The Verdict on Eating Rabbit
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I went from thinking that I could NEVER eat a cute furry rabbit, to raising a litter of our own adorable bunnies, to my husband processing them for meat, and finally ending up with a meal on the table.
I was skeptical about whether or not I would even like the taste of rabbit in general, much less when I knew how cute and sweet it was before it was on my plate. Everyone that I talked to about our intentions would ask with raised eyebrows, "Have you ever eaten rabbit?" And the answer was no, I had never even tried rabbit before we undertook this. From there I usually got one of two responses- they either loved rabbit and highly recommended it or thought it tasted gamey and tough and couldn't stand it. Which would I be???
We have now processed seven rabbits and eaten three of them, so here is what I have found so far and the experiments we have done.
The first rabbit we did not cook traditionally, but actually ground up (like beef) and used the rabbit as a ground beef substitute for half of the meat called for in my mom's tried and true spaghetti recipe. When we ate it, I couldn't tell a difference! Granted it was hiding, ground up in tiny pieces and mixed with half beef in a tomato-based sauce. I'm not convinced yet, but at least it's useful for something.
So we tried another rabbit, this time a whole rabbit cut into pieces and made into a French recipe- Honey Ginger Braised Rabbit with carrots. I adapted it to the crock pot and served it over rice (after all, I am from Louisiana and everything goes over rice). Once again, delicious! But was it just the strong ginger taste?
Finally, my favorite recipe so far- my husband made the rabbit the way his grandmother used to, cooked down into a Cajun Rabbit rice and gravy. Sooooo gooood! With three out of three winning recipes, I have made my decision...RABBIT IS DELICIOUS!
Not only is rabbit delicious, but it is also easy to raise, they multiply like, well, rabbits, they eat mainly leaves and grass, and it is one of the leanest meats. Seems like the verdict is pretty simple.
And with that I ready ready to raise another set of babies to bring home the bacon :) I have been completely won over, and now when I see our cute little rabbits, I see a scrumptious dinner!
