Rabbits

[Von Gruff]

There was the usual Easter Bunny Hunt in Central Otago - NZ and eve though the numbers were down on what has been shot in past years, 18K rabbits in 24 hours is still not a bad clean up.

[jawbone]

some hilarious irony there. do they have any plans for Christmas? or for Groundhog Day?

[Variable]

Yeah Gruff, I agree with Jawbone. The irony is hilarious!

Hrmmmm..... Groundhog day? Nah the buggers are still mostly holed up. Maybe we can have a second groundhog day?

[Von Gruff]

Groundhog day ??? no we dont do that one here, and no reindeer so no specific christmas hunt for them
There are various hunting competitions for most of the animal and fish species throughout the coutry at times and they are well atended and not to disrespectively reported in the media. Often charities are benefited with procedes.

[skyfish]

I can't imagine the news if that was done in the states! Does sound like fun, years ago, my son and I did a fair amount of rabbit hunting(actually cottontail). My wife was always glad we had an old and new crock pot, yes I used the old one.

I do believe rabbits are not native in New Zealand, same as the goats? Lots of speices in both NZ and Austrialia were introduced. Not real sure of all, but I'm sure it creates an imbalance just as anywhere else.

Edit: Thanks Gruff, never realized that just birds were there. See why so much controll is needed. There is another gentleman down in NZ that has a neat website. Tests bullets on goats. It's on my bucket list to make it down there and do some hunting. I do stay in shape with hiking, running and weights. But your terrain down there looks like it will make a man's (or woman's) legs turn to jelly.

[Von Gruff]

Skyfish, there were no ative animal species in NZ, just birds so all animals here were introduced. First there were pigs and goats that were bought in very early on to have something for the whalers and sealers as a food source. Rabbits, Hares were later (but still early) bought in for sport then there were the deer species innvarious locations with chamois and tahr later on. The stoats and ferrets were then released to try and control the rabbits but they found the bative nesting birds easier prey so the rabbit and hare populations exploded to plague proportions in places. Many farmers were eaten out of productive lad and my own Grandparents had to walk away from thier farm in the late 1920's because of them.

Introducing rabbits to New Zealand

Rabbits were brought to New Zealand and released for both food and sport at various sites as early as the 1830s.

(quote) Rabbit plagues http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/rabbits/page-1

Once rabbits became established, their population increased to plague proportions several times. The first rabbit plague began in the early 1870s and petered out about 1895. Another increase occurred in the early 1920s. There was a major irruption in the 1940s, and the most recent began in the late 1980s.




Deer were at plague levels and there were eradication schemes tried, but it wasn't untill there was value in the animal (not just a bounty on the tail) with export meat ventures to europe that the numbers began to be controlled. Then there was live capture for breeding and farm raising and the deer numbers began to stabalise at managable numbers. There are 5 videos in this NZTV documentary on the deer wars in NZ and the progression from ground based shooters through to helicopter shooters. I used to see the choppers coming back from the West Coast in the 60's with 8-10 deer slung under them and hear the heravy chop of the blades as they fought to retain altitude over the tops carrying way to much weight. Lots of men and machines lost but a heck of a lot of deer were taken.
http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/deer-wars-2007

The rabbit has been attacked by shot, dogs, a lot of poison and even viruses have been tried but the rabbit adapts imunity, and habbits to continue to breed and proliferate.

[sneaky one]

It's a reality-most animals need to be controlled by hunting. If they are left unhunted-it all goes bad really fast, by disease-starvation-overpopulation is not always a good thing..

How do those wabbits taste after a time in the oven-smoker-?.

[terrywick4]

How do those wabbits taste after a time in the oven-smoker-?.

Perhaps like chicken? Doesn't everything wild?

[Von Gruff]

I bring 30-40 home with me (just from the rib cage back though, for three joints per animal) everytime I go through on my usual hunting forays and they are one of my favoured eats. Jointed and simered GENTLY for a couple fo hours with salt and black pepper, thyme, sage, marjoram and an onion they are falling off the bone delicious. I often cook 12-15 joints and after strippig the bones they become great sandwich meat. Bag it and freeze what will not be used within a few days for use later.
My recipe for a caserole makes a tasty evening meal.

Brown 4-6 rabbit pieces and onion in oil.

Two cups boiling water
Dsp Red wine vinegar
Dsp golden syrup
Good splash soy sauce
Tsp beef stock
1/2 Tsp vegemite
Tsp mixed herbs
sprig thyme
4/5 leaves sage
4/5 grinds of pepper
4/5 grinds of salt

Slow cook for 1 1/2 hrs and add diced medium carrot and 1/2 cup of dried peas.
Slow cook for another hr and add potatoes.
Cook till potatoes done and thicken to suit.
Good with any spring - winter vegetables

[jawbone]

that is a fantastic looking recipe, Von Gruff. in my part of Tennessee we have lots more squirrels than rabbits, but this recipe looks promising for squirrels, too. sure wish i'd seen this post back in November.

[KentuckyBuddha]

I might do a variation on it myself, but I can confidently say that I would leave off the vegemite. : D

[stokesrj]

What is a DSP? Never mind, I see it is a desert spoon 10 ml.
Bob

[sneaky one]

OOOOps, I had to ask the wabbit master! Sounds like a fine recipe Von.
Bob-maybe the misprint was a tsp.?
I wish I had so many wabbits to shoot at yearly. I usually get 10-30 in the suburban yard I live in-w/ lot's of neighbors. Sometimes by pellet gun-.22LR. SSHHHHHHH......

[KentuckyBuddha]

FWIW an imperial dessertspoon is two teaspoons in murrican measurement.

[sneaky one]

terrywick, actually most wild game meats-I add enough beef flavors to the crock pot-to take the gamey taste out, and not to end up-jokey- like a chicken taste.
Von has a decent recipe there. I look at any recipe -then tweak the h--ll out of it till it's wayyy -way better.
I want to find the time to make a wild game cookbook.

[sneaky one]

KB- awesome find!=== HUH???? How does that translate to a US teaspoon?

[KentuckyBuddha]

That was what the converter said bub. I did labwork for quite some time and saw more 10 ml tubes than there are grains of sand on a beach and 10 ml is not remotely the same volume as 2 tsp.

shrug, I tried. lol sorry

[Von Gruff]

The best thing about any recipe is that it is just a base to work from with personal flavours added or subtracted as suits.
I recently saw vegemite and marmite described as salty axel grease and personally I would prefer the salty axel grease but as a flavour additive to savoury dishes it adds a bit of depth without the taste. Any reasonable facsimily of a teaspoon and a desert spoon will work. I will use heaped or level measures as the mood takes me, and or, I think that particular dish needs. I would't compare rabbit to chicken as the texture is much tighter and because I skin, gut and joint the rabbits within a minute or two of shooting them, and only bring the young ones home there is no hint of gaminess at all. Dont eat chicken with all the aditives they are fed, but then I dont buy any meat at all and just bring to table what I hunt or grow.

[sneaky one]

Von, I'm moving down there. I like your lifestyle-free range animals-scenery. Any homes for sale nearby?

[Von Gruff]

Dont forget to take 85% (at todays exchange rate) of the price to get to US$
Otago NZ http://www.realestate.co.nz/residential/...ty_types/7

Upper end of the Central Otago market for lifestyle http://www.realestate.co.nz/residential/...tral-otago

Otago in relation to the rest of the country. Otago has the best of the best of NZ. http://www.virtualoceania.net/newzealand/regions/