Rabbit

I'm a past master with rabbits and hare ,i deconstruct them and create roulades,never under estimate this game,the French have them all year as they farm the rabbits
 
Since the war the British have sadly neglected the rabbit [although the myxomatosis scare didn't help matters]. It is a low fat meat and arguably better than chicken. However it does seem to be more available recently [if we ignore the 'Oh I couldn't eat a fluffy bunny brigade] and as it is classed as a pest [and it really is one] to farmers you are doing too good things at once.
 
I'm not sure I go for the rabbit being neglected ,obvious some people keep domestic rabbits,but it is a pest open season all year ,they are farmed as well in the UK ,
Widely available in France ,they spin me out in the markets ,as they are skinned whole and they leave the head in tact ,looks like a alien,
I avoid rabbit spring time ,to many milky dows,but there is a growing interest in rabbit,it needs to be available in more butchers etc maybe get hfw on a TV programme,as there are more advantages to them than negatives
 
Neglected simply as in has been harder to find than other meat up untill quite recently. After all EVERY butcher had lamb - chicken - even tripe [!] but rabbit sort of 'dropped off the map' a bit. Not sure I like the idea of leaving the head on though - seems a bit macabre to me ! Even when we had a grocers shop [years ago now] we would skin and chop the heads off before selling [we had to remove the shotgun pellets too if we could !].
 
Berties said:
I'm not sure I go for the rabbit being neglected ,obvious some people keep domestic rabbits,but it is a pest open season all year ,they are farmed as well in the UK ,
Widely available in France ,they spin me out in the markets ,as they are skinned whole and they leave the head in tact ,looks like a alien,
I avoid rabbit spring time ,to many milky dows,but there is a growing interest in rabbit,it needs to be available in more butchers etc maybe get hfw on a TV programme,as there are more advantages to them than negatives
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I've only eaten it a few times, and never cooked with it. I understand that wild rabbit is different from farmed? Is it that wild rabbit tastes more gamey and is a tougher meat? Its a pity that supermarkets don't stock it. At least, I can't recall having seen it. I think there may be a lot of older generation people who ate it a lot in the past and would gladly cook it today.
 
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I had rabbit only once as a child and don't really remember it very well. I don't see it in stores here, so I think the only way to get it is to raise it yourself or know someone who does. It is a very lean meat, but rabbits are very cute, so it would be challenging to me to raise them as food.
 
DancingLady said:
I had rabbit only once as a child and don't really remember it very well. I don't see it in stores here, so I think the only way to get it is to raise it yourself or know someone who does. It is a very lean meat, but rabbits are very cute, so it would be challenging to me to raise them as food.
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I have kept rabbits for many years and love the furry little dudes but I have bought rabbit from a farm shop and enjoyed eating it. I suppose it depends on your thinking, rabbit used to be popular because other meal was expensive whereas wild rabbits are free and if you have a family to feed it is a no brainer really.
 
Another question is should it be snared,shot or ferreted or even shed kept,
I prefer head shot on with a 2'2,the meat can get effected by a build up if adrenaline if in snared or ferreted,
 
Berties said:
Another question is should it be snared,shot or ferreted or even shed kept,
I prefer head shot on with a 2'2,the meat can get effected by a build up if adrenaline if in snared or ferreted,
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True perhaps but I am told [by those who have and still do eat a fair bit of it that as the death is almost instantaneous [if the trapper/ferreter is any good anyway] that this is not much of a problem. Second not many are shot with .22 rifle [I assume you meant a rifle - not an air-gun as very few of these seem to be able to give a 1 shot kill these days] as these are difficult to get a licence for being a class 1 firearm [I believe] and most are shot with a shotgun - ok but as I mentioned you do have to pick the shot out when cleaning them.
 
sidevalve said:
True perhaps but I am told [by those who have and still do eat a fair bit of it that as the death is almost instantaneous [if the trapper/ferreter is any good anyway] that this is not much of a problem. Second not many are shot with .22 rifle [I assume you meant a rifle - not an air-gun as very few of these seem to be able to give a 1 shot kill these days] as these are difficult to get a licence for being a class 1 firearm [I believe] and most are shot with a shotgun - ok but as I mentioned you do have to pick the shot out when cleaning them.
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Lamping is done around me at harvest and is a .22 rifle and day options are shot guns ,20 or 144 will stop rabbits ,the shot normally stay in the silvery sinew on the meat ,I have to use mu semi auto as I get a extra shot in as the rabbits disperse when the first shot goes,My sons air rifle will stop a rabbit I don't hold a fac but get the spoils of the caul some times,On the estate near home we don't get many now as they don't want to disturb the game birds
 
I have only ever cooked rabbit twice. Both times I made a rabbit stew. I didn't use a recipe, I just made it up as I went along. I think I used celery and carrots in with the meat. My grandma once told me a good tip. Rabbit is tricky to take off the bone because it has so many small bones. She taught me to boil the rabbit first and then it is easier to remove the meat from the bones and then braise the meat with the vegetables and add the stock made from boiling the rabbit. It was delicious and even my children enjoyed it.
 
I still have to sample rabbit meat although it is compared with chicken meat. We have rabbits here but mostly for pets and not for the meat. It is very rare to find a restaurant that serves rabbit meat but I guess there are in Chinatown because the Chinese have all kinds of dishes when it comes to meat. From what I know, rabbits are prolific breeders so it if becomes a staple, the volume will not be a problem since they multiply fast.
 
I have never cooked rabbit but I have had it on a number of occasions. I have had it in rabbit stew which is probably the most common way it is cooked.
I have also had it roasted in the oven with an orange glazed sauce which was really good and tasty. I liked it a lot that way. My sister makes meat pies
and she always adds rabbit meat to it. It gives the pies a really nice taste.
 
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