Cottontail recipes

[one shot scott]

Hey guys, I am in desperate need of some recipes for cottontail. I just took one out of the freezer that was munching on all the plants around the house this past winter, and I dont beleive in wasting the animal. I need something really mouth-watering, because as it turns out, I dont really care for cleaning a rabbit I can clean a deer without a second thought. But the bunny was a bit harder. a bit too small for my fat mits. So let me in on some real good ones! im in need.

[mikej]

the only way i have ate them is bbq'd it was good that way

[bbbwb]

Boil the carcass and remove the meat in chunks/pieces. Then deep fry pieces to resemble the chinese dish " chicken balls". Make a sweet and sour sauce and a side dish of fried rice and it will be the best substitute for the authentic dish.

bbbwb

[cdup]

I usually cook a spaghetti using ground deer meat,dear sausage, and debone the rabbit.

[Grizzly Adam]

Here's an 'ol timey method of fixing them that's hard to beat:

Cut your rabbit up in pieces, as you would a chicken
Prepare a dip with one beaten egg and enough milk to thin it out
Prepare a dredge of all-purpose flour, salt, red and black pepper
Ready an iron skillet by melting 1/4" inch of bacon grease at medium heat
Ready a pressure cooker
Dip your rabbit pieces and dredge (coat) them with the flour mixture & repeat
Brown the rabbit pieces in your iron skillet, turning until consistently browned
Place browned pieces in pressure cooker, add 1/2 cup of water (broth is better)
Lock lid in place, cook at 10 lbs. (medium) pressure for 15 minutes

Now, I don't know what you like to eat with such stuff, but while that rabbit was cooking, I'd have a cornbread or biscuits baking, and I'd be frying some 'taters.

The rabbit will make it's own gravy. If it needs thickened some, use a slurry made up of your leftover dredging flour.

If it's a very young rabbit, you can get by without the pressure cooking, and if you don't have a pressure cooker, you can do it by putting a lid on your fry pan, adding the water or broth, and baking in a 350 degree oven for an hour.

This method works for squirrel too ... and just about any small game.

And it is a way to do it that is, literally, "old as the hills".

Try it!

[lscha]

Yum! Anyone know how to 'age' a rabbit? (tell how old it is)

[ecoaster]

This is an easy, but time consuming recipe. It is an Acadian (east coast french) recipe that I grew up on. Second to none on a cold winter evening.

http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedeta ... ishid=6356

The pre-packaged grated potatoes are not a common item outside of southern Nova Scotia . Basically, the traditional way of making them was to peel and grate your potatoes. Then place them in a pillow case and squeeze all the water out of them that you can. Time consuming, but well worth the end result.

For the meat, we always used equal amounts of chicken and rabbit. The rabbit came out just as tender as the chicken once the pie was cooked. The final touch was to slow cook it in a wood stove oven. Not sure if it tasted better than if in a conventional oven, but man, did it smell great while it cooked.

[sumner4991]

There's a rabbit visiting the backyard in the evenings . . .it was a safe haven, until now. You guys are making me hungry.

[Cossack]

[quote="lscha"]Yum! Anyone know how to 'age' a rabbit?[/quote]

The most conspicuous features to age are size and color of meat. Young rabbits will be smaller or average size, older ones - esp bucks- will be larger and will have more prominent testicles. Meat of older ones is darker. Break the leg bones just above the feet, bones will be easier to break on young ones. You'll have to use a good good spam shears or tin snip for older ones.

My favorite way of cooking them is to brown them after dredging in flour, then bake them with low ft cream of mushroom or chicken soup/ sour cream and wild mushroom. Flavor with tarragon, rosemary, thyme. paprika S&P.
Bake in 325* oven, cover for 1 hr, uncover 1/2 hr or so. Serve with flat noodles, cabbage slaw and baby carrots boiled in beer, with a bit of brown sugar and dill weed. (brown the carrots first in a bit of butter).

[lscha]

Thank you Cossack.

I was going to post a recipe that I made up for domestic rabbit but it is too similar to yours (more fattening tho). Happens to be our favorite rabbit recipe too.

[sumner4991]

Come and get it!! Rascal came in for a little lunch. A few more of those and I'll not have to mow.

[ecoaster]

We are still months away from lawn mowers here .

[sumner4991]

The Bradford Pear blooms are gone and leaves are out. We have the Peach trees in full bloom. The Dogwood trees are about out, give them a couple of more days. And, yes, if it wasn't raining . . .I'd be mowing the yard today. AHhhhhh . . .spring is in the air . . .so is the pollen.

[Cossack]

Lucky you, summer. I passed through your fair state several times recently while traveling to and from Fla. We, got a blizzard yesterday 16" of snow. That, on top of a record crest in Fargo has got folks wondering if this is heaven after all.

[Grizzly Adam]

The Bradford Pear blooms are gone and leaves are out. We have the Peach trees in full bloom. The Dogwood trees are about out, give them a couple of more days. And, yes, if it wasn't raining . . .I'd be mowing the yard today. AHhhhhh . . .spring is in the air . . .so is the pollen.

'Bout the same here. Because of our coastal location, we're in the same temperate zone as much of the Deep South.

Could have mowed three weeks ago. Just hate to start!