Hare Hunting Milestone: Bag Limit!

[markomoose]

Hare assassin! You have a lot of patience.Shot a couple a few years back.Found them tough?

[HarryToolips]

That's incredible hare assassin...how do you do it? I have only ever been able to nail one before in the winter, granted on snowshoes I'm usually movin pretty quick..I see lots of tracks everywhere, but rarely rabbits..do you usually hunt them on snow-packed roads?? Re-planted cut-blocks? Old-growth forests??

[rides bike to work]

Way to go hare assassin I love your snowshoe threads I went out a few times this year had troubles finding many tracks but did manage one and it taste great simmered in some white wine with some mushrooms. Gonna have to find me a honey hole like the one you got .

[coconut54]

Congrats! Do you sit and wait or do you just go hiking and take them when you see them?
I am hoping to get a few more this year with my bow. Thanks for the pictures.

[B-rad]

Woooohooo,,my fellow kamloopsian still at it,,,,haven't heard from ya in a while,,,,I bagging an average of 2-5 a week,,,,am lovin it,,,even tried making some jerky with em turned out great,,,,,awesome 10 bunnie limit bud,congrats

[snow]

hare_assassin you rock!

[Lionhill]

Very nice indeed. All in the snow line, or where they hanging out on the edge. By your photo, a couple look like they are going through the colour change soon.

Good to do while the kids are out on spring break!

Great work.

[jeff341]

If you're finding the hares tough, maybe the cooking method doesn't suit the meat. If you want a nice way to enjoy the whole animal, then it's best to treat it as two parts. The first part, both front and hind legs........theses are definitely best suited to a long slow cooking process. Braising is a great way to make these parts tender and soft. If you season them well with salt and pepper, brush them with Dijon mustard and slow cook in a white wine and stock braisage with fresh rosemary, sage and thyme they are perfect to eat on their own, or broken into a pasta or risotto. Probably at least 3 hours in a low oven......maybe 275*

Next comes the best part....the saddle. I always try to clean this part very carefully and leave it intact and remove the spine ad leave the belly flaps a large as possible.
This meat does better with a hard sear in a fry pan with lots of colour. I generally stuff the sadle with a soft bread and herb stuffing....nuts are nice....bacon too....and roll it tightly using the belly and some butchers twine to hold it. Now after a good sear and lots of caramelization on the presentation side of the roll....put it into a hot oven maybe 375* for about twenty minutes and then let it rest. Remove the twine, slice into four or five depending on size.....serve it over some of that risotto you made with the braised leg meat.....grilled apples....smoked cheddar to finish....little olive oil.

done.

[kurtl]

Nice Job hare_assassin!! I've been going out to "my spot" and exploring around. Tons of sign everywhere (tracks, poops and nibbled branches), but have only seen one hare so far. I was snowshoeing up a deactivated road on the weekend that is still waist deep in snow. Out on nowhere the hare came tearing out of the bush and took off down the road in front of me but there was a bit of a crest on the road so it disappeared in behind it and I couldn't actually see where it went. It spooked pretty easy as I would say it was about 70-80 meters away when it bolted out onto the road. Might be hard to get one if they spook from that distance, but it's fun to get out and explore around.

[hare_assassin]

Hare assassin! You have a lot of patience.Shot a couple a few years back.Found them tough?

I think I am more determined than I am patient. The guys with the real patience are the WT hunters!

The meat can be tough if it is not prepared and cooked appropriately. The same can be said for most extremely lean, wild meats, but with grouse, deer, moose, etc. you have 2 options; a) cook it rare, or b) cook it slow, with liquid. Hare meat should not be consumed rare, so the only good options (especially for legs) are to braise it, simmer it, or put it in a slow cooker (soups, stews, etc.). If you cook it fully on the BBQ, as you would chicken, get ready to do some chewing! One exception to this is if you brine/marinate the meat for 24 hours in advance and then BBQ it. I tried that once, based on a recommendation from a member here, and it was quite good. The saddle (back straps) tend to cook up quite differently than the legs, and can be used in different recipes.

That's incredible hare assassin...how do you do it? I have only ever been able to nail one before in the winter, granted on snowshoes I'm usually movin pretty quick..I see lots of tracks everywhere, but rarely rabbits..do you usually hunt them on snow-packed roads?? Re-planted cut-blocks? Old-growth forests??

If you are seeing lots of tracks, then there are lots of hares around (too obvious? ). Re-planted cut-blocks which are adjacent to older growth, with some deciduous dead-fall and lots of shrubbery. If you are amongst 12-15 foot Christmas trees with areas of dead-fall and some thick shrubbery, you are going to see the little buggers. Take 5 or 6 steps, stop, look everywhere. Repeat.

Way to go hare assassin I love your snowshoe threads I went out a few times this year had troubles finding many tracks but did manage one and it taste great simmered in some white wine with some mushrooms. Gonna have to find me a honey hole like the one you got .

Thanks! I've had queries about good spots in the LML, but unfortunately I have no idea where to hunt them down there. Best of luck finding them!

Congrats! Do you sit and wait or do you just go hiking and take them when you see them?
I am hoping to get a few more this year with my bow. Thanks for the pictures.

Thank you. I go snowshoeing (or hiking, depending on season). As I said above. Take a few steps, stop, look everywhere (including behind), repeat. Paraphrasing some famous hunter (can't remember who); if you want to see animals, move very little and look around a lot.

Woooohooo,,my fellow kamloopsian still at it,,,,haven't heard from ya in a while,,,,I bagging an average of 2-5 a week,,,,am lovin it,,,even tried making some jerky with em turned out great,,,,,awesome 10 bunnie limit bud,congrats

Cheers, man! Glad to hear someone else out there is taking advantage of BC's most under-rated and under-utilized game species. Jerky, eh? I'll have to try that!

hare_assassin you rock!

Thanks!

Very nice indeed. All in the snow line, or where they hanging out on the edge. By your photo, a couple look like they are going through the colour change soon.

Good to do while the kids are out on spring break!

Great work.

Thanks very much! They are all way up in the snow (the ones I hunt, anyway), not near the snow line at all. Snow is still over a meter deep. Some darker hair is always there under the really white stuff, even in January/February. Normally it isn't visible, but when the hair gets all messed up the darker hair shows. Their feet and ears are never "pure white" either, in my experience.

If you're finding the hares tough, maybe the cooking method doesn't suit the meat. If you want a nice way to enjoy the whole animal, then it's best to treat it as two parts. The first part, both front and hind legs........theses are definitely best suited to a long slow cooking process. Braising is a great way to make these parts tender and soft. If you season them well with salt and pepper, brush them with Dijon mustard and slow cook in a white wine and stock braisage with fresh rosemary, sage and thyme they are perfect to eat on their own, or broken into a pasta or risotto. Probably at least 3 hours in a low oven......maybe 275*

Next comes the best part....the saddle. I always try to clean this part very carefully and leave it intact and remove the spine ad leave the belly flaps a large as possible.
This meat does better with a hard sear in a fry pan with lots of colour. I generally stuff the sadle with a soft bread and herb stuffing....nuts are nice....bacon too....and roll it tightly using the belly and some butchers twine to hold it. Now after a good sear and lots of caramelization on the presentation side of the roll....put it into a hot oven maybe 375* for about twenty minutes and then let it rest. Remove the twine, slice into four or five depending on size.....serve it over some of that risotto you made with the braised leg meat.....grilled apples....smoked cheddar to finish....little olive oil.

done.

Ah, someone who takes game cooking as seriously as I do! Nice. Thanks for your post!

I have only cooked the whole hare as a single meal a few times. As you noted, the different cuts are best enjoyed cooked in different ways. The nice thing about harvesting a bunch of them at a time is that the cuts can be grouped and portioned accordingly. First, I soak them in a basin of cold water with a fist full of salt overnight:



The next day, I take the time to debone them. I end up with:

Nice Job hare_assassin!! I've been going out to "my spot" and exploring around. Tons of sign everywhere (tracks, poops and nibbled branches), but have only seen one hare so far. I was snowshoeing up a deactivated road on the weekend that is still waist deep in snow. Out on nowhere the hare came tearing out of the bush and took off down the road in front of me but there was a bit of a crest on the road so it disappeared in behind it and I couldn't actually see where it went. It spooked pretty easy as I would say it was about 70-80 meters away when it bolted out onto the road. Might be hard to get one if they spook from that distance, but it's fun to get out and explore around.

Thanks! Glad to hear you are getting out there. It sounds like you have found a very good spot. Keeping hitting that area, but get off the deactivated road and into the thick stuff once in a while. The place I hunt has a snow-covered road/trail that goes up through it. Once in a while I get lucky and shoot a few from the road, but I find a lot more once I go into the thicker stuff. Also, some days the hares are very freaked out and they stay well ahead/away from me. Then I go back a week later and those same hares often just sit there till I am within 20m. I bet you walked past dozens and dozens of hares that day. They are not easy to spot until you get the hang of it. Once you do, you will see them more consistently. Don't get discouraged. Put in the time and keep going back. You'll get some. They are there.