Huntin' Rabbit

As fall (finally) descends upon us, hunting is again on our mind.  Although big game is still a ways off, small game, like grouse and rabbit and hare, is in season.  Wanting to get a jump-start on this year's hunting, Miss Serenity and Master Calvin took the 4-wheeler for an evening drive, shotgun in hand.  As they made their way through the woods, a small movement caught their eye.  A closer look confirmed the presence of a cottontail rabbit just off the path.  Miss Serenity raised her shotgun, pulled the trigger and hit her target dead-on.  After Miss Serenity secured the shotgun, Master Calvin ran to the rabbit, picked him up by the feet and raised him high in the air like a trophy.  Excitedly, they brought their prize home, and after allowing it to be thoroughly admired, they set work skinning the rabbit and harvesting the meat.

Master Calvin and Miss Serenity

Master Hand Grenade teaching Master Calvin and Princess Dragon Snack
how to butcher a rabbit

Skinning the cottontail

Master Hand Grenade expertly skinned the cottontail, not puncturing the skin once, and Miss Serenity stretched the hide on a board and salted it for preservation.   Using his ever expanding meat cutting skills, Master Hand Grenade butchered the rabbit (while teaching his younger siblings as he went) and presented me with perfectly cleaned rabbit meat to use in an upcoming meal.

The yield of 1 cottontail rabbit!

Rabbit meat, bacon and onions

Along with flour, bread crumbs and herbs

Formed into two logs and covered with bacon

I decided upon Hare Haslet to showcase the children's hunting and butchering skills and prepared the rabbit meat for dinner the next evening.  Hare Haslet is an old recipe, but one that can turn the little bit of meat a rabbit produces into a filling family meal.  It is easy to put together and remarkably flavorful.

Oh, what a blessing is the bounty of the forest!


Hare Haslet

1 hare (or rabbit), deboned and minced
1/2 lb. bacon (or other minced meat)
1/4 small loaf bread, cubed  (I used two sliced homemade wheat bread)
1 onion, minced
1 C flour
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp. garlic
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the meat off the bones and mince.  Add bread, bacon and onion, all minced.  Add flour and season with herbs, pepper and salt  Add eggs.  Mix well together and form into two large rolls.  Put into a greased dish with a slice of bacon on each roll and cover.  Bake in a moderate (350 degree) oven for two hours.

*  My oven temps. fluctuate terribly and my Haslet was overdone.  I would begin checking for doneness at 1 1/2 hours and uncover the last 15 minutes to brown.

Hare Haslet - perfect (if not a little brown)!

Served with red potatoes - yum!