Raising meat rabbits is an economical way of ensuring your source of meat is healthy and free of chemicals. More so, rabbit meat is more nutritious than chicken because it contains less fat, and more protein and is more delicious. In that case, how do you clean and process a rabbit for meat?
Slaughtering rabbits as humanely as possible is essential in getting good quality rabbit meat with a chicken-like taste. When rabbits go through stress during the slaughtering process, it releases adrenaline and other hormones that toughen the meat and affect its flavor.
The process of preparing rabbits from the farm to the table, ready to eat, might sound like a lot of work initially. Still, the more often you do it, the easier it becomes. Besides, as you read on, this article will help you break it down, making the task less daunting. We discuss the following in this article:
- At What Age Do You Process a Rabbit for Meat?
- What Equipment Do I Need to Butcher A Rabbit?
- How Do You Slaughter Rabbits for Meat?
- Can You Cook Rabbit Immediately After Slaughter?
At What Age Do You Process a Rabbit for Meat?
In most cases, meat rabbits are mature for processing at 10-12 weeks (known as fryers) and when weighing up to 5 pounds. Meat rabbits (for example, California and New Zealand breeds) usually grow very fast. They use their food more efficiently for meat production up to ten weeks old. After ten weeks, they eat more and grow more slowly.
Of course, you can slaughter a rabbit of any age for meat. However, the goal is to get tender, fleshy meat from the rabbits. Therefore, the optimal period is ten to twelve weeks when the meat is tender and has attained a good weight. When a rabbit passes 6months of age before processing, the flesh becomes firmer and more difficult to skin
How Do You Prepare Rabbits for Slaughter?
Before going ahead to process a rabbit for meat, there are requirements in preparing the rabbit.
- Rabbits selected for slaughter should be separated from the rest. They should only drink water but no food a day before slaughter.
- The rabbits should be completely healthy. Eating the flesh of a sick animal can be risky.
- The rabbits must not be pregnant.
What Equipment Do I Need to Butcher A Rabbit?
The tools you need should be laid out and set up in your workstation to process a rabbit for meat. Make sure your knives are very sharp. After all, dull tools will only make your work more difficult. Below is a list of the tools you will need to butcher a rabbit:
- A very sharp and large knife for removing the head and cutting between joints
- A small knife for removing the skin or fur of the rabbit
- Blade sharpener to keep the knife sharp
- Shears
- Cutting board
- A place to hang the rabbit (a tree, two nails in a wall, etc.)
- Metal bar
- Rope to turn the rabbit by its legs.
- Sealable freezer bag for storing the meat after processing
- Bucket for collecting the blood
- A source of clean water
- Apron
- A pair of rubber gloves (optional)
- Garbage can and liners for collecting the guts
How Do You Slaughter Rabbits for Meat?
Honestly, the time to slaughter your meat rabbit is not an enjoyable one. Still, it is necessary before you can get your meat. Knowing that your meat rabbits enjoyed a comfortable life and will not suffer any pain at death might be a consolation.
There are about three usual methods of killing rabbits for meat. You may process a rabbit for meat by breaking its neck, giving a sharp blow to the head, and slitting the throat.
-
Breaking the Neck Bones
This method, usually referred to as broomstick, requires placing a straight pole or metal bar on the rabbit’s neck to secure the head on the ground. Next, step on both ends of the rod and pull the rabbit firmly upwards by its hind legs at an angle of 90 degrees. You will feel the neck bones dislocated. Then cut off the head.
-
A Sharp Blow to The Head
When done correctly, a sharp blow to the base of the head dislocates the rabbit’s neck. This kills the rabbits instantly. The fatal knock should be between the ears and not on the shoulders. Another variation of this method is to render the rabbit unconscious with a blow to the head. Then immediately kill the rabbit by slitting the throat or dislocating the neck bones.
-
Slitting the Throat
Slicing through the two jugular veins renders the rabbit dead almost instantly. This method involves immobilizing the rabbit and cutting the throat as quickly as possible with a very sharp knife. Though not a bloodless procedure, it is preferable to those who want the blood to drain out of the carcass as fast as possible. The sudden drop in blood pressure in the brain makes the animal unconscious and insensitive to pain.
After killing the rabbit through any means mentioned above, cut off the head and the front foot paws and hang the dead rabbit by its hind legs. This allows the blood to drain out.
- Skinning
Remove the pelt or fur, pinch the skin close to one of the hind legs and use a knife to cut around the leg. This separates the skin on the leg from the foot. Do the same on the other leg. Then cut down the skin close to the navel such that the stomach skin is separated from the genital area.
Next, separate the skin on the back from the tail and genital area. Then hold each side of the skin firmly and pull it down. The pelt will slip off without difficulty because the head and front paws have been removed.
While your aim might be to get the meat, rabbit pelt also provides beautiful furs. So you can keep them dry and tan later.
- Gutting
The first thing to do after skinning is to remove the front legs. This can be done by using a large knife to detach the front legs from the shoulders.
To remove the internal organs, pinch the lining of the abdomen and cut just below the groin. Use your fingers to keep the internal organs away from the knife’s edge as the blade moves down towards the ribcage. The cut should be shallow, or else you might pierce the intestine.
At this point, it is best to keep the knife aside. If the gallbladder gets cut mistakenly, the very bitter gall might spill onto the meat and ruin the taste. Gently shift the intestine and other organs aside with one hand and carefully remove the liver and kidney. Tug the heart out of the chest cavity and cut off it
At this stage, the innards should be falling out. Pull the esophagus away from the neck. Cut the pelvic joint in two to FREE the rectum and large intestine from the groin. The unwanted organs will then fall into the bucket.
- Cutting and Cleaning
Cut the hind feet with strong shears and wash the carcass and organs you set aside with water. Then, prepare a cold saltwater solution in a bucket and clean the cut pieces. This will lower the temperature of the meat and helps to remove the remaining blood.
Rinse and either cut to pieces or leave it whole. If you don’t want to cook the meat immediately, put it in freezer bags and keep it refrigerated for 24 hours before transferring it to the freezer. Put the liver, heart, and kidney in the freezer too.
Can You Cook Rabbit Immediately After Slaughter?
After butchering the rabbit, it is up to you whether to cook immediately or allow time to pass before cooking. Nevertheless, there are various opinions about waiting before cooking.
The most common suggestion is to allow the meat to rest for rigor mortis to pass before cooking the meat. After cutting and cleaning the rabbit, the flesh is soft and pliable. Before long, the flesh becomes stiff because the muscles are deprived of oxygen. Cooking at this point makes the meat chewier and less tasty.
When you process a rabbit for meat, it is advisable to rest or cure it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. After, you can either cook it or keep it in the freezer for storage. If you do not want to put it off, you can cook it within an hour of slaughtering the rabbit.
A contrary opinion is that cooking the rabbit while in rigor may affect the taste. The meat is soft and tasty as long as you cook slowly over low heat (crockpot). The same method of cooking works for rabbits that are older (more than 6months) before they are processed
Conclusions
The purpose of a meat rabbit is to end up as food for people. Meat rabbits are easy to raise, and they reproduce so fast. They have kittens throughout the year. Hence raising rabbits will save you money as well as improve your diet.
It is interesting to note that processing a rabbit for meat is more straightforward and less messy than other livestock. Hopefully, you now find it not so challenging. Do you wish to increase enrich your rabbit meat more? Then read our article on how do you add enrichment to rabbits?