Rabbits - When is the best time to hunt them for quality of the meat?

[4x4]

Hello everyone,

Been lurking for about a year (since I got my PAL and CORE). I have never hunted before but am interested in starting out with rabbits and grouse. I'm not interested in shooting an animal I won't or can't eat.

I've had the domestic store bought rabbits and I really like them. Out of ten people I spoke to 8 told me wild rabbits taste horrible. My brother who is an avid hunter eats them all the time but he prefers to hunt/eat them in October on. He says brown/ gray going to white is the best time to eat them where he lives in Elkford.

So tell me gang how do wild rabbits taste? I imagine time of year and location must make a difference.

Thanks

[Steelpulse]

They taste great all the time in my experience, but I've run in to people in the bush who question whether or not ducks are edible in BC, to them I say Ohh ya can't eat them ducks don't even bother trying, more for me to hunt and dine on the fantastic game we have in BC, every animal provides us with an awesome culinary adventure, next on the list, the Wilson's snipe, roast and skewered with its own beak. Anyways eat the rabbit and grouse they are awesome table fare

[Fella]

You'll find a range of opinions on just about any game meat in bc. Some people won't touch bear, some hate duck, etc. it's mostly personal preference (though bears can taste foul if they've been dining on fish and carrion)

[Singleshotneeded]

Snowshoe hares taste best from August 1st until November...when they're eating green deciduous plants they're tasty, in November when that's died out and they're eating bark, etc., then the taste rapidly goes downhill. Hares are a bit tougher than domestic rabbits, so don't overcook them if you're making them cacciatore(hunter) style or hasenpfeffer. A tasty way to do them is over 8 hours in a slow cooker with bacon, beans, onions, etc.. The people that told you they taste bad probably ate hares shot in winter, or shot by dim peeps that stick them in a sack all day and clean them that evening. Game should be skinned and cleaned asap, and I like to rinse them with water afterwards as well, and stick them in a cooler...that keeps them tasty.

[4x4]

Funny enough my Bro just sent me a text. He got a rabbit for dinner tonight. Prety much all the posts so far is what he has also told me. Looks like I'm going to go rabbit hunting this year. Grouse would be a bonus on those trips. Love grouse, had it many times and always tasted delicious.

One of my brother's rabbit recipes: rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper, butter, chili flakes, olive oil, white wine. Cast iron frying pan, braze 5 minutes put in the oven for 11/2 hours covered. He sometimes soaks the rabbit in vinegar and water overnight in the fridge to tenderize it.

Thx for the replies.

Dennis

[ElliotMoose]

Slow cook for sure! I like to do them in a stew with a can or two of guiness in the mix. Plenty of good recipes on the internet

[Xenomorph]

Slow cook for sure! I like to do them in a stew with a can or two of guiness in the mix. Plenty of good recipes on the internet

Drowned in a bottle of white wine with specific French herbs is how to have a hare cooked. :)

[finngun]

reason for ..not so tasty rabbit meat at wintertime is...wasky wabbits eat they own pellets.[recycling] when food is scary:mrgreen:

[HarryToolips]

I've only been lucky enough to get em early august or fall...I find they taste kinda like chicken, so not bad at all...

[ElectricDyck]

I shot one when we were camping with the family. Just for a joke I did the gutless method and then deboned it. I dropped the meat strips into a frying pan with butter and montreal steak spice and just barely cooked it through. It was tender and tasted amazing, even the wives gave it the thumbs up.

[TravisC]

bag your self up a couple grouse and a rabbit debone everything and cube it up throw it in to a hot skillet with onions, bacon and some steak spice , garlic and franks hot makes 1 heck of a delicious meat mixture and if you have some deer stakes or a chicken breast add that too. Have that with beans and rice all mixed together and your in for a explosion of taste in your mouth and your tent later and possibly the next day too :) An awesome camp dinner followed with a crown and ginger to wash it down that's money right there.

[Singleshotneeded]

Damn, you gents are making me hungry and I just ate a big bowl of rabbit chili for dinner...:-)

[HIGHRPM]

The best tasting rabbits I have ever had have been in the fall. My favorite cooking method is sweet and sour home made sauce and cook in a slow cooker all day, dam tasty !

[riflebuilder]

One time me and a bud went up north bear hunting and forgot the box of food on the counter....so it was rabbit everything for a week. mostly slow cooked over a bed of coals with just a dash of galric salt and pepper. Even after 7 days of only eating rabbit they still tasted good. Not a very strong flavored meat so good with most anything.