Anyone have smoked rabbit recipes?

[mikebarish]

Market has some good looking rabbits and I'd like to experiment in my PBC. I know it's lean and prone to drying out. Imagine a brine would help. I'd love to keep it whole for presentation purposes. Other than that, I'm flying blind. Anyone have experience smoking rabbit? Any recipes to share? Thanks in advance!

[RonB]

I can't help, but you might check with Elmer - although he never actually caught the rabbit

[Jerod Broussard]

We always pot roasted, but that would look super cool hanging in the barrel.

[Steve R.]

It kinda tastes like chicken, so I'm thinking cook it like chicken. Hot and fast.

[kmhfive]

We always fried it like chicken. I'd say hot -- 325-400F shooting for 155-160F when you pull it.

[dtassinari]

Keeping it whole might make for a nice presentation, but I like to go completely the opposite way: debone completely and tie into a roulade. Yes, it's a lot more work, but it has three distinct advantages (and a nice side effect).

1. Most important first: eating around rabbit bones is a PAIN. Major pain. There's nary a morsel where you don't have to gingerly bite with your front teeth and dance around toothpick-sized bones. And don't get me started on the tiny annoying ribs. If you don't mind, more power to you, but I hate it: hate hate hate (as Dave Arnold would say).
2. If you manage to tie into an even cylindrical shape it will cook more evenly (duh).
3. You can wrap the lean white parts (breast, loin) inside the more forgiving dark meat (legs, front legs) so that the temperature gradient goes the right way: the lean bits are protected from direct contact and can get slowly to 65 C / 150 F, while the (relatively) tougher legs get to 70-75 C / 160-170 F and break down better (like chicken legs).
4. The side effect is that it's no longer in a recognisable rabbit shape, so anyone (kid, sheltered adult) who's even a bit squeamish about eating a "pet" (pest, really) has plausible deniability ("it's just like chicken").

Don't get me wrong: it's a lot of work and it's not easy, especially since you need to try to keep it in one piece as much as possible, but there are a couple of tricks I've developed for all my fancy rolled meats:

1. Once you've given it your best shot at deboning, lay it out flat on some cling film / saran wrap skin side down, season the inside part and wrap it like a sweet / piece of candy. Try to keep the dark meat on the outside and the white meat on the inside: you may want to butterfly the legs a bit more in order to cover more area.
2. Prick your wrapped parcel all over with a toothpick to make some holes in the plastic and let air escape, tighten it again (carefully, you don't want to shred the wrap), then wrap it up with one more layer of plastic. If one of the layers doesn't look tight just keep adding layers until it feels secure. Let it sit overnight in the fridge to let the salt bind it up a bit: it'll be easier to tie and you'll have fewer stray bits fall off when you slice it.
3. Look at this https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/chicken-roulade for a primer. I also like to cook meats like this sous vide but it's not necessary.
4. Any aromatics that you might want to put inside the meat have to be at least bloomed in hot oil. Raw garlic that never gets above 65 C / 150 F is nasty, raw sage is as pleasant as wet cardboard and raw rosemary smells like turpentine. Chop it all up, fry it until it's fragrant and spread. (Or use powdered stuff.) If you want a Mediterranean flavour you can add chopped (black/Taggiasca/Kalamata) olives, capers, pine nuts, thyme...
5. If your rabbit is small and/or too mangled to make into a nice shape (hey, I've been there), you can cheat in a number of ways! Add a couple of chicken tenders in the middle to bulk it up, or add a layer of thinly sliced bacon on the outside. Just remember to wrap it all up in plastic and let it firm up in the fridge before you tie it.
6. Remove the plastic and to go town with butcher twine, same as you'd do with a roast, only smaller and keeping the loops closer together.
7. Rub or season your rabbit/bullet (hm? must be thinking of something else ) and cook to your liking. If it's just rabbit I'd do low and slow until 60 C / 140 F internal and then sear on all sides to 65 / 150. If it's wrapped in bacon it's probably better at 165 C / 325 F to let it render and baste the meat inside. If you have squeamish guests take it a bit more on the well-done side to mask any gamy taste that might remain.

Hope this helps!

[kmhfive]

This is great information! Thanks for all the detail.

[Jimmie Rhoden]

Great information thanks for the details,

[mikebarish]

Wow thanks for all the detail!

[scottranda]

I've been researching how to build rabbit snares. I have a bunch in my yard. I think they live under my deck. I'm not sure how legal snaring rabbits are, or if my HOA (and wife) would approve. That is, IF they find out.

[Mr. Bones]

If ya' do this, Please, Be Advised!!!!
Rabbits can scream quite loudly, which could attract unwanted attention...
Jus' thought I should warn ya'...
Happy Huntin'!!

[scottranda]

Mr. Bones I'm sure you speak from experience! Haha!

[Mr. Bones]

Yessir, I do, Sir...
Country Boy, harvested / et many rabbits fer supper..
Better off "Carlos Hathcock'in' " 'em, with a (Good) pellet rifle

[Mr. Bones]

123456

[EdF]

Wacky Wabbit!

[RickyBobby]

Sadly, the only recipe I know for smoking rabbit was learned in SERE School and was nothing more than digging a hole in the ground, adding hot ashes, then small random twigs/sticks, and waiting. I wouldn't recommend that method for anything other than survival. Lol. Oh, and I can second Mr. Bones with regard to rabbits screaming, really gives away your position.