Canning meat is something that everyone should know how to do and most certainly should never be afraid of.
Much of the time when I mention canned meat in conversation, I get that sideways, eyebrow raised, are you crazy? look. I understand that it might sound, well…gross. But it isn’t. I promise you. It’s not only safe, but delicious. Not only can it take an old tough layer and make it melt-in-your-mouth tender, but the canning process fully cooks the meat, which means a 5-minute meal is at your fingertips. As a mom of three young children and wife of one hungry husband, my canned meats have saved supper many times.
Today we’re going to be talking about how to can rabbit meat. Raising rabbits for meat is a growing trend among homesteaders, and some may wonder why you would want to can rabbit meat as they are typically harvested as tender 8-10 week old fryers. For me, it’s again the convenience of having canned meat on hand. I have many favorite recipes that call for shredded, pre-cooked, or browned chicken (rabbit meat easily replaces chicken in recipes), and being able to skip that step often means cutting half an hour off of my kitchen time.
What You Will Need:
- Rabbit {in any quantity}
- Canning Salt
- Boiling Water
- Clean Canning Jars, Lids, & Bands
- Pressure Canner {not a boiling water canner!}
Step 1:
Soak your rabbit meat in a salt water brine for 30 minutes- 1 hour for younger rabbits, 6-12 hours for older or wild rabbits. I put mine in a clean sink and add a couple tablespoons of salt. There are a few reasons for doing this, based on the type (wild or domestic) of rabbit you are dealing with:
- The salt will help draw any blood out of the meat. With domestic rabbits, there usually isn’t much blood if the animal was harvested and allowed to drain out properly. Wild rabbits that weren’t immediately processed out in the woods would present more of an issue with blood in the meat. Either way, this process will help pull that excess blood out of your meat.
- The meat from wild and older domestic rabbits can be tough and dry. The salt brine will help tenderize and bring moisture to the meat.
- Again, more prevalent in wild game, the salt brine will help take the “gamey” taste out of rabbit meat. I don’t find that domestic rabbit has that taste at all, but I have heard others say it does- so if you are sensitive to this, you will definitely want to salt brine your meat.
Step 2:
With the meat separated at the joints, pack meat into hot jars leaving 1″ head space. There is no need to debone as the canned end product will literally fall right off of the bones, but you can if you wish.
Step 3:
Carefully pour in boiling water, again leaving 1″ head space. Remove trapped air bubbles with a non-metallic utensil by gently running it down the {inside} sides of the jar. Wipe rim and threads clean. Secure lid & ring.
Process accordingly in a pressure canner:
As suggested by the National Center for Home Food Preservation
Remove from canner to a cooling rack or a couple layers of towels. Store in a cool, dry place.
Shared at:
Hi Erin, so far we’ve been 100% unsuccessful at keeping rabbits alive in our summer heat, but someday we might try again. This is good information to have, thank you for sharing.
Kathi at Oak Hill Homestead
Oh, no! I do know that rabbits fare far better in the cold than they do the heat (which is perfect for us as it’s cold 9 months out of the year)- I can’t imagine dealing with that. I hope you do try again- I network with a Facebook group called Backyard Meat Rabbits- there are people from all over the country (and the world) who deal with all types of situations- weather included. It might be a good spot to find others who raise rabbits in your area to find out what they do to beat the heat.
Thank-you so much for visiting, Kathi!! 🙂
Erin
There’s also a facebook group called meat rabbits for beginners (or something like that. Might be “raising meat rabbits for beginners.)
Put water in 2L pop bottles and freeze them. Once frozen lay the bottles in the rabbit pen they will lay beside the bottles and keep cool.
Great information! Thanks for sharing with us over at the HomeAcre Hop! I’m featuring your post for this Thursday’s post. We currently raise rabbits for meat, but I’ve never attempted to can the meat. We just wrap, freeze them, and then thaw whenever we need some. I’d like to try this though and see how it goes!!
Mary
http://www.homegrownonthehill.com
Thank-you so much!
I too like to have some frozen on hand- it sure is delicious, isn’t it? Yum! I hope you give canning a try- you won’t regret it.
Thanks again!!
Thanks for sharing this, our next project is meat rabbits. This is a good plan for storage.
What kind of rabbits do you raise? My husband used to have Flemish Giants and they are the kind we are going to get because they are a good healthy size to butcher.
Thank you again,
Kirsten
Hi, Kirsten! Thanks so much for checking out my article 🙂
We raise New Zealand/Californian cross for size and quick grow out rates (these are probably the most popular and common type of meat rabbit to raise). When I first got into raising rabbits, I’d considered Flemish Giants- but I was advised against it due to the fact that much of their weight is due to heavy bone mass and not as much meat. They are definitely a lot more expensive to feed than NZ/Cali’s. Just something to consider. It’s definitely very helpful to ask these questions in a forum such as the Backyard Meat Rabbits group- so many, many experienced breeders with great information.
SO- if you haven’t yet started raising them, I would consider something a little more cost effective than Flemish Giants- but of course that all depends on your personal situation. There ARE plenty of those out there who raise Flemish Giant for meat- we just need to make these decisions based on our needs and what we’re looking for out of a breeding program 🙂
Thanks again and I’m happy to talk rabbits any time!
Erin
Very helpful! Have been freezing, but want to can from now on. Too easy to lose food in a freezer if no electricity. Interested in canning my hamburger, too. Any information on this?
Yes, you can can ground beef 🙂 Simply brown the hamburger, put in hot sterilized jars, cover with boiling water leaving 1″ headspace. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds for 75 minutes (pints) or 90 minutes (quarts).
I love canning meat- it gives you an instant meal (without the freezer burn haha!)…have fun! Thanks so much for visiting.
Thanks for this article! Started our small , urban homestead venture a year ago with meat rabbits and gardening! We raise Silver Fox and New Zealand’s. We love it! As a family of 8, we have appreciated the sustainability of meat rabbits.
There is also another Facebook group I would recommend, Buns N Broomsticks.
Thanks again!
Good work! A family of 8…I commend you. Amazing. Keep it up and thanks for the recommendation! Will check them out 🙂
Erin