Eating Roadkill Rabbit

[Barreti]

On our walk down to the shops this morning I found a pretty big dead rabbit at the side of the road. I moved it out of the road and there was no rigor in it, nor was it frozen solid so I think it was fairly recently kill.

Anyway, I went back and collected it and after watching This YouTube vid by Mark Gilchrist about how to gut and skin it I've got it done and in a pot of salted water. My first roadkill and the first time I've gutted anything other than fish since I was a kid.

So, to my questions, before I hopefully cook and eat it tomorrow.

The guts seemed intact but it was a bit smelly in there. Is this normal?
Rigor had set in by the time I got it home - is this a problem ?
Are there any other things I should worry about?

[Lost soul]

seems a bit pikey to me , lessun yous got cousens down south

[Barreti]

It was as much as anything an experiment to see if I really did have the stomach to gut and skin an animal, which I think as a meat-eater I have an obligation to be able to do.

Now I've got it cleaned I think I might as well eat it. But I wondered it if was OK to do.

See Quinny, I've not really gone there is method in my madness

Edited by Barreti on Sunday 31st January 16:23

[madbadger]

Relevant bits from Chapter 2 in A Cook on the Wild Side:

HughFW said:

ROADKILL

A surprising number of rabbits and hares are in quite a decent state.

The briefest of inspections will usually allow you to reject anything that is beyond the pale. If it all looks promising, a few further measures should allow you to rule it in or out of the pot.

1. Look very closely to see if anything moves. Reject if maggots are present.

2. Pull firmly at a leg or wing and turn the body over to check it is intact and whole. Lift up and feel the weight. It should be as expected, not light through dehydration. Check all sides and feel for decent meat - on the back legs for rabbit or breast on gamebirds.

3. If all is good so far risk a sniff. A hint of gaminess is nothing to worry about but if it mings then chuck it.

4. If it smells fine then it almost certainly is fine. If when skinning and gutting it transpires you have made a mistake you can always chuck it then.

Note also the tell tale signs of a very fresh kill. Uncoagulated or wet blood on the animal or tarmac; a warm carcass in cold weather; rigor mortis (onset is is usually after 4 - 6 hours and will last around 24 hours.)

By far the best season for roadkill is late Autumn or Winter. .. In really cold weather an unmolested carcass will remain in good condition for up to a week.

So it should be ok. Seeing as it is prepped you might as well cook it. Guts rarely smell very pleasant at the best of times and it sounds like you bunny is about as fresh as you will get.

[Mobile Chicane]

You wouldn't think twice about picking up, say, a windfall apple, so why should roadkill be any different?

If I happen across a pheasant, rabbit or woody and have the time to stop, I'll always have a look to see how fresh it is. No rigor mortis / a flurry of feathers at the scene indicate a recent kill.

Rabbit guts do stink, so I wouldn't worry about that. I clean them outside using vinyl disposable gloves. Skin, feathers and guts go into a carrier bag and straight in the outside bin. Meat gets washed off under the garden tap.

[FamilyGuy]

Is it still roadkill if I've chased it around a field for half an hour in a 4x4?

I'm impressed at the number of posters willing to get in there and get on with it. As a child my brother came home on his bike rather upset because he'd seen a bunny killed by a car. My mother handed him a bag and sent him straight back out. Nice stewed.

[anonymous-user]

The guts of rabbits can often be a bit stinky especialy if you pierce them! other than that if your eyes and nose say its ok it most likely is! get it in the pot!

[Barreti]

Thanks for the information guys.
Tomorrow I'll stew it for 2.1/2 hrs to get it nice and tender, then pick off all the meat and cover in Olive Oil in readiness for making his Rabbit and Tomato Pasta.

I can't wait !

[elster]

Barreti said:

Thanks for the information guys.
Tomorrow I'll stew it for 2.1/2 hrs to get it nice and tender, then pick off all the meat and cover in Olive Oil in readiness for making his Rabbit and Tomato Pasta.

I can't wait !

Can I recommend a Rabbit Curry. That is one of my favourites.

[markreilly]

Go for it,rabbit guts always stink to my nose,if i gut enough of them i start farting rabbit gut !

[Mobile Chicane]

I'd recommend the slow cook treatment, especially if it's an older animal.

It will need a bit of fat to lubricate the meat: I stew it with lardons of fatty bacon, a mirepoix of diced celery, carrot and onion, pine nuts, a few raisins, thyme and a splash of sweet wine - muscat or banyuls.

Serve with buttery mash and steamed kale.

[escargot]

MC where can you get banyuls in the uk?

[Mobile Chicane]

escargot said:

MC where can you get banyuls in the uk?

Berry Bros

[escargot]

Good to know. I've only ever tried the white.

[LordGrover]

Barreti said:

Thanks for the information guys.
Tomorrow I'll stew it for 2.1/2 hrs to get it nice and tender, then pick off all the meat and cover in Olive Oil in readiness for making his Rabbit and Tomato Pasta.

I can't wait !

If the rabbit's any good, can we expect a cow-catcher affair on the front of the Griff at the Growl?

[markcjd]

Barreti said:

The guts seemed intact but it was a bit smelly in there. Is this normal?

Yes, Rabbits guts stink, the worst of all animals to clean IMHO.

Barreti said:

Rigor had set in by the time I got it home - is this a problem ?

Perfectly normal and shows that the animal was not too long dead when you found it. In larger carcases rigor mortis is essential prior to butchering.

Barreti said:

Are there any other things I should worry about?

Not really. Which wine will go with it?

For the future try to remove urine from the bladder as soon after death as possible. Holding the rabbit head up facing away from you run your thumb down the lower stomach towards the genitals applying some pressure to achieve this. In addition get into the habbit of inspecting the liver/lungs/kidneys for colour and condition paying particular attention to spots or lesions.

[Barreti]

LordGrover said:

If the rabbit's any good, can we expect a cow-catcher affair on the front of the Griff at the Growl?

Err, no. Boot rack maybe though eh. I'm certainly going to carry a bin bag in the boot from now on

markcjd said:

For the future try to remove urine from the bladder as soon after death as possible. Holding the rabbit head up facing away from you run your thumb down the lower stomach towards the genitals applying some pressure to achieve this. In addition get into the habbit of inspecting the liver/lungs/kidneys for colour and condition paying particular attention to spots or lesions.

Thanks for your very comprehensive response markcjd
I read about getting them to wee, but didn't realise it needed to be ASAP, very worth remembering thanks.
I didn't check any of the offal, though it did seem awfully full in there. I put this down to the RTA and perhaps some internal bleeding?

I'm colourblind, so I really don't want to be relying on anything involving colour. It think if the animal looks like it was healthy keep it, anything other and it goes in the bin. Best to be safe than sorry.

Oddly, Mrs B is usually fine with dead animals, and eats anything except offal, but she really wants nothing to do with this and it made her feel sick to see it either with or without its fur.
Considering she raves about Ox Tail, and think what that spends its life being bathed in, I think she is being very odd about a rabbit

[Cotty]

Mobile Chicane said:

Rabbit guts do stink, so I wouldn't worry about that. I clean them outside using vinyl disposable gloves. Skin, feathers and guts go into a carrier bag and straight in the outside bin. Meat gets washed off under the garden tap.

Funny old rabbits round your way

I haven't tried rabbit in years, must give it a go again, however, tenderising by Pirelli will not be the way I go.

[escargot]

markcjd said:

Barreti said:

The guts seemed intact but it was a bit smelly in there. Is this normal?

Yes, Rabbits guts stink, the worst of all animals to clean IMHO.

Barreti said:

Rigor had set in by the time I got it home - is this a problem ?

Perfectly normal and shows that the animal was not too long dead when you found it. In larger carcases rigor mortis is essential prior to butchering.

Barreti said:

Are there any other things I should worry about?

Not really. Which wine will go with it?

For the future try to remove urine from the bladder as soon after death as possible. Holding the rabbit head up facing away from you run your thumb down the lower stomach towards the genitals applying some pressure to achieve this. In addition get into the habbit of inspecting the liver/lungs/kidneys for colour and condition paying particular attention to spots or lesions.

I was always taught to try and gut the rabbit fully as soon as you can. (That and poking any nuggets of poo back up it's passage).

[dcw@pr]

markcjd said:

Yes, Rabbits guts stink, the worst of all animals to clean IMHO
.

hares smell much stronger than rabbits