Preping And Eating What U Kill

[ryaldinhio 4,519]

Quick one for you lads. New to all this and as such i have had one rabbit and a pheasant which i have shot butchered(struggled) straight away and eaten straight away. Now when i read things on this forum it is saying rabbit should be hung for four days and i have heard pheasant should be hung too with guts in??? Some advice would be appreciated on how to prep and how to 'hang' different quarry.

 

Also i did a rabbit stew and a pheasant curry, both were nice, any other good recipies would be appreciated.

cheers

 

ry

[lapin2008 1,587]

I would never leave the guts in for any period of time mate. I know that with some species some say to leave them in but 4 day old guts still in is not my cup of tea. The only thing I hang really is venison and even then normally only a couple of days. rabbits, hare phesants tend to get cooked straight away or frozen

[ryaldinhio 4,519]

I would never leave the guts in for any period of time mate. I know that with some species some say to leave them in but 4 day old guts still in is not my cup of tea. The only thing I hang really is venison and even then normally only a couple of days. rabbits, hare phesants tend to get cooked straight away or frozen

I dont like the sound of it myself! Main things i will be getting are rabbit pheasant pigeon and slight chance of a hare.

[lapin2008 1,587]

 

I would never leave the guts in for any period of time mate. I know that with some species some say to leave them in but 4 day old guts still in is not my cup of tea. The only thing I hang really is venison and even then normally only a couple of days. rabbits, hare phesants tend to get cooked straight away or frozen

I dont like the sound of it myself! Main things i will be getting are rabbit pheasant pigeon and slight chance of a hare.

 

Most people will hang game when they intend to eat it. I tend not to but thats just down to lazyness most the time

[lost scouse 46]

rabbits guts out asap and then soaked in salt water over night then cooked pheasant hung for a day or so guts in

[gonetoearth 5,144]

Rabbit hare gut asap

Phesant /grouse / partridge. Hang for min 5 days longer down to taste but i de breast them all Any way

Woodcock , snipe. Cook with guts in. Loverly on toast when cooked

Ducks hang for a couple of days.

Pigions. I only de breast

[lost scouse 46]

guts in snipe and woodcock im not that brave .is it right pigeon needs de cropping if leaving a couple of days

[ryaldinhio 4,519]

This will probably sound stupid to you lads but when you say hang does that mean by the feet or by the head or does it not make a difference? Also is it in the shed in the dark, out side in light, or is hang just a reference to keeping i.e. a fridge????

Edited March 1, 2014 by ryaldinhio

[lapin2008 1,587]

when i do it its from the feet but dont think it makes any massive difference. I would not leave it laid down or against something.

 

The shed this time of year should be fine or anywhere cool, dry and out of the sun is fine, garage, outbuilding, basement etc

 

A fridge with the shelves out would do the trick if non of the above are available

[bullmastiff 615]

I don't think it really matters which way you hang it. Usually birds are hung by their heads with the guts still in and Rabbit/Hare by their back feet, gutted.

It just needs to be cool, dark and dry wherever you hang your game.

 

Hanging the meat will make it more tender but also increases the 'gamey' taste in the meat. My missus doesn't like it's taste when it's been hung more than a day or two. My Dad used to hang Pheasants until they went green. I couldn't stand the smell of it cooking let alone the taste!!

Never bothered hanging a Rabbit unless I just didn't have time to prep them for the freezer, then I'd gut them and stick them in the shed if it was cold enough or in the fridge if it's too warm.

 

Depending on how many you get on a trip and how often you can get out usually changes the way you deal with the butchery side of things. If you don't get that many then you can take your time about it but If you've got several Rabbits or Pigeons to deal with and a regular flow coming in then you start taking shortcuts and just taking the 'best' meat from them to fill you freezer with.

 

I usually 'crown' pigeons whilst out shooting. I take a freezer/carrier bag with me whilst shooting

To remove the wings hold the pigeon by the wing as close to the body as you can and then twist it a couple of times, this will twist the wings off. Then where the breast bone comes down to a point between the legs dig your fingers in under there and tear it up and back towards the head. It separates the breast bone with the breasts still attached away from the rest of the body. With a bit of practice you can do it pretty quickly and have much less mess to get rid of at home.

 

I rarely pluck pheasants any more (only if I fancy one for roasting) I nick the skin below the breast bone with a knife and tear the skin towards the head, revealing the breasts which I then cut away. Then I cut through where the legs join the hip and peel the skin back over the foot then cut the foot off. Jobs done in a few min's.

 

With Rabbit's It depends on how many you've got. If I have time I prefer to gut them in the field as our bins only get picked up every two weeks so can start to smell if it gets warm! Get the rabbits home and knock all four feet and the head off with a cleaver, cut the skin across the back and tear it around the middle until it meets with the cut you made whilst gutting. Grab a handful of fur on each side of the cut and give it a good hard pull. Both pieces of skin should come away fairly smoothly (unless it's an old Buck Rabbit!)

If I've got a a fair number to do then I don't even both gutting them anymore. I cut the back feet off them then make the same cut across the skin on the back and rip it so the back straps are showing and so it comes off the back legs, then just cut the saddle meat off the back and also remove the back legs. I usually take the front legs off fur and all for dog food.

 

Hope this helps a bit.

 

Luke

[ryaldinhio 4,519]

I don't think it really matters which way you hang it. Usually birds are hung by their heads with the guts still in and Rabbit/Hare by their back feet, gutted.

It just needs to be cool, dark and dry wherever you hang your game.

 

Hanging the meat will make it more tender but also increases the 'gamey' taste in the meat. My missus doesn't like it's taste when it's been hung more than a day or two. My Dad used to hang Pheasants until they went green. I couldn't stand the smell of it cooking let alone the taste!!

Never bothered hanging a Rabbit unless I just didn't have time to prep them for the freezer, then I'd gut them and stick them in the shed if it was cold enough or in the fridge if it's too warm.

 

Depending on how many you get on a trip and how often you can get out usually changes the way you deal with the butchery side of things. If you don't get that many then you can take your time about it but If you've got several Rabbits or Pigeons to deal with and a regular flow coming in then you start taking shortcuts and just taking the 'best' meat from them to fill you freezer with.

 

I usually 'crown' pigeons whilst out shooting. I take a freezer/carrier bag with me whilst shooting

To remove the wings hold the pigeon by the wing as close to the body as you can and then twist it a couple of times, this will twist the wings off. Then where the breast bone comes down to a point between the legs dig your fingers in under there and tear it up and back towards the head. It separates the breast bone with the breasts still attached away from the rest of the body. With a bit of practice you can do it pretty quickly and have much less mess to get rid of at home.

 

I rarely pluck pheasants any more (only if I fancy one for roasting) I nick the skin below the breast bone with a knife and tear the skin towards the head, revealing the breasts which I then cut away. Then I cut through where the legs join the hip and peel the skin back over the foot then cut the foot off. Jobs done in a few min's.

 

With Rabbit's It depends on how many you've got. If I have time I prefer to gut them in the field as our bins only get picked up every two weeks so can start to smell if it gets warm! Get the rabbits home and knock all four feet and the head off with a cleaver, cut the skin across the back and tear it around the middle until it meets with the cut you made whilst gutting. Grab a handful of fur on each side of the cut and give it a good hard pull. Both pieces of skin should come away fairly smoothly (unless it's an old Buck Rabbit!)

If I've got a a fair number to do then I don't even both gutting them anymore. I cut the back feet off them then make the same cut across the skin on the back and rip it so the back straps are showing and so it comes off the back legs, then just cut the saddle meat off the back and also remove the back legs. I usually take the front legs off fur and all for dog food.

 

Hope this helps a bit.

 

Luke

top reply luke thanks a lot.

 

exactly what i am after

[WhiteRabbit 112]

I tend to cut and gut rabbits, let the meat soak in salt water over night and then roast with herbs. Lovely with some roast veg

[pie-eater 377]

I gut anything asap and never hang anything.

[Richard Warwick 50]

what are the benfits of hanging a rabbit? i skin + gut mine and then put them in the fridge, i find the meat more tender then than in the freezer. what are your opinions on how long is best to hang for?

[jigsaw 11,863]

here we are,kid goat a la veg and poppys,lol.hung in the fridge for a week,