60 AIRGUN WORLD http://www.airgunshooting.co.uk
HOW TO SKIN A RABBIT:
- Pinch the middle of the stomach, cut a
small hole in the skin, but be careful not to
pierce the stomach. - Place your fingers into the hole and start to
peel back the fur. - Hold the rabbit by its hind legs and pull the
fur down towards its head, then push the front
legs through the fur. - Use a meat cleaver or sharp knife to chop
off the rabbit’s feet. Then chop off the head
and tail.
GUTTING THE RABBIT:
- Cut the stomach open all the way to the
neck. - Remove the innards by first placing your
middle and index fingers at the top of the
chest cavity, then remove the intestines and all
the organs by pulling down in one motion. - Slice the diaphragm so you can remove the
heart and lungs. - Near the tail, cut a small section and find the
rectal area to remove any poop, but be careful
not to contaminate the rest of the meat. - Place intestines and organs in a bag and
dispose of it. - The heart, kidney and liver can be kept if
you want to eat them, but make sure the liver
is a deep red colour.- Clean the rabbit by washing both inside and
out. Let cold water run all over, so it can clean
off any debris, blood or hair left from the
dressing process.
BUTCHERING THE RABBIT:- Place the rabbit onto the chopping board.
Remove the back legs by cutting through the
hip joint and then slicing through until each
leg can be removed. - Chop just below the rib-cage with a sharp
meat cleaver, or a sharp knife, which will cut
the rabbit in half. You can then remove the
front legs by cutting underneath the shoulder
blades.- You can make stock from the neck, ribcage
and pelvis. Pat the meat dry, ready to bag and
freeze, or cook on the day. - Recipes for rabbit can be found all over the
internet and in cookery books, but most of
what can be cooked with chicken pieces, such
as pies, stews and casseroles, can also be
made with rabbit meat – and it’s delicious. - Finally, always remember to clean your tools
and chopping board thoroughly. Hygiene
must play a major role in all food preparation
processes.
I
first met Alan and his family at a shooting show
a couple of years ago, and we’ve been friends
ever since. At that first meeting, Alan’s politeness
and good manners, plus his infectious energy,
genuinely impressed me, so I sent him a few
bits I had in the office and he keeps me up to
date with his progress and adventures via email
and our meetings at shows.
Alan’s 10 now and he’s doing really well at
school, with frequent commendations from
both teachers and his parents. He loves his
airgun shooting and often accompanies his
dad on hunting trips, learning more essential
lessons, including how to prepare rabbits for
cooking. Alan has developed his own way of
preparing rabbits and it works for him, soplease study his step-by-step feature, and
above all, the message in the final paragraph.
For such a young man, my little mate Alan
shows commendable wisdom and
appreciation from which we can all learn. He’s
a wonderful example of how our hobby can
help a person develop, and, like his family,
I’m incredibly proud of him.
If you have a young airgunner you think we
should know about, please get in touch and
tell us about them. Our young people are the
future of airgunning, and I believe we should
celebrate them, so please help us do that. HOW TO PREPARE A RABBIT
PREP’ SCHOOL
Meet the editor’s little mate, Alan, and his ‘show and tell’
on how to prepare a rabbit for cooking
Be careful not to puncture the intestines when
slitting the belly skin. Many hunters paunch their
rabbits immediately after shooting them but Alan
prefers to do things his way.Alan has learned the value of respecting his
quarry, and plenty more besides.A three-quarters grown rabbit - perfect for
preparation.ALAN’S STEP-BY-STEP RABBIT PREP’
You’ll need a chopping board and a sharp knife and/or meat cleaver. Rubber gloves are optional.