Gutting Rabbit

Regenerative Subsistence Fauna Food
#1

My friend found a dead rabbit yesterday. He called me to come over and skin/gut it with me today. He put the dead rabbit in the freezer overnight and let it thaw a couple of hours before we proceeded to gut it.

I have never gutted a rabbit before, but i have butchered deer and fox.

the rabbit was roadkill. it had a broken back, broken hindleg + frontleg and also broken ribcage which had done A LOT of damage to its internal organs.

right upon opening the rabbit up we noticed the smell that came from inside it. It was a much more nasty smell than im familiar with Deer and Fox. Im wondering if this is normal with Rabbit or perhaps it signifies something else?

Anyone familiar with gutting Rabbit? Do they often smell nasty? Could it be the innards pierced by its broken ribcage which got gasses piling up under the skin?
Something else?

Right now we have it in a bucket of salt cold water and we’ll cook the meat (2-3hours) tomorrow . Im interested in hearing from people familiar with rabbit skinning/gutting/roadkill

thanks

#2

Hi Timeless,

I currently raise rabbits and gutted my first one not to long ago. However I basically gutted it right after I killed it, and because everything was intact, pretty much no smell at all. The only smell I really notice is the smell of blood. The smell could have been from how long the rabbit had been dead. Do you have an idea on that. Also the piercing of organs or rupturing of any of the innards could definitely have contributed.

If you have any other questions let me know… I tried tanning the skin and maybe got half way there… I was going to try and brain tan but getting the brain out was a lot more difficult and more gross than I expected/was prepared to handle, but if anyone can share that secret with me…

#3

Right now the Rabbit is kept inside my friends freezer. Im gonna try and get together with him to cook it real soon. Im gonna let you know what happens :wink:

#4

anti-climax: So yesterday my friend brought the rabbit to my house, we unwrapped it and it smelled horrible even frozen. So we decided to chuck it out. Just didnt feel comfortable eating something that smelled horrible even when frozen.

Definitely wanna try this again sometime with a hopefully fresher animal. Also we did use its hide and it was an awesome learning experience !

#5

Hahahaha. That’s awesome! I love smelling different roadkill (or even just rotten meats) and seeing if they make my mouth water, even though the smell is bad. This is a great story. That’s awesome, Fen, that you’re raising rabbits. Are you living close by Portland these days?