Advice Needed - What to do with rabbits

[RichPWRR]

Hi,

 

Being new to rabbit shooting i have a couple of questions that i hope you can give me some help with. I have already been out a few times and managed to bag a few rabbits. I have skinned and gutted them but it is what to do after that that i need the advice on.

 

1. Is it better to leave the fur on while you are in the field or take it off when you gut them?

 

2. The two that I brought back were hung in the shed overnight and when i returned to them, they had gone into full rigor mortis. I assume this is normal but need to know how long it lasts and whether the meat is safe to remove and eat after the rigor mortis?

 

3. Is it better to remove the meat and put in the fridge/freezer as soon as you get back home or hang them overnight and wait for the rigor mortis to pass?

 

As you can probably tell i am a complete novice and therefore any help you can give me from 'the shot to the pot' would be gratefully received.

 

Thanks

[kyska]

Hi Mate,

 

After shooting I empty the bladder asap by running your thumb down the belly between its legs, and I also gut in the field but leave the coat on.

 

I tend to skin when I get home but if its a late night job I'll hang and leave till the morning.

 

Its perfectly normal for rigor mortis to occur and its perfectly safe to eat, pigs, cattle, lamb is hung for days and weeks. Skin asap as I presume you won't have a cold room.

 

Some people soak in salted water overnight, I don't.

 

Hi,

 

Being new to rabbit shooting i have a couple of questions that i hope you can give me some help with. I have already been out a few times and managed to bag a few rabbits. I have skinned and gutted them but it is what to do after that that i need the advice on.

 

1. Is it better to leave the fur on while you are in the field or take it off when you gut them?

 

2. The two that I brought back were hung in the shed overnight and when i returned to them, they had gone into full rigor mortis. I assume this is normal but need to know how long it lasts and whether the meat is safe to remove and eat after the rigor mortis?

 

3. Is it better to remove the meat and put in the fridge/freezer as soon as you get back home or hang them overnight and wait for the rigor mortis to pass?

 

As you can probably tell i am a complete novice and therefore any help you can give me from 'the shot to the pot' would be gratefully received.

 

Thanks

[al4x]

as said pee then gut ASAP in the field, then leave overnight as they tend to be covered in fleas which clear off as soon as the body goes cold. Then skin and process as soon as possible making sure they stay cool in the mean time

[chunkyed]

Once gutted and brought home i skin them and cut the good bits of meat off, wash it then store it in the fridge untill it is time to cook it. If you have a big bag like me and ss when we shot 30 we skinned them all and washed them. Then froze them untill they were needed.

[ollie]

Hi,

 

Being new to rabbit shooting i have a couple of questions that i hope you can give me some help with. I have already been out a few times and managed to bag a few rabbits. I have skinned and gutted them but it is what to do after that that i need the advice on.

 

1. Is it better to leave the fur on while you are in the field or take it off when you gut them?

 

2. The two that I brought back were hung in the shed overnight and when i returned to them, they had gone into full rigor mortis. I assume this is normal but need to know how long it lasts and whether the meat is safe to remove and eat after the rigor mortis?

 

3. Is it better to remove the meat and put in the fridge/freezer as soon as you get back home or hang them overnight and wait for the rigor mortis to pass?

 

As you can probably tell i am a complete novice and therefore any help you can give me from 'the shot to the pot' would be gratefully received.

 

Thanks

 

As a few people has already said I gut them within 5 mins of shooting and leave the skin on. Depending on the time of the year I will hang them; this time of year I would skin them within a day but during the cold winter they could be left for up to a week. When I skin the rabbit I take the saddle/loin off and the back legs, the dogs get the rest. I don't eat every rabbit I shoot, any which are badly shot is excellent feeding for my dogs.

[RichPWRR]

Thanks for the tips guys. they are pretty much what i expected. I assume that if i haven't already skinned them and taken the meat off the back and hind legs before rigor mortis sets in that it is better to wait until it passes and then do it.

 

Thanks again and any other tips on bagging bunnies are very welcome.

[mikee]

I pee the rabbits as soon as theyre shot to stop it running out in the back of my truck, then when we've finished shooting we gut all of them, we dont hang them this time of year but lay on a concrete garage floor overnight to help cool them down, skinned and frozen the next day, i never wash any game meat before its frozen only when its thawed out and ready for cooking

 

mikee

[George1990]

Yup if you don't gut soon after it'll taint the meat.

 

The way I prepare them it lop the legs and head off with a hatchet then push the blade through the pelvis, then you can spread it's legs and pull out it's poo-tube and other stringy bits.

 

If you're jointing, soaking in salt water overnight help blanch the sinues so you can remove them.

 

I find it easier to just boil the rabbit whole for 2 or 3 hours, then all the meat falls off and you get a lot more meat off it. Perfect for curries and such like.