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rabbits skinning, tanning, eating

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darwin:
Cool thanks guys

primitivepaulette:
I have done sulfuric acid tanning and my projects turned out beautiful! HOWEVER.. the devil might jump up and bite you in the a$$ many years down the road..like if you were to get it wet it will probably then disintegrate.. this being because the acid doesn't want to fully neutralize or so I've heard.. much better idea to try to learn brain tanning and then the use of a very light hand! I've done ONE wild rabbit.. turned out okay but it was indeed a job..probably the BEST bet is a synthetic tan. Forget who makes that.. Guy named OS on taxidermy.net. TruBond.. that is what his tan is called. I have never used it but I think it is supposed to be great for tans that you want to use for garment tanning.. so yeah a washable tan and the fur and skin are still tanned and together.. lol.. Those rabbit skin woven blankets are oh so sweet! Guess you just need a real BUNCH of them. I also of course have used the powerwasher on rabbit furs.. We had all kinds of mostly domestic rabbits running around here.. Destructive little devils.. cute though they may be! I let our young daughter shoot several and was GOING TO tan them but just got sidetracked and never did finish the bunnies I started.. I did skin them and flesh them very well.

bubby:
yeah the battery acid trick works good, mother earth news has a how to on line, we used to raise meat rabbit's, that's some good eating man, bub

JW_Halverson:
Some years back in a wonderful explosion of cottontails, I was canning a dozen jars of "wingless chicken" every week. 

I'd break down the skinned rabbit by cutting thu the backbone just behind the last ribs.  Toss the front end in a very large pot with a bottle of cheap white wine, bunch of classic french herbs, and a little salt and pepper.  Be sure to add a pint or so of water for every rabbit you are canning.  Get it simmering just under a recognizable boil.  Simmer this for a couple hours to make an incredible soup broth.  Strain carefully to get out the bones and pick the meat out for later. Or skip picking the meat, not all that much on the front end.

While that is simmering, take the back end of the rabbit and cut the "rack" just ahead of the pelvis.  The heavy backstraps and tenderloins are on this section that my friends and I call the rack.  Split the pelvis to seperate the two hind legs.  Stuff your two hind legs and the rack in a quart jar with a half teaspoon of garlic salt, and a healthy shake of black pepper. 

Now use the broth from the slow simmered front ends to fill the jars to 1" from the top.  Lightly screw on the lids and put in the pressure cookers at 10 lbs of pressure for 75 minutes. 

The canned rabbit meat falls off the bone.  I would crack open a jar, pour the broth into a pan with a diced potato and a cup and a half of frozen mixed vegetables.  When the potatoes were done, I'd seperate the meat from the bones and drop it in the hot soup, and serve.  A quart jar of this canned rabbit will feed three grown men on hot "chicken soup" if you can make a decent enough batch of cornbread or cathead biscuits to go with it!

darwin:
That sounds good, JW i might have to try that, i think im going to try the battery acid trick, if i can convince my better half to allow me to do it inside our weather has been too crazy to try it outside, she is convinced that the battery acid is too dangerous for me to use. the fact that im a toxicologist and work with more dangerous stuff on a daily bases doesn't seem to make a difference to her.

 two question
1. Does the acid tan smell bad (if it does i might not be allowed inside with it)

2. Would anyone be interested in trading for any of these skins if they turn out well, their white rabbits? I don't have any immediate use for them and am more doing to learn how and to prevent waste as the rabbits are getting killed whether i skin them or not.

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