We went on down to the Oregon Basin, which is a pretty excellent little destination here in Wyoming. Big open space full of sage brush and sandstone, and if you're lucky a few cottontails.
There are a few methods of rabbit hunting, some more difficult than others. We of course went with the most challenging one, because we ain't no weak and gutless wimps. They are generally hunted with shotguns, which is fine. This makes it easier because when you see them they are usually running very fast, and it's not easy to hit a small and fast moving target with a rifle. The only problem with the shotgun is that your rabbit ends up full of shotgun pellets, which you then have to remove from your meat, or your mouth. It is also possible to hunt them with a small caliber rifle such as a .22. That's what we did. As I said before, this can be difficult because they are generally on the run when you see them. So your best bet is to scare them out from their hidey holes, then wait for them to stop running and hope they've stopped somewhere you can get a shot off on them.
Because we are the amazing hunters that we are, we managed to get ourselves a rabbit. Yeah, I know, we're pretty awesome. And Mayran is a totally sweet shot!
Before you take it home, you'll want to gut it so your meat doesn't spoil. This is actually pretty easy, like maybe just a step above gutting a fish. Rabbits have really thin skin, that is easy to cut through. Generally after you've cut their bellies open you can just kind of give the rabbit a little heave-ho and most of the guts will just fly out. Watch this guy and he'll show you how it's done. He's like my new hero. Rabbits also have lots of fleas, so it's also good to let the body sit for a minute and cool down, at which time the fleas should all abandon ship.
Now pack up your dead things and your killing implements and head home. It's now time to clean your rabbit. This is not terribly difficult either. Our good friend Mr. Gilchrist has already done a pretty good job explaining it in the above video, but I will reiterate it, just for you. So, um, it should be gutted already, so now, like, pull off the skin and stuff, and then you're pretty much done. Yeah, look at you cleaning rabbits and all. Good job.
But like Mr. Gilchrist said, there really isn't any need to cut up the rabbit any further. They are a lot easier to cook hole. But if you wanted to, you could always quarter it or chop it into smaller or more serving-size-type pieces. I cut our rabbit up. Mostly because I got carried away with the butcher knife.
Mmmmmm...that does look tasty. What say we cook it now, eh? Ok!
You can prepare a rabbit any way you'd like. It's just another meat after all. However, you should know that rabbit meat can be EXTREMELY tough if you don't cook it right. It really needs to be slow cooked, for at least two hours. You could boil it (in a stew perhaps, with some taters) or throw it in a crock pot, maybe with some bbq sauce. Make yourself some biscuits and you’re good to go.
I used this recipe here, mostly because it included bacon. Bacon and rabbit: a winning combination?
This recipe wasn't actually my favorite. The sauce was a little bit too winy for my taste. Still pretty good thanks to the bacon, but not my favorite. It also required that all the meat be cut off the bone prior to cooking, although in hindsight I could've just boiled the rabbit first to get the meat off a bit easier. O well.
So I did end up with some meat scraps, but being the awesome person that I am, I didn't let anything go to waste. I saved all the bits that were deemed unfit for human consumption, which I plan on turning into cat food. For my cat. Because I love him. I also saved the bones for my dermestid beetles. Because I love them too.
The skull I cleaned up and made all pretty. I cut off all the fur and meat that I could, then I threw it in a pot and boiled it until some more meat came off. Then I dropped it in some peroxide to whiten it up and loosen up the rest of the meat. I scraped the last of the crud off with an X-acto.
I also attempted to "tan" the hide. I went with a very cheap and easy method, which isn't actually tanning at all. It should preserve it somewhat though, at least for a couple of years, maybe longer if I'm lucky. The method I used was as follows: I pinned the hide, skin side up, onto some cardboard. I then proceeded to coat it with anti-freeze. Yeah, that green stuff you put in your automobile. I brushed on a good coat, and then let it dry for a few days. You'll want to repeat this process maybe two or three more times after it dries. Then you've got yourself a rabbit fur. Go ahead and make a hat or something. If you wanted to properly tan a hide, I've been recommended this stuff. Each kit will fully tan 20 pounds of wet skin weight. Yeah, that’s a lot of wet skin.
So now you know all about killing rabbits. Go ahead and get yourself a small game license, and then find yourself some rabbits to shoot. Go! Go! Go!
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