Rabbit meat is becoming a thing in the US.

[Fritzo]

I have to avoid eating rabbit in the evenings...it makes me jumpy.

 

[bigi]

Rabbit meat is excellent if it comes from non-farmed animal. To an extent a meat is a meat. Yes, rabbit tastes differently from pig but the major factor is what is the meat/animal fed with.

Considering that most of farmed any kind of meat is pure garbage due to the way is is being produced and fed, I'd not stick to much to whether it comes from rabbit, horse or pig and cow.

Last time I checked, 80% of all antibiotics produced in the US ends up in farmed meat. If I had a choice between crap and antibiotics fed meat vs backyard grass feed rabbit, the latter wold be on my plate for sure.

 

[Denly]

Rabbit taste tons better than chicken but it have a bit of a gamey smelt that might drive people off. For those that don't know what to do with it just chop it up, brown it and throw it into a slow cooker along with the usually things. Rabbit also make good soup.

I my part of the world I wish that rabbit isn't so expensive compared to other meat so I can replace chicken with it.

Is it very hard to prep the carcass? Never prep a mammal.

 

[WelshBloke]

Is it very hard to prep the carcass? Never prep a mammal.

Much easier than a bird. The skin peels off in one piece and the innards come out cleanly. There's a lot of guts in a bunny though so you start out with a plump dead bunny and end up with hardly any meat.

 

[pcgeek11]

If you are cleaning wild rabbits make sure you have no cuts on your hands and wear gloves, don't get the raw body fluids in you. Rabbit fever is a thing.

https://1source.basspro.com/index.p...ame-hunting/681-steps-to-prevent-rabbit-fever

When cleaning game animals, especially rabbits, hunters should wear long sleeves eye protection and gloves. All utensils and equipment used in the process should be thoroughly disinfected. Check the liver for white or yellow spots. If the liver appears bright, but has no spots, cook the meat through. The tularemia bacteria can be killed with heat over 160 degrees.

Avoid rabbits in the field that appear lazy or abnormal.

 

[WelshBloke]

If you are cleaning wild rabbits make sure you have no cuts on your hands and wear gloves, don't get the raw body fluids in you. Rabbit fever is a thing.

https://1source.basspro.com/index.p...ame-hunting/681-steps-to-prevent-rabbit-fever

When cleaning game animals, especially rabbits, hunters should wear long sleeves eye protection and gloves. All utensils and equipment used in the process should be thoroughly disinfected. Check the liver for white or yellow spots. If the liver appears bright, but has no spots, cook the meat through. The tularemia bacteria can be killed with heat over 160 degrees.

Avoid rabbits in the field that appear lazy or abnormal.

We don't get that here. We get mixi but that doesn't affect people and no ones going to eat a rabbit with mixi!

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Lean meat from an easy to raise and replenish stock being more plentiful is a good thing, and I'll wager a guess and say rabbit is easier on the environment than pork or beef.

BIG difference between beef and pork. Cattle are very expensive to raise and have a high cost for each pound of meat sold. Pork and chicken are a hell of a lot better, they're fairly environmentally friendly, produce a lot less greenhouse gas and consume a lot less feed for each pound of meat you can get off them. I can't image raising rabbits for meat would be nearly as efficient as chicken and pork.

 

[pcgeek11]

We don't get that here. We get mixi but that doesn't affect people and no ones going to eat a rabbit with mixi!

Rabbits are safe as long as they are checked and prepared properly just like any meat.

 

[NetWareHead]

Is it very hard to prep the carcass? Never prep a mammal.

If you have experience slaughtering an animal, rabbit is not that different. Same principles apply as with other animals.

Be careful when removing the gall bladder, don't spill the nasty bile as it will taint the meat. Remove the entire thing in one piece. Don't puncture the intestines or bladder. Examine the liver for any abnormalities, discard the carcass if so. Wear gloves when restraining the rabbit, they will kick and scratch the hell out of you.

 

[pcgeek11]

BIG difference between beef and pork. Cattle are very expensive to raise and have a high cost for each pound of meat sold. Pork and chicken are a hell of a lot better, they're fairly environmentally friendly, produce a lot less greenhouse gas and consume a lot less feed for each pound of meat you can get off them. I can't image raising rabbits for meat would be nearly as efficient as chicken and pork.

Rabbits also eat some of their own poop to get more out of it.

 

[NetWareHead]

I can't image raising rabbits for meat would be nearly as efficient as chicken and pork.

You need far less space to raise rabbits vs an equal number of chickens. We had say 50 rabbits in the space of a typical back yard shed. 50 chickens would need a large open run. They multiply far faster than chickens and once you have 50+ you can slaughter a few a week and they will replenish themselves with no losses to your numbers. The male rabbit doesn't crow and piss off everyone at 4 am like a rooster; you obviously need a rooster to replenish your stock. Rabbit poop being in pellet form is easy to shoveled out from under cages and can be immediately used in a garden as fertilizer. Chickens waste is too strong and will burn plants if not composted first.

It's not a fair comparison though. Chickens might not give u as much meat as rabbits but u get a ton of eggs. Rabbits are all meat. Chickens slow down or totally stop their egg production in the winter while rabbits keep on mating and reproducing quickly all season long.

 

[WelshBloke]

Rabbits are safe as long as they are checked and prepared properly just like any meat.

Still tastes like rabbit though!

 

[highland145]

Avoid rabbits in the field that appear lazy or abnormal.

American variety.

 

[kranky]

We have friends who grew up poor way out in the sticks of upper NY state. They moved to the city so he could attend a trade school for a couple years, and rented a house in a blue-collar suburban neighborhood not far from us. Money was very tight for them and they raised rabbits for food - some breed of giant rabbit. Their neighbors would call the police on them about every 4-5 weeks insisting they were not caring properly for their rabbits which were always caged outside. The police would come, ask a couple questions, and leave without any action. The neighbors would never talk to our friends directly.

Then when our friends were moving away for a new job after he finished trade school, the nosy neighbors saw a bunch of us carrying things to the moving van and chose that time to walk over to chat. Neighbor says "We are so happy to see you're moving away. I don't know how you got away with pretending you had pets when you were really running a business selling rabbits. We knew that's what you were doing and you didn't have a permit or anything. That's against the law."

My friend said "We never sold a single rabbit. We raised them to eat."

The neighbor sneered and said, "Nobody eats rabbits, I'm not buying that bullshit." Then turned and walked away.

 

[Denly]

If you have experience slaughtering an animal, rabbit is not that different. Same principles apply as with other animals.

Be careful when removing the gall bladder, don't spill the nasty bile as it will taint the meat. Remove the entire thing in one piece. Don't puncture the intestines or bladder. Examine the liver for any abnormalities, discard the carcass if so. Wear gloves when restraining the rabbit, they will kick and scratch the hell out of you.

Not sure if I went over the line by asking this, what's the most humane way to "off" a rabbit? I had exp with fishes and limited exp with chickens.

 

[NetWareHead]

Not sure if I went over the line by asking this, what's the most humane way to "off" a rabbit? I had exp with fishes and limited exp with chickens.

Grab with one hand by the ears and other hand at the rear legs, use gloves bc they will scratch you worse than a cat. The hand grasping the rear legs should be holding the calves and ankles of the rabbit. The rabbit is a reverse knee jointed animal so the knee should naturally fold over the side of your hand and thighs of the rabbit should be resting against the back of your hand. Let go of the ears and allow the rabbit to dangle by your grasp of the calves/ankles.

With your free hand, use the blunt back edge of a meat cleaver to deliver a strong blow to the back of the skull, above where the neck meets the skull. This will stun the rabbit. Make it a good blow, dont pussyfoot around here. We are trying to be as humane as possible and that is directly decided by your ability to stun the rabbit and knock it unconscious. If the rabbit shakes or tries to move after the first blow, quickly give him another. When the rabbit is still, lay the body on its side on a chopping block and use a sharp knife to slice the throat open, on both sides making sure to sever both jugular vein and carotid artery. Have a small meat hook suitable for small game and pierce the knee of one back leg. Allow the rabbit to hang upside down. Stunning and cutting the throat allow the brain to signal the heart to continue pumping which makes it easier to drain the body. After 10 or so minutes, use the sharp end of the cleaver to remove the whole head, the paws at the wrists and ankle sections and proceed to skin the body, eviscerate it and inspect the meat for edibility.

 

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

I agree that the rabbits can mess you up worse than a cat. We raised rabbits and chickens in the 70's and 80's. Some of our rabbits got loose and bred with the local wild ones, and for years we saw wild white rabbits around the area. (most were naturally darker colored) Once I went out to burn our farm/household trash in our burn barrel, and there was a rabbit there nearby in the weeds. It must have thought I couldn't see it initially, but then it freaked out and started going full tilt - directly at my legs! When it hit, it let out a little squeal and died, with some blood running out of his nose. It was the strangest incident of attack/kamikaze suicide that I've ever personally witnessed in the animal kingdom.

That being said, the meat is tasty, and you can easily make some really nice mittens with the pelt.

 

[Mike64]

My friend said "We never sold a single rabbit. We raised them to eat."
The neighbor sneered and said, "Nobody eats rabbits, I'm not buying that bullshit." Then turned and walked away.

Pity they didn't think of leaving a "going away present" of a freshly slaughtered rabbit, instructions on dressing it, and maybe a recipe or two on the neighbor's front porch/stoop/whatever ...

 

[gorobei]

BIG difference between beef and pork. Cattle are very expensive to raise and have a high cost for each pound of meat sold. Pork and chicken are a hell of a lot better, they're fairly environmentally friendly, produce a lot less greenhouse gas and consume a lot less feed for each pound of meat you can get off them. I can't image raising rabbits for meat would be nearly as efficient as chicken and pork.

the term is FeedConversionRatio FCR = number of pounds of feed grain required to generate 1 pound of meat for the given animal.
the numbers vary for genetics and age and species so the averages listed can vary. also each industry's promotional group (pork/poultry/beef) tends to put out its own more favorable numbers.

but the general breakdown:
insect ~.5 lbs
fish ~1.5 lbs
poultry 1.7-2.0 lbs
rabbit ~2.5 lbs
pork ~3.5 lbs
beef 4.5-5 lbs

also a feed cow isnt the same as a milk cow, same for egg hens and roaster hens. the farm/homestead forums list all kinds of dietary requirements for rabbit vs chicken with health being the main issue for/against one or the other.

given that mass produced chicken tends to have massive health issues due to crowding leading to more disease/contamination, smaller local raised rabbit may avoid some of these problems.