canning rabbit?

[the funny farm6]

ok i have never canned meat all by myself. but we have plenty of whole rabbit, and rbbit sausage in the freezer, and the next batch of rabbits i would like to see about canning. have you ever done rabbit? if so do you leave the bone in or debone it? do you add anything to it? (for deer when we do it we add beef bulion cubes to make it taste more beefy, cause many of our extended family doesnt like the gamey taste of deer- they just like to hunt) i was thinking about adding some chicken bulion to the rabbit. also can i can the sausage?

 

[BarredBuff]

I have not canned rabbit, but some meat before. What I think is you need to can it, how you eat it. If you make a lot of rabbit stew, then I'd debone it. But if you roast it a lot, then I'd can it bone it.

If the sausage is like breakfast pork sausage, then you can can it.

 

[k15n1]

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can5_meat.html

 

[terri9630]

We usually eat our rabbits as we butcher but the Ball book I have has directions for canning rabbits. Its just like chicken for the most part.

 

[Strysa]

The beef bouillon idea is amazing!!!! I know that is not what your thread is about but I just canned deer for the first time this season and was trying to think of this coming season and how I would like to help it's flavor. So thanks!

 

[the funny farm6]

You can also ad a chunk of beef fat. Just ask at your grocery store. One piece @ 1 inch by 1 inch, that helps also.

 

[k15n1]

Does adding fat decrease the shelf life? That's my impression, but I've seen canned bacon listed with 10-year shelf life [3]. I understand that fat can go rancid, chemically, not biologically. Canning takes care of the biological factors but chemistry goes on regardless. (That's probably the reason for keeping preserved food in a cool place.) Here's some notes on storing fat, [1] from which you can interpolate for canning meat with some fat in it.

Someone said fat make sealing the jars more difficult. Haven't had much experience with that, but I'm not surprised. It's come up on our forum and elsewhere [2].

I did find a post on a forum that indicated that fat increased the risk of contamination [2] but I'm not sure it that's true. The fat is going to be as hot as any other part of the liquid in the jar, right? It's the temperature that kills the bugs, and I don't see how they'd be protected by fat.


1. http://goingferal.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/how-to-store-fat-for-longer/
2. http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/co...harvest/392532-canning-beef-why-lose-fat.html
3. http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/c399/

 

[the funny farm6]

i dont know how long term the fat will be good but i do know it is good for 2 years. that is the longest we have had canned deer with the fat in it. last time we canned deer, we forgot to tell the store we needed it and they didnt have any. so we just did the beef bullion cubes.

i was thinking if i added some chicken bullion to the rabbit, it might make it more versitle.

 

[the funny farm6]

i am trying to rely less on my deep freezer. in the event of a long term power outage- we would be in trouble. as we have a large deep freeze full of meat.

 

[2dream]

I canned rabbit 2 years ago and still have several jars left. I left the bones in and canned following the directions for chicken. Its easier to debone when you are ready to use it. Or at least it is for me. I use mine mostly for rabbit and dumplings or a soup or stew. But anything you use chicken for you can substite with rabbit.

Edited to add: I did not add anything. I like the way it taste as it is.