Cooking a few Bunnies

Varminting and vertebrate pest control. Small game, hunting feral goats, foxes, dogs, cats, rabbits etc.

Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by bigfellascott » 22 Apr 2017, 5:57 pm

I went out a few weeks back Ferreting with a few mate and we kept a few bunnies that were the right size for the pot, anyway last night I cooked em up for us to eat - as usual they come out fantastic and were so tender the meat just falls of the bone - the boys loved em. :boogie:

I cut them into pieces, soak them in vinegar and water for a hour or so, drain them and wash them again and then soak them in milk overnight or as long as possible.

Then I roll them in a egg/milk bath then coat them in the seasoning, give them a little fry in the pan then remove them and cook some onions and mushies for a bit, then return the rabbit to the pot, add some chicken stock (about half way up the rabbit) let that cook for an hour then add a packet of Steak Diane Gravy let that cook for around 40mins or so, add some sour cream at the end and let that cook for another 20mins or so and then she's done, it usually comes out so tender it just falls off the bone and really is a great way to eat rabbit for those who don't like a real gammy tasting rabbit dish - needless to say there was nothing left :rofl: now all we have to do is get out and get the ferrets down the holes for a few more. :onya:

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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by Cooper » 22 Apr 2017, 7:48 pm

Looks goods. I'll have to try the vinegar and milk trick.
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by on_one_wheel » 22 Apr 2017, 8:24 pm

That looks pretty tasty!
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by bigfellascott » 22 Apr 2017, 8:31 pm

Cooper wrote:Looks goods. I'll have to try the vinegar and milk trick.


Yeah works well mate, also throw some salt in with the vinegar. :thumbsup:

on_one_wheel wrote:That looks pretty tasty!


Yep it surely was, I love my bunnies done this way, they always come out great. :thumbsup:
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by Bigjobss » 22 Apr 2017, 9:00 pm

Good work mate, more people should be eating bunnies like you.
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by bigfellascott » 22 Apr 2017, 10:42 pm

Bigjobss wrote:Good work mate, more people should be eating bunnies like you.


Cheers mate, they certainly come out great cooking them this way (lovely and tender/moist) no need for a toothpick after eating em this way I can tell ya. :D

The wife calls it KFC Rabbit (finger lickin good) and most people couldn't tell the difference between it and chicken other than the shape of the cuts and a few diff bones etc, taste wise you wouldn't know it wasn't chicken :lol:
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by tom604 » 23 Apr 2017, 6:36 pm

bugger,, i went bunny shooting last night and normally i keep them for dog food but this time i just chucked them :thumbsdown: looks like i will have to go again just to try your recipe :thumbsup:
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by bigfellascott » 23 Apr 2017, 7:56 pm

tom604 wrote:bugger,, i went bunny shooting last night and normally i keep them for dog food but this time i just chucked them :thumbsdown: looks like i will have to go again just to try your recipe :thumbsup:


Yeah definitely keep the young does - they are great to eat. :thumbsup:
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by Elmer » 24 Apr 2017, 10:31 pm

..that brings back memories of how my Granny used to cook them...soak in vinegar , then overnight in milk etc etc, she made a killer rabbit curry, lived on rabbit during the depression and being a country girl she sure knew how to cook them.
I remember back in the eighties having up to 3 helpings of bunny , I only wish I was old enough to get the recipe from her...apart from the soaking etc, dont forget to remove the two small anal glands an cut off the tail section about half an inch into the hams, this removes a lot of the gamey flavor.
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by bigfellascott » 24 Apr 2017, 11:45 pm

Elmer wrote:..that brings back memories of how my Granny used to cook them...soak in vinegar , then overnight in milk etc etc, she made a killer rabbit curry, lived on rabbit during the depression and being a country girl she sure knew how to cook them.
I remember back in the eighties having up to 3 helpings of bunny , I only wish I was old enough to get the recipe from her...apart from the soaking etc, dont forget to remove the two small anal glands an cut off the tail section about half an inch into the hams, this removes a lot of the gamey flavor.


Nothing like a good feed of Rabbit hey. It's all in the way they are prepped as to how they turn out, this way they turn out nice and tender and not stringy like a lot end up because they don't prep them right and don't cook them right. :thumbsup:
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by Oldbloke » 25 Apr 2017, 4:09 pm

Sooo, how much salt, vinegar, water do you recommend?
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by bigfellascott » 25 Apr 2017, 5:23 pm

Oldbloke wrote:Sooo, how much salt, vinegar, water do you recommend?


No real measurements used mate, I cover the rabbits completely in water and add probably a cup of vinegar and a good amount of salt, mix it all up and add the rabbit and adjust the water level until the rabbit is completely covered, then I just let them sit in it for a few hours, give them a good rinse once I'm happy with it and no more blood is evident in the clean water, drain them again and then cover the pieces in milk and leave for as long as I can (sometimes its only a few hours sometimes it overnight, just depends on when I need to cook them. :thumbsup:
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by Oldbloke » 25 Apr 2017, 5:31 pm

Sounds like about 1 or 2 liters of water.

"a cup of vinegar" I get but and a good amount of salt? Teaspoon? Table spoon, Cup?? Come on is it a secret recipe? :lol:
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by bigfellascott » 25 Apr 2017, 5:37 pm

Oldbloke wrote:Sounds like about 1 or 2 liters of water.

"a cup of vinegar" I get but and a good amount of salt? Teaspoon? Table spoon, Cup?? Come on is it a secret recipe? :lol:


I just grab a handful type thing and throw it in (probably 3 or 4 Tsp I guess, something like that anyway. :thumbsup:
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by Oldbloke » 25 Apr 2017, 8:03 pm

Thanks, good to see you raised the "cone of silence" :lol:
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by bigfellascott » 25 Apr 2017, 9:19 pm

Oldbloke wrote:Thanks, good to see you raised the "cone of silence" :lol:


Not a Prob, as I said I just guess the amounts (they aren't that important to me) I do what I think is right and it works out fine - good luck with it and let me know how it goes :thumbsup:

P.S. I also add Mushrooms and garlic to the meal too (may not have put that in the original post) :thumbsup:
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by Oldbloke » 20 Sep 2017, 10:40 pm

Well the bunnies are coming back in Vic. I went out Sunday evening and come home with three head shot rabbits, two for the spoilt dog and a 3/4 grown one to try Scott's KFC rabbit.
Well the Mrs went and used all the mushies, in the spaghetti so my attempt tonight was missing them.

BUT, a big :thumbsup: To this recipe. Do yourself a favour and give it a go. I have been converted from not liking to lovin rabbit.

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Thanks for sharing Scott
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by Stix » 21 Sep 2017, 12:43 am

Good on ya Oldbloke...good to see you've been converted to the bunny eating life...!!!

As an experiment a little while back, i stupidly decided to bone one out... (not something ill rush to do again or suggest the hungry impatient type try--dam fiddly).

Anyway after a couple of whisky's trying to decide what to do with it now i didnt have bones to knaw on, i decided after the soaking, to marinate it in sweet soy sauce (kecup manis) for 24hrs, then threw in a sliced carrot, spring onion & a scattering of sesame seeds & the last few cherry tomatos to get rid of them...
Sealed her up & chucked it in the oven for a slow 3hr cook on low heat...
For a whisky induced moment of creativity that could have could have gone horribly wrong, it turned out pretty good.
20151230_205943.jpg
Baked Boneless Bunny
20151230_205943.jpg (1.86 MiB) Viewed 6895 times

Bunny is a nice meat that if prepped properly is hard to mess up & always good to eat...!
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by bigfellascott » 21 Sep 2017, 7:02 am

Oldbloke wrote:Well the bunnies are coming back in Vic. I went out Sunday evening and come home with three head shot rabbits, two for the spoilt dog and a 3/4 grown one to try Scott's KFC rabbit.
Well the Mrs went and used all the mushies, in the spaghetti so my attempt tonight was missing them.

BUT, a big :thumbsup: To this recipe. Do yourself a favour and give it a go. I have been converted from not liking to lovin rabbit.

Tandacco can be purchased at IGA

Thanks for sharing Scott


Your welcome mate, glad it turned out ok for ya, hopefully w.e will start seeing a few bunnies around here soon too as we have a few ferrets that are in need of a run. :drinks:

Was the bunny nice and tender?
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by bigfellascott » 21 Sep 2017, 7:15 am

Stix wrote:Good on ya Oldbloke...good to see you've been converted to the bunny eating life...!!!

As an experiment a little while back, i stupidly decided to bone one out... (not something ill rush to do again or suggest the hungry impatient type try--dam fiddly).

Anyway after a couple of whisky's trying to decide what to do with it now i didnt have bones to knaw on, i decided after the soaking, to marinate it in sweet soy sauce (kecup manis) for 24hrs, then threw in a sliced carrot, spring onion & a scattering of sesame seeds & the last few cherry tomatos to get rid of them...
Sealed her up & chucked it in the oven for a slow 3hr cook on low heat...
For a whisky induced moment of creativity that could have could have gone horribly wrong, it turned out pretty good.
20151230_205943.jpg

Bunny is a nice meat that if prepped properly is hard to mess up & always good to eat...!


Looks good to mate, I reckon it would go great in a stir fry (soak the rabbit and then roll it in some seasoned flour) give it a fry as per the normal stir fry method and then add the pre cooked stir fry veg, would come up alright I reckon. :D
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by Stix » 21 Sep 2017, 9:33 am

bigfellascott wrote:
Stix wrote:Good on ya Oldbloke...good to see you've been converted to the bunny eating life...!!!

As an experiment a little while back, i stupidly decided to bone one out... (not something ill rush to do again or suggest the hungry impatient type try--dam fiddly).

Anyway after a couple of whisky's trying to decide what to do with it now i didnt have bones to knaw on, i decided after the soaking, to marinate it in sweet soy sauce (kecup manis) for 24hrs, then threw in a sliced carrot, spring onion & a scattering of sesame seeds & the last few cherry tomatos to get rid of them...
Sealed her up & chucked it in the oven for a slow 3hr cook on low heat...
For a whisky induced moment of creativity that could have could have gone horribly wrong, it turned out pretty good.
20151230_205943.jpg

Bunny is a nice meat that if prepped properly is hard to mess up & always good to eat...!


Looks good to mate, I reckon it would go great in a stir fry (soak the rabbit and then roll it in some seasoned flour) give it a fry as per the normal stir fry method and then add the pre cooked stir fry veg, would come up alright I reckon. :D


Definately...!
On a trip i did with my ol'man to a hunting mate of his in Vic., his mate striped out all the tender bits of a bunch of young ones, battered & deep fried them to "bunny nuggets".
He added them to a sweet-n-sour sauce his missus made from scratch with all fresh ingredients...
Seriously, it is the best chinese dish ive eaten in my life to date...!!!
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by Stix » 21 Sep 2017, 9:57 am

Hey Bigfella, you got ferrets...im envious...!!!

The ol'man had them for prob 20+ years so i was lucky enough to grow up in a house where a common ssying was "gotta take the ferrets they need a run" every couple of weeks...

Its just the best fun...aint nothin switches the senses on like the good ol' "thud thud" under foot & wondering how long before a bunny launches itself out at mach umpteen...
Before you know it...boom! boom!...& he tumbles A over T to a skidding dead stop.
You beawdy...!
Good in ya mate...i said, im envious, now im in awe...!
Go get em...!
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by bigfellascott » 21 Sep 2017, 1:07 pm

Stix wrote:Hey Bigfella, you got ferrets...im envious...!!!

The ol'man had them for prob 20+ years so i was lucky enough to grow up in a house where a common ssying was "gotta take the ferrets they need a run" every couple of weeks...

Its just the best fun...aint nothin switches the senses on like the good ol' "thud thud" under foot & wondering how long before a bunny launches itself out at mach umpteen...
Before you know it...boom! boom!...& he tumbles A over T to a skidding dead stop.
You beawdy...!
Good in ya mate...i said, im envious, now im in awe...!
Go get em...!


No mate they are my mates, we just take em out when we want a feed, they go alright too, not sure it's worth all the hassle to be honest owning them that is, but they do get the bunnies so I guess they are worth it (I normally just head shoot em if I want some to eat) but it's good to have the option there if someones a bit worried about shooting :thumbsup:
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by Oldbloke » 21 Sep 2017, 7:40 pm

bigfellascott wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:Well the bunnies are coming back in Vic. I went out Sunday evening and come home with three head shot rabbits, two for the spoilt dog and a 3/4 grown one to try Scott's KFC rabbit.
Well the Mrs went and used all the mushies, in the spaghetti so my attempt tonight was missing them.

BUT, a big :thumbsup: To this recipe. Do yourself a favour and give it a go. I have been converted from not liking to lovin rabbit.

Tandacco can be purchased at IGA

Thanks for sharing Scott


Your welcome mate, glad it turned out ok for ya, hopefully w.e will start seeing a few bunnies around here soon too as we have a few ferrets that are in need of a run. :drinks:

Was the bunny nice and tender?


Yep, Fairly tender. Will be doing it again. Virtually no gamey flavor. :P
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by bigfellascott » 21 Sep 2017, 9:58 pm

Oldbloke wrote:
bigfellascott wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:Well the bunnies are coming back in Vic. I went out Sunday evening and come home with three head shot rabbits, two for the spoilt dog and a 3/4 grown one to try Scott's KFC rabbit.
Well the Mrs went and used all the mushies, in the spaghetti so my attempt tonight was missing them.

BUT, a big :thumbsup: To this recipe. Do yourself a favour and give it a go. I have been converted from not liking to lovin rabbit.

Tandacco can be purchased at IGA

Thanks for sharing Scott


Your welcome mate, glad it turned out ok for ya, hopefully w.e will start seeing a few bunnies around here soon too as we have a few ferrets that are in need of a run. :drinks:

Was the bunny nice and tender?


Yep, Fairly tender. Will be doing it again. Virtually no gamey flavor. :P


Yeah the gamey flavour comes from the blood I think, once you soak em in vinegar and salt that draws it out of the meat and just leaves you with virtually a chicken flavour which is fine by my as I don't like real gamey meat. The Milk is supposed to help tenderise the meat from my understanding.

Anyway glad you liked it mate, I'm going to do a few Bunny curries when I get some more, they should come up a treat I reckon. :drinks:
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by Stix » 22 Sep 2017, 8:54 am

bigfellascott wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:
bigfellascott wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:Well the bunnies are coming back in Vic. I went out Sunday evening and come home with three head shot rabbits, two for the spoilt dog and a 3/4 grown one to try Scott's KFC rabbit.
Well the Mrs went and used all the mushies, in the spaghetti so my attempt tonight was missing them.

BUT, a big :thumbsup: To this recipe. Do yourself a favour and give it a go. I have been converted from not liking to lovin rabbit.

Tandacco can be purchased at IGA

Thanks for sharing Scott


Your welcome mate, glad it turned out ok for ya, hopefully w.e will start seeing a few bunnies around here soon too as we have a few ferrets that are in need of a run. :drinks:

Was the bunny nice and tender?


Yep, Fairly tender. Will be doing it again. Virtually no gamey flavor. :P


Yeah the gamey flavour comes from the blood I think, once you soak em in vinegar and salt that draws it out of the meat and just leaves you with virtually a chicken flavour which is fine by my as I don't like real gamey meat. The Milk is supposed to help tenderise the meat from my understanding.

Anyway glad you liked it mate, I'm going to do a few Bunny curries when I get some more, they should come up a treat I reckon. :drinks:


Cut the glands out of the back legs does wonders for that "gamey flavour"...i think thats where the strong pungent flavour comes from...

As an experiment, lately ive not added the salt too the soak, based on the fact that salt draws moisture out.
Cant say its made any noticable difference to be honest...any blood still seems to disperse.

As for blood clots within the body, i know im stating the obvious here, but ive found they are minimised if it gets a good gravity fed bleed...ie; hold a head shot bunny upisde down for a minute or 2 immediately after de-braining it with yr projectile before throwing it the ute, & the soak water seems to be considerably less pink & cleaner meat...

Ive tried to find out why we add the salt to the soak, & havent found a definative answer...
I can only assume it aids in breaking down the clots...
If anyone can tell me why its important to add the salt &/or vinegar id love to know why.
Ive always done it because thats what i was shown from a kid.

Cheers
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Re: Cooking a few Bunnies

Post by bigfellascott » 22 Sep 2017, 11:21 am

Stix wrote:
bigfellascott wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:
bigfellascott wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:Well the bunnies are coming back in Vic. I went out Sunday evening and come home with three head shot rabbits, two for the spoilt dog and a 3/4 grown one to try Scott's KFC rabbit.
Well the Mrs went and used all the mushies, in the spaghetti so my attempt tonight was missing them.

BUT, a big :thumbsup: To this recipe. Do yourself a favour and give it a go. I have been converted from not liking to lovin rabbit.

Tandacco can be purchased at IGA

Thanks for sharing Scott


Your welcome mate, glad it turned out ok for ya, hopefully w.e will start seeing a few bunnies around here soon too as we have a few ferrets that are in need of a run. :drinks:

Was the bunny nice and tender?


Yep, Fairly tender. Will be doing it again. Virtually no gamey flavor. :P


Yeah the gamey flavour comes from the blood I think, once you soak em in vinegar and salt that draws it out of the meat and just leaves you with virtually a chicken flavour which is fine by my as I don't like real gamey meat. The Milk is supposed to help tenderise the meat from my understanding.

Anyway glad you liked it mate, I'm going to do a few Bunny curries when I get some more, they should come up a treat I reckon. :drinks:


Cut the glands out of the back legs does wonders for that "gamey flavour"...i think thats where the strong pungent flavour comes from...

As an experiment, lately ive not added the salt too the soak, based on the fact that salt draws moisture out.
Cant say its made any noticable difference to be honest...any blood still seems to disperse.

As for blood clots within the body, i know im stating the obvious here, but ive found they are minimised if it gets a good gravity fed bleed...ie; hold a head shot bunny upisde down for a minute or 2 immediately after de-braining it with yr projectile before throwing it the ute, & the soak water seems to be considerably less pink & cleaner meat...

Ive tried to find out why we add the salt to the soak, & havent found a definative answer...
I can only assume it aids in breaking down the clots...
If anyone can tell me why its important to add the salt &/or vinegar id love to know why.
Ive always done it because thats what i was shown from a kid.

Cheers


My understanding is the salt draws out the blood which aids in a better taste and I think the vinegar does the same type thing and also tenderises too as does the milk (it's supposed to break down the muscles I think it is with it's enzymes or some such thing, either way all I know is it seems to work well, no gamey flavour so to speak of and the meat is very tender as a rule, very much like chicken. :thumbsup:

As a kid I remember being told to soak blackfish in milk to get the weedy taste out of it so I'd say the milk helps with the flavour side of things too. :unknown: all I know for certain is what I've been doing to the rabbits has been working so I'll continue to do so (never really liked rabbit before doing it this way) now I will happily eat it at every opportunity. :thumbsup:
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