Jack Rabbit Stew Anyone!

[jds holler]

Got to feeling like I wasn't taking advantage of my weekend, so me and my chick headed up the hill to get out for awhile. Took the fold-up 22 with us, as well as the all purpose wirehair dog.

This fella made the mistake of stopping about 80 yards out. Now he's in the crock pot with a chopped onion and a can of mushroom soup. jd

 

[stacy]

SHOULD BE TASTY!!!!

 

[boiler_house7]

JD, I got a little of that there oiled up in my younger day and had some BBQ bear over elm tree on a antelope hunt. Only tree we could find for miles. but my thinkin with a little age might have to pass on old jack. Although it does sound like your a feller might fit right in with out camp. Bill

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Thats a good lookin dog

 

[AckleymanII]

I killed and cleaned a bunch for my neighbor, she put them in the pressure cooker with onion and clove of garlic. I ate till I could not move...delicious!!!

 

[Tommie]

Any difference is taste between jacks and cotton tails?

 

[TheOtherZilla]

Around here Jacks are considered predators. No one I know eats em. We shoot em and leave em..Bunnies on the other hand go in my smoker.

 

[Trapper243]

I use to kill a few for meat when I was a younger. Front legs were not worth much but the hind quarts and straps would go in the stew pot. After they started to soften up I would take them out, debone and pull the silver skin from the meat. After that, you could finish the shredded meat a number of ways. I always liked them in a meat pie.

 

[MClark]

Around here Jacks are considered predators. No one I know eats em. We shoot em and leave em..Bunnies on the other hand go in my smoker.

I had a friend who was born in the 1880s in Arizona. She said they would never eat a jackrabbit . They ate boiled tumbleweed but not jacks.

Mark

 

[Jaybo]

When i was in west Texas no one would eat a jackrabbit out there. People said they would eat other Jackrabbits anyone else ever hear that. I had a lot of fun hunting them

 

[jds holler]

Folks are kind of funny about what they will or won't eat. Most would eat a hot dog made from the more unspeakable parts of farm animals, with a few floor sweepings and rat turds thrown in for good measure, but refuse to eat a jack rabbit who makes his living in a generally clean and natural environment.

This particular hare was a little older than I like to shoot, so I gave him a little more time in the crock pot. He finished his hopefully pleasant life on earth by becoming a damned fine rabbit stroganoff.

I haven't tried it yet but I'll bet I could carefully skin a skunk, and with a few cans of mushroom soup and my trusty crock pot, transform him into a tasty meal. ;D

All I know is that we're fortunate to live within walking distance of a little range of hills with a gravel pit for my shooting range, and habitat that abounds with these critters, as well as coyotes, bobcats, deer, every imaginable bird of prey, and even the occasional cougar. jd

 

[nmkid]

I was often tempted but, never tried it. I remember my grandfather telling us that in the 30's and 40's cottontail and jackrabbits was all the meat they had on a regular bases. A close friend of his owned a "ice" store(?) business(?). Anyway, the bldg. was always cold and that is where he would hang as many of the rabbits as he could kill. Hopefully to last into the summer months. Things were tough but, they didn't hunt rabbits in the summer because of the worms or some sort of parasite. I don't know what the bugs were but, you could run your hand down the body of a summer killed rabbit and feel the lumps!

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

The "lumps" on jackrabbits are usually either tapeworm cysts (Taenia pisiformis) or botfly larvae. Neither parasite infects or causes harm to humans, although folk "wisdom" often suggests otherwise. Old jackrabbits are more likely to harbor tapeworm cysts, and summer jackrabbits (of any age) are more likely to harbor botfly maggots.

 

[Terry]

The "lumps" on jackrabbits are usually either tapeworm cysts (Taenia pisiformis) or botfly larvae. Neither parasite infects or causes harm to humans, although folk "wisdom" often suggests otherwise. Old jackrabbits are more likely to harbor tapeworm cysts, and summer jackrabbits (of any age) are more likely to harbor botfly maggots.

Yum!

That really makes me want to eat one.

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

Yum!

That really makes me want to eat one.

My hawks never complain about the critters living in their prey -- and they eat a LOT of jackrabbits.

I'm a little more particular when it comes to my own vittles.

 

[Tommie]

In many areas of the US, even touching a cotton tail during warm weather is a major "no no". Tuleremia is the main culprit.

 

[Jammer Six]

I was raised not to shoot what I wasn't going to eat.

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

I was raised not to shoot what I wasn't going to eat.

Do you have a good recipe for "armed robber"? ;D

 

[Jammer Six]

I've never shot an armed robber. And I don't hunt them.

 

[jds holler]

I can't vouch for rabbits or hares in other parts of the country but around here ours seem to be healthy, clean, and pest free. I live in a fairly high elevation, arid climate, and we have freezing temperatures in the evenings from September to June. Fleas don't even do well around here.

In any case, careful cleaning and proper cooking will render most anything safe to eat; even hotdogs. jd