If you want to slaughter an animal, then you also have to know how to skin it and also clean its internal organs so that you can then move on to the next process, which is cooking for food. Cutting a rabbit can be used as practice material before you cut a larger animal. With a rabbit's small body it will be very easy for you to process it into food. Follow the steps below for more information.
Step
Part 1 of 4: Preparation
Step 1. Catch the rabbit using a rather humane way
Whether you're slaughtering rabbits from hunting in the forest or from a farm, do it quickly so that the rabbit's pain is less severe.
- If you get a rabbit from hunting in the forest, make sure after you shoot it you cut the neck to cut off the veins so the rabbit doesn't feel too much pain. Or you can also just cut the head off to make sure.
- If you are slaughtering a rabbit from a farm, catch the rabbit first and then grasp the rabbit's legs and then cut the veins in the neck in a slashing motion until the veins are severed.
Step 2. Hang the rabbit to drain the blood
Before skinning your rabbit, you'll need to separate the head first. After the head is cut off, hang the rabbit by tying the hind legs to the post and don't forget to provide a bucket under it so that the blood doesn't splatter on the floor.
Some hunters skip this part because the rabbit's blood is so low that they think that even by not hanging the rabbit is clean. However, to make sure that the rabbit is completely drained of blood, you can do this part
Step 3. Skin the rabbit
Once you feel the rabbit's blood is completely depleted, you can skin it immediately. It is highly recommended to skin the rabbit as soon as you cut it, because if left unattended, the rabbit's body will be stiff and difficult to skin.
Part 2 of 4: Skinning the Rabbit
Step 1. Prepare a place to skin the rabbit
Make sure the place you are going to use is clean to prevent the rabbit meat from becoming contaminated with bacteria. Use a sharp, clean (rust-free) knife to do this. Wash the knife that you are going to use first with water or hot water to remove bacteria on the knife.
- If you can, wear gloves when skinning or cleaning the rabbit's belly to keep your hands clean.
- After each cleaning part of the rabbit, rinse with water to make sure that the rabbit is completely clean.
Step 2. Cut the rabbit's legs
The legs on rabbits have very little flesh, if you feel you don't need them, you can cut them up to the ankles.
- To cut it, you can lay the rabbit down first to make it easier for you.
- Use a sharp knife to cut off the rabbit's leg so you don't have a hard time doing this.
Step 3. Make a small incision on the back
Cut the back skin on the rabbit and then pull the skin in the opposite direction.
Be careful when cutting the rabbit's skin, don't go too deep into the meat, because this will make the rabbit meat susceptible to bacteria or other debris
Step 4. Pull the rabbit skin
Once you've made your back incision, don't forget to also cut the inside of the skin that you will use as a handle when pulling the rabbit's skin. When all is done, pull the skin in the opposite direction until the neck.
Rabbit skin is very easy to clean. You don't need a knife to do this, as the rabbit's skin will come off nicely if you pull hard
Step 5. Remove the skin on the head
If you decide to keep the rabbit's head, you will need to skin the head as well. When the skin has reached the neck, grip the skin of the rabbit's neck and then do a circular motion to release the skin on the head, do it hard so that the scalp is easily separated.
- Or if this method is too difficult, you can make an incision in the rabbit's neck so you can easily remove the skin on the rabbit's head.
- If the tail is still left after you skinned the rabbit, you can trim it if needed.
Part 3 of 4: Cleaning the Stomach Organs
Step 1. Be careful when making the incision on the rabbit's stomach
Do not cut too deep into the rabbit's body, as this can damage the internal organs of the rabbit and make it difficult to clean it.
- Be sure to cut off the belly just up to the rabbit's ribs.
- The meat on the rabbit's stomach is very thin, so when you have finished skinning the rabbit you will be able to see the inside of the rabbit's stomach. Be sure to cut open the stomach carefully, lest you damage the bladder and colon, as this will make the rabbit meat stink.
- If you notice an unpleasant odor when you cut the rabbit's stomach, rinse it immediately with water to prevent the smell from sticking to the rabbit meat.
Step 2. Cut the membrane that holds the internal organs together
This is done to make it easier for you to clean the internal organs in the rabbit's stomach, and prevent you from damaging the organs that can contaminate the rabbit's skin.
Step 3. Save the part of the organ you want to use
You can consume some organs such as heart, liver and kidneys too.
Check internal organs. The internal organs, especially the liver, can show symptoms if the rabbit has certain diseases and may not be safe for consumption. If there are yellow spots on the rabbit's liver then it shows that the rabbit is not fit for consumption
Step 4. Rinse the meat after cleaning
After you feel that you have cleaned the rabbit enough, rinse it with clean water to remove any residue from the cleaning or skinning.
You can keep the skin and internal organs of the rabbit or you can throw them away. Make sure not to throw it carelessly to keep your environment clean
Part 4 of 4: Cutting the Rabbit into Small Parts
Step 1. Separate the fat and muscle parts
After the rabbit is cleaned, cut the rabbit into small pieces to make it easier for you to carry out the next process (cooking or baking). Be careful when doing this as it may injure your hand.
Rabbit meat that has a lot of fat is not good meat, so make sure to remove the fat from the meat cleanly to get fat-free meat
Step 2. Cut the legs of the rabbit
Separate the rabbit's legs from the rabbit's body. You can process this part of the leg in such a way that it becomes a delicious meal.
- To cut off the forelegs You can cut them off easily because the front legs of the rabbit don't connect to the bone.
- To cut off the hind legs Position the rabbit on its back to make it easier for you to cut off the hind legs. The rabbit's hind legs are connected to the hip bone, use a rather sharp knife to cut this part.
Step 3. Separate the upper and lower abdomen
This is not necessary if the rabbit you are cutting is small as it will destroy the meat during the cooking process. But if the rabbit you cut is large enough then you can do this part.
Step 4. Leave the rabbit intact
If you want to roast the rabbit, leave it whole. This also applies if the size of your rabbit is small to make it easier for you when cooking the rabbit.
Or alternatively, you can also just cut the rabbit into two halves. Cut the rabbit on the chest. You can do this if you want to turn the rabbit into soup
Step 5. Soak the rabbit meat in salt water
You may not like bland meat. Therefore, you can soak the rabbit meat in salt water to give the meat its flavor the next time you cook it.
- Dissolve a tablespoon of salt in a bowl of water to soak the rabbit meat, then refrigerate it overnight.
- You can also add other ingredients to make your rabbit meat more delicious.
Step 6. Cook the rabbit meat
You can process rabbit meat into delicious dishes depending on your taste. There are many ways to make rabbit meat a delicious dish, including:
- Italian-style rabbit meat. Italian-cooked rabbit may be a new thing to you, but it's delicious when you enjoy it. Fill the rabbit meat with spices according to your taste and then boil it using the addition of tomatoes and wine.
- Make roast rabbit. Season the rabbit meat using mustard, olive oil and black pepper, then grease the meat with butter. Then roast the meat at a temperature of about 200 degrees Celsius for about ten minutes.
- Boil the rabbit for 6 hours until the rabbit meat becomes soft. Add vegetables such as carrots, onions, coconut milk and any ingredients according to your taste. After 6 hours, add cornstarch to thicken the water in the rabbit soup.
Suggestion
- The right time to hunt rabbits is in the morning, because at that time rabbits usually start doing their activities.
- The cold air will probably remove the bacteria on the rabbit meat, but you should still rinse it to make sure the meat is completely clean.
- Soaking rabbit meat in salt water or vinegar will make the meat savory and taste more like chicken.
