Thread: Very bad rabbit smell if not gutted immedietely

Ive noticed that if i decide not to gut a rabbit immediately after shooting so i can bring it home to process, the entire rabbit including the flesh smells like a weird biochemical waste + petroleum and a little sprinkling of hell, even if the rabbit has only been killed 1 or two hours ago. Does the bloating cause nasty smells to spread from the body cavity to the rest of the animal or something? This smell is completely absent in rabbits that I gut in the field so it is definitely from the guts. Even the back straps smell a bit like that weird smell. Not even sure if I should eat it. Its as if the whole animal is spoiled. Absolutely no part of the guts were punctured, completely clean.

Anyone else have experience with very bad rabbit meat smell if not gutted immediately after shooting? What is this unholy sorcery? Is the meat salvageable?

All of the rabbits I shot with my grandfather were soaked in milk before cooking
I wonder of this was done to remove the odor.
His taste for rabbit was gained during the war when often it was the only meat available

Originally Posted by Boxton

All of the rabbits I shot with my grandfather were soaked in milk before cooking
I wonder of this was done to remove the odor.
His taste for rabbit was gained during the war when often it was the only meat available

Yeah might try the milk or salt water thing, but the other rabbits i gutted instantly have beautiful neutral-smelling meat, no bad smell whatsoever. I wonder if rabbits have such thin instestinal walls that bacteria and other stuff can leak out and penetrate the surrounding meats, or maybe travel through the intact blood vessels. @Boxton does your grandfather have a favourite recipe?

Originally Posted by JessicaChen

Yeah might try the milk or salt water thing, but the other rabbits i gutted instantly have beautiful neutral-smelling meat, no bad smell whatsoever. I wonder if rabbits have such thin instestinal walls that bacteria and other stuff can leak out and penetrate the surrounding meats, or maybe travel through the intact blood vessels. @Boxton does your grandfather have a favourite recipe?

When we used to shoot them, if we were keeping them, I would usually sleeve skin the rear end, gut and chop the back half off at about the rib cage or simply take the back legs....We did not enjoy meat flavoured toothpicks or the rabbit "chicken nibbles" that were up front so took the two 'drum sticks' and finger steaks (Back steaks the size of fingers....)

Rabbit guts is one of the worst odours I can think of. I remember rather fondly my hunting mate had a bit of a weak stomach, and would tend to retch a bit at it when we were gutting them for cat food (early 90s so a while ago) not so much at the smell, but the fact that I would be eating a moro bar or drinking a bottle of coke or similar and belching while we did this. (no alcohol as we still had to drive home)

One hint though, we always had a pair of yellow kitchen gloves for when we were gutting them. Once gutting was done, the gloves went in a bag and clean up was easier as we would eat our dinner in the car on the drive home.....

Originally Posted by mimms2

Theres a really easy way to paunch them without having to get into the gut.
Lay br'er on your thigh, head up and arse hanging off your knee, and use a fist from as high up under the ribs as can. Quickly, with your knuckles basicaLly running down the spine, push the guts out the back end.
You really have to see it done. But you wont do it any other way again.

Something like this?

https://youtu.be/q7trIwVMYZA

Originally Posted by Ryan

Something like this?

https://youtu.be/q7trIwVMYZA

Thats a neat trick. Not seen that before . He certainly makes it look easy . Will have to try that ...

Hares are 10x worse! If you're going to eat them, get the gut out or the meat off ASAP. Can't say delaying taints the meat terribly, but the smell is so bad, you're not going to want to eat it! I use the gutless method on rabbits (and all other animals). No need getting in to the guts. There's some good videos on YouTube which show you what to do. Skin off. Cut around back legs, dislocate the joint and remove. Cut out backstraps. I don't normally bother with the front legs, but they are removed very easily as well.

Originally Posted by Ftx325

Thats a neat trick. Not seen that before . He certainly makes it look easy . Will have to try that ...

Better to do this - dont even need a knife
Pinch and pull the soft part of stomach skin where it joins the pelvis
Just tear it up a inch or 2
Then do what he does and give it a good flick
All gut gone
Learn't that trick in the Hunter Hills 50 years ago when Cousin was managing Waihao Forks Station

Um. Was lonnnnnng lonnnng ago
But basically any chicken recipe
Casserole mostly but also jointed and some parts fried as well.

Yup, the squeeze them out method was how we did it in the 80s as teenagers. We did use a knife, a razor, very small knick through the groin, then a shake downwards, then squeeze. The old gamekeeper at the manor showed us how and he was very fussy about clean carcasses and we’d get hollered at if there was any residual bits, definitely not allowed to leave any part of the urinary tract or alimentary canal in the carcass - you’d get a kick up the arse if you did that. So after the guts popped out you’d hook a finger in and pull out the last bits.

During those years I developed a staunch dislike for rabbit that I’ve never gotten over. I know they can be good to eat and all but I just can’t be bothered. Not just that smell, but memories of having to clean up hundreds and hundreds of 12ga shot rabbits during the mid-80s plague, and then even worse having to deal to hundreds more zombie rabbits staggering around the dairies with myxomatosis, all blind and puss ridden. They became no different to rats to me and I won’t have anything to do with them other than feeding them to the dogs. Silly really.

Rabbits naturally have a uriney smell. Very light salt brine if you are worried.
Fool proof cooking method: 2 tsp flour 1tsp ground Cumin dash pepper mixed. Rabbit joints into oven bag with flour mix. Roll around in bag to coat near enough, being careful not to puncture bag. Tie off bag leaving tiny vent. Bake in covered dish 21/2 hours at 140c

I'm pretty ambivalent about eating them. At best, tastes like bland chicken, at worst, tough/dry grass flavoured meat. I've discovered a few good recipes though, KFB and bunny biryani. I've posted these recipes up previously.

Originally Posted by Ryan

Something like this?

https://youtu.be/q7trIwVMYZA

I’ve seen that being done before and I’ve tried to do it a few times, but never managed to succeed. Maybe my hands are too small and not strong enough. Will give it a another go, so quick and looks so clean. The most difficult thing when I do the gutting is dealing with the bladder , trying very hard so that not a single drop of urine ends up on the meat.

I find the best way to treat the meat, is to give it away. I cannot eat rabbit, I cannot eat the smell, its bloody horrible!!

Originally Posted by JessicaChen

I’ve seen that being done before and I’ve tried to do it a few times, but never managed to succeed. Maybe my hands are too small and not strong enough. Will give it a another go, so quick and looks so clean. The most difficult thing when I do the gutting is dealing with the bladder , trying very hard so that not a single drop of urine ends up on the meat.

I always press downward firmly with my thumb just above the pelvis while holding the rabbit by its front legs.
This gets rid of virtually all of the urine.