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A friend with a field is going to give me the next rabbit they shoot. I've plucked and drawn a dead bird (once) before but this is a new challenge for me. My friend will give me some guidelines but won't be able to talk me through it, so I'm reading up.

Anyone out there done this recently? If experienced, did you find it difficult first time round?

This lifelong omnivore wants to be able to eat occasional and ethical meat without relying on someone else doing the dirty work.

Hi tattercoats,

See Paunching & Skinning a Rabbit, but of course there's more than one way.

Ahhh - fond memories of lamping.

I haven't done this for 20 years but.....

You'll need a sharp hand axe, a cutting block/log, a sharp knife and a few sheets of newspaper (don't put the skinned rabbit on this, its for the guts) or plastic bag and be outside if possible.

Get hold of the rabbit as warm as possible - the more freshly killed, the easier to remove the skin.

Chop the legs off at the knee/elbow with the axe.

Pull the skin from one back leg and then the other. Pull the skin away from the hindquarters until you have a handful and then take that in one hand and the back legs in the other and pull apart.

With a little manouvering and judicious use of the knife you should end up
with a carcass with all the skin pulled over the head. Chop the head and skin off.

Find the bottom of the rib-cage and stick in the point of the knife in a little way. The aim here is to cut the flesh, not puncture the guts.

Hold the skin away from the guts and cut down right to the anus. Then come the grim bit which is much more pleasant if you haven't nicked the guts.

Hold the forelegs in one hand and put three or four fingers inside the body cavity reaching up under the ribs and grasp/scrape everything out onto the newspaper.

Rinse the body cavity throughly under a running tap and retrieve any organs you might want. Remove any visible shot.

The worse bit is putting your hand in a warm body and its ten times worse if you've cut the guts.

Thank you both very much!

I'll let you know how I get on... this is assuming I get a rabbit, that is. S*d's law says there'll be no bunnies when I need one.

Fingers crossed, anyway, and thanks, guys.

Oh my God! is that how you deal with a rabbit? let alone kill the thing in the first place
It's gonna be 100% vegetarianism for me! (90% at moment)

Well I will be hunting wild black puddings here in Lancashire. Not sure how you prepare one, though!

Andy
http://greencottage.burysolarclub.net

Page 173 of "The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency" by John Seymour has illustrated step-by-step instructions on skinning a rabbit.

I'd strongly recommend this book - the foreword and introduction alone were incredibly inspiring - but it has loads of detail and is really easy to understand - a good thing when you're trying to cram endless info into a tired, after-work brain

Carla Emery's excellent "Encyclopedia of Country Living" also has instructions on butchering, storing and cooking rabbits.

tattercoats wrote:A friend with a field is going to give me the next rabbit they shoot.

As others have covered the technique, I'll just add that the sooner you skin it after death the easier it is. Within a few minutes the skin peals off very easily.

My favourite recipe is very simple. Joint the rabbit then pan fry till golden brown and fairly crispy round the edges in virgin olive oil with a *LOT* of garlic crushed into it. Serve with new potatoes and green beans. Eat with your fingers (Just the rabbit - not the veg!) . Delicious. This is a Spanish way of cooking rabbit..