# Wabit stew???



## cornerfinder (Dec 4, 2008)

Ok, just like the rest of you I have hunted the Jackrabbit for years and never eaten one. My boy scout leader and my father had alwse taught me to eat what I kill. Yet every one of them is guilty of doing the same, shooting them and leaving them for the dingoes. Well if you get board and want to read up on them, they are not actually rabbits they are hairs. Now the snow shoe hair is a prize and great to eat. So I asks myself “corner why don’t we eat em?” and I reply to myself I dono!. Thus my question to you, have you ever eaten one? Is there a safety reason? I have always been told that they have worms, they have fleas. But I have found many cotton tails to have the same. Is it a Carp Vs. Trout thing…. I am too good for the lowly Jackrabbit. Seriously what’s the deal? I want to try one but “I is scared”. Could one of you please confirm or deny the edibility of these critters. I have a smoke house that could be just the trick for them waskily wabits!!!


----------



## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Coyotes love 'em.  

Yeah, you can eat hares. You need to cook them real good. Hares(and rabbits) can carry Tularemia and different types of parasites that are not pleasing to the eye. Grosses people out seeing worms and such under the skin.

I personally have never ate a jackrabbit. We raised rabbits when I grew up and I have eaten many cottontails...just not a jack.


----------



## NHS (Sep 7, 2007)

Last time I saw one.....back in '03, it was made out of meat. And like my pappy used to say, "If'in its made of meat, you can eat."


----------



## cornerfinder (Dec 4, 2008)

We raised rabbits to and I love em. But seriously worms in the meat have you seen this. Was it in a month with an “R” in it? Or is it a urban legend.


----------



## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

I've seen worms in them before.. a long time ago, in the summer months I believe.

Never had parasite problems when we raised them. Dang good eating though.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I have tried numerous times to eat jack rabbits, even made sausage out of them.

Not too good, not too good at all.


----------



## tuffluckdriller (May 27, 2009)

I tried it once. The first one I was about to butcher had a gross-looking hump on a hind quarter that was full of crap. 

The next one was ok. It ended up ok. The meat is surprisingly red meat. It tasted like a gamey deer. I'd like to try to jerky them.


----------



## 10yearquest (Oct 15, 2009)

I have eaten jack rabbit once. I traded it for a grouse. The guy told me it was a snowshoe hare. I did not know the diferrence but after a few years hunting in the uintas I KNOW the diferrence. Jack rabbit tastes better! :lol:


----------



## BIG-TNT (Oct 19, 2007)

Any month with a R is how I was told and do. There the cooler months, there great put on the barbeque.


----------



## hunter_orange13 (Oct 11, 2008)

is it the month with a r because the diseased rabbits die when it gets cold. or does the diseas in the rabbit or hare die?


----------



## Size Matters (Dec 22, 2007)

I have eaten the white tailed jacks for years they are pretty good but as said before some do have worms and so do cotton tails I have found worms in them this year I was always told you can eat the jacks that turn white but not to eat the regular jacks.


----------



## cornerfinder (Dec 4, 2008)

I don’t remember any with white tails. I guess I had better pay better attention.


----------



## flint (Sep 13, 2007)

I ate them a few times in college. My grandpa had a ranch in southern Idaho and the jacks we killed spent all summer eating wheat. The meat was pretty good, but as noted by others, we would only hunt them after several hard frosts had killed and that had diseases.


----------



## duneman101 (Nov 6, 2009)

Jacks are ok if you wanna try them, i have smoked a few rib on or off, they turn out ok with a good hickory or mesquite. my father in law pours a generous amount of olive oil on them along with some cracked peppercorns and some capers then puts them on the BBQ grill. when done that way i thought it taste like phez. 

make sure there is not any blood though, they can transmit the Tulerimia (spelling) i think it's also called rabbit fever. just be cautious, and look for fly larvae just under the skin.


----------



## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

Take Goober's word for it...If HE didn't like them, almost nobody will! The guy eats mountain lion...he knows exotic flavors.


----------



## campfire (Sep 9, 2007)

The "old timer" Italians from carbon county used to pickle the hind quarters of Jacks. They tasted a lot like pickled pigs feet. They really were quite good.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

campfire said:


> The "old timer" Italians from carbon county used to pickle the hind quarters of Jacks. They tasted a lot like pickled pigs feet. They really were quite good.


That may be worth a try.

I even made salami out of them with no success. Just my opinion


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Chaser said:


> Take Goober's word for it...If HE didn't like them, almost nobody will! The guy eats mountain lion...he knows exotic flavors.


Mountain lion has little flavor.

Muskrat, raccoon, ah....freshwater clams out of the Bear River, there's flavor!


----------



## 10yearquest (Oct 15, 2009)

there are alot of myths related to eating rabbit. Some facts about tulerimia. It is a bacteria. It is spread by contact with infected hosts, eating undercooked meat of infected animals, and contact through parisites like ticks, deer flies and fleas. It is also possible to inhale it during skinning or other handling. It is extremely rare with a rate of 1-1,000,000 between 1990 and 2000. Symtoms are fever, lethargy, anorexia. This would support the opinion of cold killing the diseased rabbits. It is treatable with antibiotics. All types of rabbits can get it as well as other mammals. In my opinion, based on these facts, all rabbits are safe to eat any time of year but if you shoot one and it appears to be sick dont risk it. If you get sick after eating rabbits tell the doctors to check for tulerimia. I usually dont mess with wild rabbits because I got fleas from a cottontail when I was young. I raise and eat domestic rabbit and it is quite good.


----------



## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

I have always wondered the same thing here.

Just an observation on the matter.

Jack rabbits seem to be cleaner to me. I dont seem to find as many ticks and fleas on jacks as I do with cottontails. It seems that because cottontails like to hang out in their burrows and stay warm, the bugs like to go with them. But jack rabbits are always standing out in the cold and such, and I rarely find a thing crawling on them.

I would almost think that jacks were less prone to disease for that reason? But I could just be pulling this stuff out of my arse too...


----------



## Artoxx (Nov 12, 2008)

I ate one on an impromptu barbecue, we were camping and got tired of the things we brought with us. I cooked Jacks and Rattlesnake, They were both a big hit.

The rabbit was a bit tough cooked over the campfire, but everyone ate it.

I have not eaten any more for the simple reason that I shoot enough birds, bunnies, and big game, plus catch enough fish, that I don't need to worry about the diet of the Jacks in any given area.
They eat a lot of rank crap like sage brush and creosote bush that makes a lot of their meat REALLY rank and gamey.

Get them in an area with lots of alfalfa and such, and I imagine their meat is as good as any cottontail or cage rabbit you will eat.

And yes, as with pork and bear, you should always cook it well done, and avoid any animals that don't look healthy or seem to be acting weird or unusual.


----------



## Grumpy Granny (Mar 5, 2008)

I have eaten jack rabbit. When you clean them, if the liver is dark and clear, they are healthy. If it is spotted, throw it away.  

I have an excellent recipe for Hasenpfeffer.  It is a highly seasoned rabbit stew. Crock pot is the clue, as the jack tends to be rather chewy. I once fed it to a group of Hunter Ed Instructors during a wild meat cooking demo. They loved it, licked the pot. :wink: Then.....I told them it was jack rabbit and they threatened to whip me! :twisted: 

I'm not at home, but the following recipe looks reasonably close.

Ingredients:
4 lb Rabbit
1 1/2 c Dry red wine (use the type you like)
3/4 c Cider vinegar
2 ts Salt; optional
1/2 ts Freshly ground black pepper
1 Bay leaf
1/2 c Onions; chopped
1 tb Mixed pickling spice
1/2 c Flour
4 tb Butter
1 c Onions; thinly sliced
2 tb Sugar
1/2 c Sour cream (optional)

Directions:

Cut rabbit in serving-sized pieces. Wash, scrape, and soak in salted cold water for 1 hour. Drain and dry. 
In a glass or pottery bowl mix together the wine, vinegar, salt, pepper, bay leaf, chopped onions, and pickling spice. Add the rabbit and let marinate in the refirgerator for 3 days. Turn the pieces occasinally. Drain the rabbit; strain and reserve the marinade. Dry the rabbit with paper towels and roll in flour. 

Melt butter in a Dutch oven or deep heavy skillet; brown the rabbit and sliced onions in it. Pour off fat and add sugar and 1-1/2 cups marinade. Cover and cook over low heat 1-1/2 hours or until rabbit is tender. Turn the pieces occasionally and add more marinade if needed. Taste for seasoning. Mix the sour cream into the gravy just before serving.


----------

