Any risks in eating wild rabbit

[Pferdestarke]

My Brother in Law has started shooting a few pesky bunnies with an air rifle and I made a delicious cider, cream, stock, veg and rabbit fricassee yesterday.

I skinned and gutted the rabbit within an hour and purged overnight in lightly salted water. I then simmered the cleaned carcass for two hours and left it to cool. The meat was pulled and added to the rest of the simmering ingredients and the liquor was reduced. A splash of cream and a dab of Tewksbury was added, then I tweaked the seasoning and it was very tasty indeed.

Am I going to die of rabies or myxomatosis?

[Mrs Fish]

Nope, we have been eating the bunnies out of the field next to us and we are ok :-)

Plus you can usually tell once shot if they are diseased or not.

Enjoy your rabbits, nice cheap food

[davethebunny]

sounds yum.

What is 'tewkesbury' BTW?

[Lardydah]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tewkesbury_mustard


Never had rabbit, must put it on my todo list!

[tontoro]

your method is fine for stewing, but if you do a faster cooking method you will have to hang them for a week or more in a cool place, otherwise they will be very tough (unless very young). Even after this they can be rather difficult to cook!

I very much recommend this recipe, but it is a hassle. BAck legs take more confiting than it says in the recipe too

http://community.rivercottage.net/users/Winters%20...

[Mobile Chicane]

Rabbit is ideal for slow cooking, which would be my preferred method, especially if you've never eaten it before.

Try it braised in dry muscat wine on a mirepoix of carrot, onion and celery, with some pine nuts and sultanas thrown in towards the end.

Rabbit is quite a sweetish meat, and suits being stewed with dried fruits - Agen prunes being another classic treatment.

[magpie215]

when paunching take a look at the liver if speckled/blotchy leave it for the foxes if it looks nice and healthy one for the pot :-)

[Shaw Tarse]

Wild rabbit is the meat can taste different depending on what Bugs has been eating.

[21TonyK]

One of my "kitchen helpers" hunts with a falcon and regularly brings me headless rabbits (bird gets the head).

Go down well in a Paella :-)

[captainzep]

I like rabbit.

A chef once suggested a whiskey and tomato sauce to me. Haven't done it yet.

Any rabbit I have often finds itself in a filthy game sauce under some pastry.

[WestYorkie]

21TonyK said:

Go down well in a Paella :-)

And Risotto.

[Tokoloshe]

But they look so cute!! God made rabbits to look cute, not to eat, that's what he invented Cows for

But seriously, with all the different types of quality meats readily available, rabbit seems like a lot of hassle to prepare for something that'll quite likely be very tough, worth the hassle?

[Pete Franklin]

Tokoloshe said:

But they look so cute!! God made rabbits to look cute, not to eat, that's what he invented Cows for

But seriously, with all the different types of quality meats readily available, rabbit seems like a lot of hassle to prepare for something that'll quite likely be very tough, worth the hassle?

Yeah but its free and abundent, and tastes good when prepepared properly. plus its ecologically sound to eat em as they are a pest.

[Don]

Tokoloshe said:

But seriously, with all the different types of quality meats readily available, rabbit seems like a lot of hassle to prepare for something that'll quite likely be very tough, worth the hassle?

Slow cooker fixes the "tough" problem...

[escargot]

Tokoloshe said:

But they look so cute!! God made rabbits to look cute, not to eat, that's what he invented Cows for

But seriously, with all the different types of quality meats readily available, rabbit seems like a lot of hassle to prepare for something that'll quite likely be very tough, worth the hassle?

It's definitely worth the hassle and isn't tough at all if prepared properly.