Rabbits: Kill My Own

I feel much the same as you do. i have never killed my food(overcooked...yes) but never actually killed an animal for consumption. There is a large part of me that feels that i should take part in the ritualistic act that is animal sacrifice for food. you're right. all of the top chefs talk about being a part of that experience and it having changed the way they think about their food.

the idea i have come up with and have not yet followed through on, is to find a local farm. you know the ones. they appear on all the hip restaurant's menus. get to know them. let them know that you are a serious cook and want to know where your food comes from. you will probably get a tour of the farm and if they believe you're serious enough, maybe be invited to a slaughter.

the chances that you will actually kill an animal are slim, but at least you will be able to experience it first hand.

i don't think i could kill a pig or lamb by holding it, slicing it's neck and letting it bleed. i certainly couldn't hold a gun and shoot something. but i think to be there and be involved in the process, if it is done in a humane way with animals that have lived a good life, then you are that much better for it.

It's interesting that the goddess Diana was pictured always with animals around her, like deer, and she was a sort of protectress of them.  And that in societies where all animal food that is eaten is killed by the same people who eat it, or in their presence, there is often a very strong respect for the animals they eat. I think it;s a bit different from hunting for sport, stuff the head, hang it on the wall, that sort of thing.  (You might say, yeah, and so why is wearing the skin or the feathers of the prey you've killed for food in a ritual dance any better?  I don't know, but it does feel different to me).  Aristocrats hunted in the middle ages and so on, because it was good practice for war.  Peasants slaughtered animals, (though usually not for their own use.)

We raised chickens and rabbits when i was a kid.  We slaughtered our own chickens but sent the rabbits down the street by some people who did it for us. 

My father asked the guy who sold him the chicks how to kill a chicken when it was time.  The guy picked up a big rooster he was going to cook for supper and showed him - you take the head like this between your first and second finger, and hold the body and then with a sharp pull you break his neck and he dies. 

The chicks grow up, it's sunday and comes the time my mother asks my father to kill her a chicken.  My father, who had hands like a gorilla (bent bottlecaps between thumb and forefinger), was in his white shirt and tie, just back from church.  He goes to the chicken pen and picks a likely specimen - pulls on the head and ...

of course, the whole head comes off, he's covered in blood from head to toe, and my mother nearly has to be taken to the hospital for a hysterical fit when he comes in bloodied like he stepped on a land mine. 

The task passed to my uncle who hung them from a nail in a tree, slit their neck and let them bleed out.  He had read it somewhere. 

I knew our bunnies were being killed and eaten, and i really did love fried rabbit (and they had four whole drumsticks, not two!) but pretended not to know they were being killed.  Well, i was 6. 

But anyway, I agree with you fully, Chris.  I think if we're going to eat animals, we shouldn't be squeamish about them being killed (I wouldn't want to eat them live after all!) but, to translate an Italian saying, "between saying and doing there is a sea of difference" (tra il dire e il fare c'e' di mezzo il mare).  I'll be curious if you manage to do this. 

By the way, i do know many people here who have participated in the slaughter of a pig, which is a big deal and involved many people, and lots of feasting, as well as turning a whole lot of the animal into sausages and such.  It still sounds like an ancient ritual to me. 

I've done it. It's not that  great....don't think it ever will be.. just neccessary. Worse is killing them cause they are sick or mauled by something but still alive. I don't want to get political but I own a gun to kill animals that need killing. It's fast and merciful and common sense dictates it's needed at times. I had one friend say they wouldn't be visiting while I owned it as no one has any legitimate reason for a gun anymore, I said fine, you may need to mature a bit before you visit me again anyway. city folk, you make me crazy sometimes.

I don't mind eating a rabbit, but killing one myself bothers me because when they are alive I tend to think of them more as pets then dinner. Don't know how I can really feel that way, guess it's ironic.

Read On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society by Dave Grossman.

He talks about this disconnect in society between what we eat and where it comes from, our basic disconnect with death, birth and the processes involved in both. They used to happen in the home for what was raised and eaten. Births happened in the home, people died at home. But not anymore.  

Also lots of talk from the military angle of how you get people to kill people and how the shooting rates in historic conflicts are apparently low.

I'm not sure I agree with his theory of violence in entertainment leading to the efficiency of modern military violence but the book will make you think about many things.

Similarly, there is a good dose of anthrpomorphism in what animals are OK to eat and those we treat as pets as well as which animals we like and which we fear. This book is outdated, but interesting nonetheless The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris

Interesting? Yeah, you could say that about The Naked Ape. Of course it was out-dated before it was published.

Problem is, Morris tends to argue backwards from modern social mores in order to explain evolutionary trends. Plus, of course, Margaret Mead was his main influence, and that skewed his interpretation of things as well. .

See for instance his discussion of sexual mimicry as the basis for large breasts in human females. Pure BS, even at the time. And the idea that monogamy in humans is a biological imperative is nonsense. Very few animals pair-bond, because it is contrasurvival, and that number, most emphatically, does not include humans.

Much better popular anthropology, more or less contemporaneous with Morris, are "African Genisis," and "The Descent of Woman." What's really interesting about those two is that their speculations and interpretations have held up, over the years.

I have killed and butchered pigs, cattle, deer, various birds... it is part of the food chain and someone has to do it. The meat in the store gets to the little foam trays the same way.

*delete*

I think this is an interesting thread, and I'm glad it did not get into politics. My father, and most of his relatives, grew up in Florida without much money. He hunted at around age 6 for birds, he would bring them home and his mother would clean them and cook them up for him. As he grew he hunted deer, and wild boar, gators, and of course he fished. For many back then, the land was a source of nourishment. People didn't do these things simply for the fun of doing them, they did them for sustenance.

I agree that when you take the life of an animal, there is typically a tremendous amount of respect towards that life. I don't hunt, but that is by choice because I simply don't want to have to deal with field dressing a deer, or boar. I do fish though, and my good friend does. We never take a fish we don't plan to eat, and if we do catch one to release, we are careful to ensure we do not injure the fish, and also to ensure a successful release.

As for whacking peter cottontail, I think perhaps you will have remorse if you trap and kill one. Or you might trap it and then not be able to kill it. If I were you, I'd pick up a 22 rifle and have the responsibility to be accurate with it. One shot, done correctly should quickly kill the rabbit. I would feel better about doing that then trapping it, but that might just be me. If the main goal of trapping it is to prepare it for food, by giving it grain feed etc. then that is completely reasonable. You should open the cage though when it comes time and give it a 3 second head start!

A good slingshot and a ball bearing is nothing to sneeze at as far as effectiveness and silence.

Boy did this get philosophical.  I was going to suggest holding the critter down and giving it a nice smack in the back of the neck with something but that doesn't sound relevant.  It's surprising how disconnected some people are from their food and consequently, reality.  As a cook I feel its important to get in touch with this side of your ingredients.  Once you've hunted for food (which is in essence what you are doing) you gain a respect for the creature which was once a living breathing thing.  This will forever force one to honor their ingredients.  I have no problem shooting a rabbit but if I shoot it for consumption and it goes to waste instead--that bums me out.

Stick'em Up!!

Eastshores: Anyone ever tell you you ain't right?

Gunnar: Can you do it with a real sling, rather than one of those forked stick doohickies?

Quote:

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer 

Gunnar: Can you do it with a real sling, rather than one of those forked stick doohickies?

right now? no. Funny you ask, I was thinking I need to make a new one and practice again.I did have slings I made as a kid and practiced on dads beer cans. I even made one for waterballoons, came about 50 feet shorter then 3 guys with a surgical tubing  launcher. I was way more accurate at hitting the guys in the canoes we were using for targets though. The camp guys couldn't beleive what a kid with some waxed string and the backpocket off a pair of cutoff blue jeans could make in 10 minutes and be accurate in ten more. only issue is that sometimes the balloon would hit the loop of string on the release, nice big water explosion about 2 feet from the end f your arm.

Speaking of killing rabbits and entertainment I wish I had a direct link to provide.  Go to hulu.com and look for the TV show Kitchen Confidential, the Rabbit Test episode.

I liked that show, too bad it didn't last.

mjb.

Okay, I went back and watched the rabbit episode.  It may have some, uh, mature themes involved, be forewarned.

So i mentioned to my fiance about killing my own rabbit...lets just say she is now angry at me and says if I ever buy a live rabbit its becoming a pet and not a meal.

I grew up with depression era grandparents and lived with them several times as a kid. They lived on a small subsistence farm next to a dairy farmer and a pig farmer. We gardened and canned a lot of produce ( pickles,green beans,tomatoes,corn,pumpkin,jam and such) and most meat came from our own chickens, rabbits , and pig with the inclusion of as much fish and game as we could legally take.

This generation of people and to some extant those of us who grew up with them learned where food comes from and how important it is. I was taught very young how to slaughter and clean the farm animals which naturally carried over to hunting and fishing. When we hunted and fished grandpa called it making meat for the family and he took it very serious. He had a couple of chest freezers and one was always filled up in the spring time with such fish as crappie,bluegill,catfish. We wasted almost nothing as even the tails were fried for eating and the roe was a delicacy! Super Market food was mostly reserved for staples such as flour and dried beans and rice and sugar and coffee. Heck we even made our own ice cream once a week and boy did I sure look fore ward to ice cream day!

Our morals in this lifestyle were simple, we respected were our food came from and treated it as such. In the killing of an animal it was always a practice to make a clean kill which means as quickly and painless as possible be it hunting or butchering.

People still live this way but with modern technology this lifestyle is becoming very scarce.

I was in correspondence with an employer I was thinking of working for in Alberta Canada

back in the early 80s and one thing he told me was that most families in the area got themselves a moose once a year for there big meat (cows on stilts they call them).

Yumm,Moose is good eats by the way.

Now for the rabbit you are talking about I would first get a crossman bb/pellet air rifle with a scope and learn how to use it (very good in residential areas). Then I would be prepared for what comes next as in the bleeding,gutting and skinning.and meat handling. Perhaps an overnight bath in a brine for the little bunnies and then a nice pan fry with green beans your way and a nice mashed potato with a country gravy made from the pan drippings.

OK, this thread made me hungry, look out buggs and good luck with your bunnies.........

Chefboy, a pellet rifle is not always the answer, because in many areas, cities in particular, they are classed as firearms. Discharging one is illegal.

If you're going to illegally discharge a firearm, and take game out of season, may as well go whole hog and use a .22 with subsonic bullets. That goes a lot further in assuring a clean, one-shot kill.

So now we are worried about rabbits?

I have witnessed a bunch this spring as road kill .....I don't really know how to respond to this thread,,,,,,

I love little cute bunnies too.....I also like to eat them ......just like chickies and piggies and lamb and calf......

Quote:

Originally Posted by gypsy2727 

So now we are worried about rabbits?

 

I have witnessed a bunch this spring as road kill .....I don't really know how to respond to this thread,,,,,,

 

I love little cute bunnies too.....I also like to eat them ......just like chickies and piggies and lamb and calf......

 

 

 

 

LoL Same here although now's not the right time of year to be killing rabbits as they just recently had their young plus it's to hot, you really only want to take wild rabbit during the winter months.

Given that I grew up hunting and fishing I find threads like this one very interesting given that someone can eat beef, pork, chicken and fish and not think a thing about it but Bambi or Per Cottontail on a plate and that they have issues with.

I have no problem at all with hunting animals for food but what I do have an issue with is hunting for sport, heck I actually have a problem with catch and release fishing .... if your gonna yank that poor fish around by the mouth with a hook at least have the common decency to eat the guy .... besides doing so will keep him or her from a lifelong trauma not to mention a fourtune in 

psychiatrist bills  :D
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer 

Chefboy, a pellet rifle is not always the answer, because in many areas, cities in particular, they are classed as firearms. Discharging one is illegal.

 

If you're going to illegally discharge a firearm, and take game out of season, may as well go whole hog and use a .22 with subsonic bullets. That goes a lot further in assuring a clean, one-shot kill.

A pellet rifle might be illegal to shoot in town but at least it doesn't sound like a conventional  gun.

hmm this is a tough one,i just say "bite the bullet" hahahah get it? that was terrible.

But seriously,just get over a silly thing like this. you will regret it if you dont

Quote:

Originally Posted by Highlander01 

 

LoL Same here although now's not the right time of year to be killing rabbits as they just recently had their young plus it's to hot, you really only want to take wild rabbit during the winter months.

Given that I grew up hunting and fishing I find threads like this one very interesting given that someone can eat beef, pork, chicken and fish and not think a thing about it but Bambi or Per Cottontail on a plate and that they have issues with.

I have no problem at all with hunting animals for food but what I do have an issue with is hunting for sport, heck I actually have a problem with catch and release fishing .... if your gonna yank that poor fish around by the mouth with a hook at least have the common decency to eat the guy .... besides doing so will keep him or her from a lifelong trauma not to mention a fourtune in 

psychiatrist bills  :D
 

yes there is a season for everything

BTW talkin fish did you check out my post "Real Fish Tale?" 

Quote:

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer 

Chefboy, a pellet rifle is not always the answer, because in many areas, cities in particular, they are classed as firearms. Discharging one is illegal.

 

If you're going to illegally discharge a firearm, and take game out of season, may as well go whole hog and use a .22 with subsonic bullets. That goes a lot further in assuring a clean, one-shot kill.

Most pellet rifles will not kill a rabbit.  They really don't pack much punch, and the projectile is very light and looses momentum quickly.  Regarding the scope: if you can't get a rabbit with iron sights, maybe you ought not to be hunting just yet. 

Geeze, in the words of Bugs "whats up doc?"

A scope just makes for a cleaner shot in most newbies  and most shooters gravitate to one quickly so why not start that way?

This is close to the one I  used as a kid and no scope for me {nickname is Hawkeye)

http://www.crosman.com/airguns/rifles/pneumatic/2100B

and yes I took a few cottontails with it as a kid but you are right that it is a little soft for bunnies.

Perfect for small birds such as dove or quail though. I do like the idea of a subsonic 22, nice and quite is the point I was trying to get at.

As far as the OPs desire to perhaps take some wild Turkeys and not very good feelings about gun ownership I would suggest getting in touch with your local archery shop or club and take that route. Bow Hunting is a way to make meat and the practice is just plain fun.

As was posted though winter bunnies are where its at so you have time to practice with whatever you choose. Paul Prudhomme has some good wabbit recipes such as smothered wabbit or wabbit etouffee which can also be practice on with domestic bunnies.

Good eats................