Curing a field dressed rabbit in the summer??

[trophyhunter]

Interesting weekend for sure! I thought the most unusual thing I would have experienced......was being stung by scorpion (that's another thread). I guess I was wrong!

We've had contractors staying at the ranch, off an on, for the past few weeks. This past week, the painting crew was there. They were staying in the adjacent cabin, but didn't have access to the kitchen or main house. Each night, the crew would grill on the porch using our various grills/pits and several "camping style" appliances that they brought.

We end up shooting a few rabbits and the workers ask if they can have them to cook. After cleaning the rabbits, they put the carcasses in a plastic grocery bag and hung them from the porch to "cure". The rabbits hung in the bag for 36 hours in 100 degree weather.....before they took them down to cook them. The oldest gentlemen said that's how they did it when he was a kid??

I've seen my fair share of Bear Grylls episodes.....but this was pretty rough. Has anyone ever heard of "curing" a rabbit in the summer? I'm out on that!

[txnduckhntr]

Might be tender? I don't know. Where they meskin+?

[AndyRealtree]

I'll pass on that as well.. No thanks

[tkuehn5410]

I've had wild hogs spoil in 12 hours after processing with no ice. I'd have a hard time believing the rabbits would be good at this time of year.

[Bonesplitter]

I have a friend from Nicaragua and they cut meat into strips and salt it down to cure by wrapping it around a wire strung up between two posts. I think meat in a plastic bag tied up would start to rot quickly. Don't know bout that!

[Split Arrow]

Yuck!

[JustinJ]

That's gotta be unsafe. How in the world would the meat not contain all sorts of bad things after that? Their stomachs must be bulletproof.

[raiderelkhunter]

I thought rabbits were wormy as crap this time of year...?

[trophyhunter]

The first night, they made some type of stir fry with thin strips of meat, jalapenos, onions, etc. I tried it with a tortilla.........but no longer care to know what the mystery meat was. The second night, the rabbit quarters were cooked in a simmering broth of sorts......after hanging in the blood filled plastic bag for nearly 2 days. YUCK!! This......I didn't have the stomach to try.

[PSD Ryan]

I thought rabbits were wormy as crap this time of year...?

I shot 6 rabbits last night. None of them had worms. Threw them on the grill with some rub. Delicious!

I would not "cure" them in this heat for any amount of time.

[Cam-Mac]

Nope i'm out on that.

[tex4k]

You never know! It was once a common practice to hang a pheasant by his tail until his own body weight pulled him free and it fell, then it was considered ready to cook. If you've ever had a taste of tainted meat you'll know, it taste like it smells to me, that's as far as I got was just a taste. Nasty!

[HainesNYT]

You never know! It was once a common practice to hang a pheasant by his tail until his own body weight pulled him free and it fell, then it was considered ready to cook. If you've ever had a taste of tainted meat you'll know, it taste like it smells to me, that's as far as I got was just a taste. Nasty!

I have heard that too, and for ducks…put a nail through the beak and wait for it to fall, then it’s ready. I don’t think I can handle that.

[Playa]

You never know! It was once a common practice to hang a pheasant by his tail until his own body weight pulled him free and it fell, then it was considered ready to cook. If you've ever had a taste of tainted meat you'll know, it taste like it smells to me, that's as far as I got was just a taste. Nasty!

I have heard that too, and for ducks…put a nail through the beak and wait for it to fall, then it’s ready. I don’t think I can handle that.

Both of these are true, but you are supposed to hang em on the shady side of the barn, and you kill ducks and pheasant in cooler, if not colder weather.

In the absence of some sort of actual cure (salt, sugar, smoke) or some combination, id say this is illness waiting to happen for a gringo

[LWD]

I'm a pretty adventurous eater and I wouldn't touch that stuff. The South Africans dry their biltong or jerky in the open air, but it has curing ingredients on it. Maybe the bag keeps bacteria off it?

LWD