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In this episode of Hunt Gather Talk, I talk with Chef Randy King of Idaho, a friend and hunting partner of mine, about all things rabbit: From hunting and cleaning them to cooking techniques, so-called “rabbit sickness” and especially the unloved jackrabbit.
Randy is a great chef and hunter who lives near Boise. He and I share a love for the lowly jackrabbit, and we will do our best to convince you that they are indeed good eating.
Randy, if you don’t know him, is the author of the book Chef in the Wild: Reflections and Recipes from a True Wilderness Chef and the website Chef in the Wild.
This is a single-subject episode, so if you are into rabbits and hares, you are in luck!
Here are some links for further information on this week’s episode:
- My recipe for buttermilk fried rabbit. It’s tried and true and will not fail you!
- Randy’s recipe for pressure-canned jackrabbit, which works with all sorts of game.
- How to cut up a rabbit for cooking.
- My recipe for Sardinian Hare Stew, made famous by Steve Rinella on Meateater.
- Randy’s take on a classic, Rabbit with Mustard Sauce.
That should get you started. If you want more, here are all my rabbit and hare recipes.
Enjoy this week’s podcast, and, as always, if you like it, please subscribe and leave a review. It helps me a lot. Thanks!
Hi Hank, I love your blog and love that you have started doing the podcast, my husband and I listen to it on our commute to work.
I am wondering if you have any suggestion for particularly strong tasting snowshoe hares. We got the ares last fall up here in the Yukon where we live. All were clean headshots and were cleaned promptly. All animals seemed in good condition. We cut them into shoulders, saddles and hind quarters. The first recipes I tried were the Sichuan rabbit and braised rabbit with garlic they were good recipes but the taste of the rabbit was completely overpowering, even in the Sichuan recipe. Next I tried a Hasenpfeffer recipe. I soaked the rabbit in wine for a full two weeks. I discarded all the wine and vegetables that the rabbit had soaked in and cooked the meat for a long while in new wine. Still the taste of the meat overwhelmed any other flavor of wine, pepper or vegetable. I am an adventurous eater, I eat game meat often and am not squeamish about offal or new foods. I just can’t seem to get this rabbit right! I have already cooked the rest of the shoulder pieces for the dog, and have just hind and saddle pieces left. I ate rabbit as a kid fairly often, but this seems to be completely different. Why is this rabbit so strong? Do you have any other suggestions on how to tame the flavor? I appreciate any tips!
Valerie: Are you sure they aren’t Arctic hares? I have never had a strong tasting snowshoe hare. Or maybe they are white tailed jackrabbits? They can be strong. Huh. It’s a mystery…
Hank I love your website. I had to research the botfly larva you mentioned on your podcast and I have to say, “WTF!!!!!”. I watched some disgusting videos on YouTube showing humans having the larva removed and almost got sick. I believe I will be having nightmares of this.
I learn something new everytime I visit your website. Though in this botfly case, ignorance was bliss.
Hello Valerie,
I’m in agreement with Hank. I’ve also never had a snowshoe hare taste very strong. In fact I’ve had the opposite experience and have found them to be the lightest in flavor in comparison to cottontail, jacks, etc. Maybe you should try to do a chilindron recipe. Hank has a good one. Or slow cook with some spices and bay leaves, and replace liquids with another stock after a while. Then use the meat in almost any dish heavy in pepper and acids from a tomato base, or wine. That should take the flavor of the meat down a bit.