rabbit meat?

[smackiesmommy]

ok I have to ask...what does rabbit meat taste like and where do you take the rabbits to be processed?

 

[ruthless]

Very seriously, it is very similar to chicken, mostly white and a little dryer, depending on how you cook it. I love putting a whole rabbit in the crockpot and cook til it pulls easily off the bones.

Try calling a nearby locker plant or butcher and see if they will process them for you. Many people do it themselves. Our butcher said he would do small numbers for $2.50 each, same fee they charge for chickens.

you might also advertise and see if someone will do it for you for a share of the meat or for a small fee.

 

[smackiesmommy]

Thank you. I just read one post where they hit the rabbit with a stick. I'm not afraid to do it myself when it comes time I have just never had rabbit before (at least not that I know of) and my husband and I have been talking about if we want to raise rabbits for meat or not.

 

[citylife]

I raise rabbit for supplimental meat and am very glad I do. The meat is amazing, as Ruthless said, it can be drier then chicken or have a firmer texture then chicken. It is all white meat. Handles heavy seasoned dishes well (like mexican food), and is very versitile. They are inexpensive to raise and you will eat about 1/2 the amount of rabbit verse other meats as it is denser and fills you up on less. My rabbits wiegh out at around 1 1/2 lbs. dressed and that will feed a family of 4. If you want to see an eas,y efficeint and clean way of raising them, check out my page. I currantly have 4 Florida White meat does, 3 prego, one with 5 kits and a buck. A holland lop senior buck, a jr. buck (for sale), a jr. doe and a senior doe with 2 extremely shubby babies.
The holland lops are for show, 4-H or pets. the jr. buck I have would make a nice pet or show. He is very nice looking boy.
Florida white meat rabbits are more of a block of meat with ears. They convert thier food to meat very efficeintly. Other popular breeds for meat are the CA and NZ (new zealand) rabbits. They are a larger rabbit and produce bigger litters then what I have.
Look on craigslist, you may be able to find someone who has meat rabbits for sale and you can try one. They taste alot different then wild rabbit.

 

[Mart]

I also raise rabbit for meat.

In the Summer we put them on grass/weed in rabbit tractors. And they eat for free.

To process them, we do a pull. Holding the back legs in one hand and breaking the neck with the other. Very quick, then slice the throat a second after for bleeding. They are dead and bled in less than one minute. They are very easy to skin afterwards, easy to gut.

With the cooked carcasses, once I have a bunch in the freezer, I stick them in a pressure cooker for a couple of hours and I make a mush for the dog. The bones become brittle and puppy loves it.

 

[citylife]

I also raise rabbit for meat.

In the Summer we put them on grass/weed in rabbit tractors. And they eat for free.

To process them, we do a pull. Holding the back legs in one hand and breaking the neck with the other. Very quick, then slice the throat a second after for bleeding. They are dead and bled in less than one minute. They are very easy to skin afterwards, easy to gut.

With the cooked carcasses, once I have a bunch in the freezer, I stick them in a pressure cooker for a couple of hours and I make a mush for the dog. The bones become brittle and puppy loves it.

Thats really kewl that you use tractors for them. I have been looking into that a bit and reading the pros and cons. I am glad it works for you. The thing I worry about is having chickens, I would have to seperate them so there is not the risk fo coccidiosis.
Your so right, very easy to butcher. Once you have your area set up it is a breeze. There are also some good youtubes on butchering.
You say you make a mush, but yet the bones are brittle? In case someone reading this does not know, cooked bones are the dangerous bones to dogs. They become very brittle and splinter. Splintering bones are what can poke holes in intestines or stomach. I am guessing that is why you make a mush.
I am moving to a new place soon and would like to try putting them in tractors. It makes sence to me to have free food. I just have to make sure my chickens have not been in the grazing areas for awhile.

 

[Mart]

You say you make a mush, but yet the bones are brittle? In case someone reading this does not know, cooked bones are the dangerous bones to dogs. They become very brittle and splinter. Splintering bones are what can poke holes in intestines or stomach. I am guessing that is why you make a mush.

After a couple of hours at 15 lbs pressure, you can break the bones with your fingers. It's safe for the dog, believe me. In the liquid that is left in the cooker, I add some quick oats, some cooked carrots or other veggie and mush it all up for the puppy. Home made dog food!

 

[the funny farm6]

There are sooo many ways to cook rabbit. My familys favorite way is to take it off the bone and grind it into hamburger, or make rabbit sausage. I like to quarter them and put them on stuffing and bake in the oven low and slow. Mmmm.

Why does this site always make me hungry???

 

[Mart]

Oh those rabbit sausages sound awesome but maybe a bit too much work for me. Sometimes I wish my days lasted 30 hours or more....

 

[Tracy S]

Funny Farm, what do you add to the meat to make your sausage? Rabbit meat is so lean it hadn't occured to me you could make rabbit sausage. Thanks!