I've cooked a lot of different wild game including lots of squirrels and coons but for some reason have never cooked a Snowshoe Hare. A neighbor is bringing me one today to try but I really have no clue how to treat it. Biggest question is should they be cooked rare, med., or well done? I like my venison on the rare side but is it safe to eat wild hare rare? Does it get tougher the more you cook it? An old timer up the road told me I should just boil up a cedar bough to eat and throw the rabbit out. :lol: Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.
Cooking wild rabbit
- Thread starter nekvermont
- Start date
I've only cooked a rabbit once. It was not a wild one. I would imagine it would be really tough like a free range chicken. I would use a pressure cooker or crock-pot with liquid and cook it a long time. my guess is Mr. Hoppy will be tough as nails from using those muscles.
Two ways I've always prepared snowshoes.... first, marinate the chef (Jim Beam makes a good marinade)
Dice 1/4 lb of reasonably lean bacon - fry till crispy bacon bits, don't discard the bacon grease. Sear bunny quarters in bacon grease - not necessary to cook them through. Add 1/2 cup of water, ground black pepper, and any other seasoning that strikes your fancy. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
Quartered bunny in a crock pot, cover with tomato sauce, add garlic, salt, pepper, and about a rounded teaspoon of sugar (kills the acidity of the tomato sauce). 4 to 6 hours at medium heat.
Dice 1/4 lb of reasonably lean bacon - fry till crispy bacon bits, don't discard the bacon grease. Sear bunny quarters in bacon grease - not necessary to cook them through. Add 1/2 cup of water, ground black pepper, and any other seasoning that strikes your fancy. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
Quartered bunny in a crock pot, cover with tomato sauce, add garlic, salt, pepper, and about a rounded teaspoon of sugar (kills the acidity of the tomato sauce). 4 to 6 hours at medium heat.
I agree with the "old timer up the road" - eat the cedar bough and throw the hare out. It will save you time, work and fuel to throw the hare out first, before you try to make it edible. :lol:
The above is my experience with snowshoe hares anyway - I've tried a couple of times to eat them. Finally just decided they're not worth the powder and lead I used to kill them.
Now if you're talking cottontails or the little pigmy rabbits, that's different. My wife just rolls the legs in her fried chicken flour recipe and fries them. I prefer cottontails and pigmy rabbits cooked that way to chicken and even pheasant. It's pretty hard to beat roughed grouse fried that same way though.
But to answer your question - I, myself wouldn't eat undercooked wild hares or rabbits of any kind. I've heard too many stories about the diseases they carry.
The above is my experience with snowshoe hares anyway - I've tried a couple of times to eat them. Finally just decided they're not worth the powder and lead I used to kill them.
Now if you're talking cottontails or the little pigmy rabbits, that's different. My wife just rolls the legs in her fried chicken flour recipe and fries them. I prefer cottontails and pigmy rabbits cooked that way to chicken and even pheasant. It's pretty hard to beat roughed grouse fried that same way though.
But to answer your question - I, myself wouldn't eat undercooked wild hares or rabbits of any kind. I've heard too many stories about the diseases they carry.
I think WWB is leading you upon the correct path. Saw snowshoe hare tracks in Elk Co. Penn last weekend while grouse hunting. Have Seen them in upstate NY, and we have them here in NE Ohio, but have not seen'em. If ya don't want to marinade in booze, try pineapple juice.
NixieTube
Blackhawk
I'm not sure what the differences are between a Snowshoe Hare and what he's cooking here, but this is a complete video on rabbits in general by Scott Rea. Looks yummmy the way he does it. It's different than WWB's recipe by a lot but hey, variety is the spice of life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umRF1D3OsUc
What I really like about this video - and several others of his (I'm a fan as you can tell) is that he shows not just the prep. but also the cooking. He does the latter with basic utensils and ingredients in a kitchen that almost anyone can duplicate. I mean, this is not some expensive TV production set. And he eats what he prepares.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umRF1D3OsUc
What I really like about this video - and several others of his (I'm a fan as you can tell) is that he shows not just the prep. but also the cooking. He does the latter with basic utensils and ingredients in a kitchen that almost anyone can duplicate. I mean, this is not some expensive TV production set. And he eats what he prepares.
NixieTube
Blackhawk
nekvermont said:
Also in that video above wait for the "fork" part at around 12:30 onward.
Badger Matt
Single-Sixer
WWB nailed it. Those tough legs get use so they take time to make tender. Similarly, I save my duck and goose legs for an end-of-the-year spaghetti sauce; brown 'em in bacon grease and into the crock pot with bullion, remove the bones, then add tomato sauce and seasonings.
Badger Matt said:
But do you marinate the chef first?
One of my cousins is a chef at a fancy restaurant, so he does all the cooking at the hunting camp.... he claims (not seriously) that if you can still stand up straight, you're not ready to cook.
powder smoke
Hawkeye
Use to hunt those steadily in the winter months. The trick is to cook them slowly
for a long period of time. Go to tenderize them if not there pretty tough and stringy.
We use to to have them in a pot pie with gravy and veggies.
There good if done up right.
My buddy had a couple Beagles that were awesome. Bring the bunnies around steady.
Use to head to Pittsburg NH May not be too far from you, nek ps
for a long period of time. Go to tenderize them if not there pretty tough and stringy.
We use to to have them in a pot pie with gravy and veggies.
There good if done up right.
My buddy had a couple Beagles that were awesome. Bring the bunnies around steady.
Use to head to Pittsburg NH May not be too far from you, nek ps
powder smoke said:
PS,
I have hunted Hare's in the Pittsburg, Colebrook NH area and north of Errol, great hunting!
Pressure cook and then brown in bacon fat or a crockpot on slow for a few hours, good eating.
Terry
powder smoke
Hawkeye
Thats a good haul for you Terry, Scots Bog was our favorite area. ps
Don Lovel
Hunter
Rabbits make kick butt good chili, seriously, jackrabbit chili is some dang good eating, I have to imagine snowshoe might not be that much different.
I always use salt & baking soda brine soak on wild rodent, great grandpa said that would keep you from getting Tularemia or other nasty rodent disease.
I always use salt & baking soda brine soak on wild rodent, great grandpa said that would keep you from getting Tularemia or other nasty rodent disease.
powder smoke said:
Yep! 850+ miles = about a 14 hour drive,,,,,,but worth every mile!!!!!
Terry
pete44ru
Hunter
.
In over 40 years of hunting rabbits, I've yet to have one last long enough to make it into my freezer - since my family jumps on any I bring home, for that night's supper.
Everybody's been entirely satisfied, after I simply seasoned the meat, dipped the meat into a bowl of scrambled egg, then dredged with seasoned flour before frying (in a frying pan, sometimes with mushrooms, sometimes with onions, sometimes with both).
.
In over 40 years of hunting rabbits, I've yet to have one last long enough to make it into my freezer - since my family jumps on any I bring home, for that night's supper.
Everybody's been entirely satisfied, after I simply seasoned the meat, dipped the meat into a bowl of scrambled egg, then dredged with seasoned flour before frying (in a frying pan, sometimes with mushrooms, sometimes with onions, sometimes with both).
.
I have never cooked anything but cotton tails. I cook them just like any other small game animal. They are great as a chili, spaghetti sauce, but my favorite is to cook them in a crock pot with basic seasonings and chicken broth. Black pepper, garlic, onion, jalapeno and a dash of cumin. Cook them slowly for a couple of hours and then stir fry with your favorite veggies and shrooms. Makes an awesome dish served with rice or noodles. Yummm.
Karl
Karl
volshooter
Buckeye
Only got to harvest woodland rabbits. Young ones are eaten right away wth gravy and biscuits. Adults are soaked over night n salt water and a cap full of vinegar. We let them pressure cook for 20 minutes and then fired wth flour salt and pepper till brown. Good eating.
This is making me hungry, but I feel bad about shooting them.
One of the path/trail that I run on has lots of rabbits, I mean LOTS!
They see so many people they don't even usually bother to get off the
trail. I think you could actually just pick one up. A few weeks ago
one managed to spook and ran into me, almost tripped.....now that
one I could have killed and eaten.
Hunted plenty of rabbit over the years, but now....guess I'm
getting soft.
Dave
One of the path/trail that I run on has lots of rabbits, I mean LOTS!
They see so many people they don't even usually bother to get off the
trail. I think you could actually just pick one up. A few weeks ago
one managed to spook and ran into me, almost tripped.....now that
one I could have killed and eaten.
Hunted plenty of rabbit over the years, but now....guess I'm
getting soft.
Dave
volshooter
Buckeye
During hunting season carry a .44mag or a .45 LC loaded wth shot shells. Load them wth #4's or 6's. Many rabbits and squirrels have been taken that way out to 20 yards. No need to miss a good meal. Might try them n stew some day. Love just the meat.
Colonialgirl
Hawkeye
Use to raise rabbits when I was in High School; Got quite proficient at skinning them out; don't remember how my Mom cooked them but she was an old Oklahoma Country girl and grew up with cooking rabbits and squirrels.
Had a single doe and use to take her down to visit a friends male rabbit. We'd put them together in a cage and then go off to do other things; When it was time to head home, we'd go up to the cage and they'd be in opposite corners, BUT as soon as the male saw us approaching, he'd hop over for a last "quickie".
Had a single doe and use to take her down to visit a friends male rabbit. We'd put them together in a cage and then go off to do other things; When it was time to head home, we'd go up to the cage and they'd be in opposite corners, BUT as soon as the male saw us approaching, he'd hop over for a last "quickie".
Pal Val
Buckeye
Cook it slow and season well. Just, don't put it in a stew. I hate to find a hare in my stew.
Good thread, really enjoyed the video. My ex-wife and I raised Angora rabbits for their wool, and to show. We culled once a year. Mmm good! Fried, slow cooker or all good. At shows, the clubs would serve BBQ rabbit. I understand during WWII the German people relied on backyard farms and rabbits for meat.
gramps
gramps
OP
Thanks for all the responses. I was bound and determined I was going to make something good to eat out of this Snowshoe Hare and I think I accomplished that. I ended up basically making a Pot Pie filling and serving it over biscuits. Started by soaking the bunny in salt water and a little vinegar for 4 or 5 hours. Next I seared the legs and loin in bacon fat and then covered it with chicken broth. Added a little powdered curry, black pepper and salt and simmered it for 2 hours with the cover on the pan. I was beginning to think it was never going to get tender but 2 hours did it. Removed the rabbit from the broth and picked the meat off bone. Thickened the broth with flour and milk and then added the rabbit, diced potatoes and carrots that I cooked up previously and some frozen peas and corn. Bunny was tender and tasty. I would definitely do it again.
powder smoke
Hawkeye
Sounds awesome that is pretty much the way I do it hard to beat imo. ps
