell. I just don't like being the slaughter boss. I've gotten where I don't mind doing the chickens, but never have.gotten used to slaughter of rabbits.

Back then I think raw cost for food $2 per pound. That doesn't include housing, labor, electricity to keep water from freezing... and it is a 24/7/365 gig. Just saying.