A question about jackrabbits
- Thread starter justshoot
- Start date
hehehe...actually, young jackrabbits are pretty good to eat most of the time.
The thing about jacks though is that they are just about 100% muscle and no fat...whenever they move, they are almost running every time. So, as they age, they tend to get tough and it's hard to cook them so that they are tender.
This year, I have shot a bunch of jacks and have actually brought a couple home to eat....they turned out OK...the backstrap is the best part in my opinion.
Hope that helps a bit.
The thing about jacks though is that they are just about 100% muscle and no fat...whenever they move, they are almost running every time. So, as they age, they tend to get tough and it's hard to cook them so that they are tender.
This year, I have shot a bunch of jacks and have actually brought a couple home to eat....they turned out OK...the backstrap is the best part in my opinion.
Hope that helps a bit.
Fursniper
Active member
Here is a video on how to bone out a jackrabbit without gutting it....way cool!
Jackrabbits are an overlooked and under utilized resource. Why more people do not eat them is a good question and a mystery. Jackrabbit meat is best if used as a stew meat or seasoned in some way. It is not the type of meat that can be put on a grill and cooked like a steak. Here's a recipe.
Jackrabbit Stew:
Take two deboned jackrabbits and cut into one inch cubes. Sprinkle the meat with a seasoning salt and brown the surface with ¼ cup of olive or canola oil in a hot frying pan.
Place the meat and a packet of beef stew seasoning in a crockpot filled with 2/3rds water and cook for four hours. Add a bag of peeled/cubed/frozen stew veggies (potatoes, carrots, onions, celery), cook for another hour — and watch hungry hunters make that meal quickly disappear.
Jackrabbits are an overlooked and under utilized resource. Why more people do not eat them is a good question and a mystery. Jackrabbit meat is best if used as a stew meat or seasoned in some way. It is not the type of meat that can be put on a grill and cooked like a steak. Here's a recipe.
Jackrabbit Stew:
Take two deboned jackrabbits and cut into one inch cubes. Sprinkle the meat with a seasoning salt and brown the surface with ¼ cup of olive or canola oil in a hot frying pan.
Place the meat and a packet of beef stew seasoning in a crockpot filled with 2/3rds water and cook for four hours. Add a bag of peeled/cubed/frozen stew veggies (potatoes, carrots, onions, celery), cook for another hour — and watch hungry hunters make that meal quickly disappear.
My parents both came from very humble beginnings and their families were true subsistence food consumers. Meaning they would eat nearly anything.....they did not however eat jackrabbits.
My experiences with jacks, they almost always have a ton of fleas, they generally stink and when the neighbor would boil them up for her dog the whole neighborhood stunk. Her dog wasn't all that fond of them either. Otherwise I am sure they are just fine. To me they are the "carp" of bunny table fare.
My experiences with jacks, they almost always have a ton of fleas, they generally stink and when the neighbor would boil them up for her dog the whole neighborhood stunk. Her dog wasn't all that fond of them either. Otherwise I am sure they are just fine. To me they are the "carp" of bunny table fare.
Fursniper
Active member
In AZ, there is a jackrabbit hunt where kids with little or no hunting experience can particpate for free. The program started about 3 years ago and is hosted by Safari Club International and the AZ Game and Fish Dept. This year (2011 hunt) a total of 33 young hunters participated and when they smoke cleared, 62 jackrabbits were in the cooler or stew pot. More than 452 lbs. of rabbits hit the ground! About 8 gallons of jackrabbit stew was prepared with 8 whole chickens as a side dish. There was more chicken meat than jackrabbit meat left over after dinner.
The recipe in my earlier post is what is used for the Junior Jack Kamp and is where I got the jackrabbit stew recipe.
Here is a video from last years 2010 jackrabbit hunt:
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t/c223encore
New member
I was brought up you just shoot jackrabbits and eat cottontails.
t/c223encore.
t/c223encore.
mut hunter
New member
Hi new member here. most of the jacks that i have killed in the warm time of the year have ticks so bad you don't want to pick they up. they are also prone to have alot of worms.
Heretic
Active member
Originally Posted By: t/c223encoreI was brought up you just shoot jackrabbits and eat cottontails.
t/c223encore.
+1. So far, despite the time of year and how many times I try to skin them out for my dogs, I find, worms that look like tree grubs, fleas and a host of other parasites on the Jacks out here in the desert.
Cottontails, however, have none of that after the first really cold week we experience.
t/c223encore.
+1. So far, despite the time of year and how many times I try to skin them out for my dogs, I find, worms that look like tree grubs, fleas and a host of other parasites on the Jacks out here in the desert.
Cottontails, however, have none of that after the first really cold week we experience.
cultclassics
New member
I have yet to eat or hunt jacks........but id love to get out there and try both
cultclassics
New member
I have yet to eat or hunt jacks........but id love to get out there and try both
Grandpa Fudge
New member
we would give the blacktail jacks to people that knew or did not care how to cook them. white tail jacks from wyoming are bigger and taste great! we loved them.
Orneryolfart357
New member
Here in Kommieforniastan even though Jackrabbits are open all year with no limits on take or posession, they are still classified as a game animal. If a Warden sees you shooting jacks, and leave them laying in the field you can be cited for a law called "Wanton Waste". Yep... only Ca. can come up with laws like that.
Boeydafunk
New member
Im with Heretic, our long ears out here are pretty gross!
DaFUnk
DaFUnk
Grandpa Fudge
New member
thank you 357!! as a game animal, jacks can't be hunted at night!!! had a little trouble on here trying to get that explained to some people. the law is the law..
TripleDeuce660
Active member
Originally Posted By: Orneryolfart357Here in Kommieforniastan even though Jackrabbits are open all year with no limits on take or posession, they are still classified as a game animal. If a Warden sees you shooting jacks, and leave them laying in the field you can be cited for a law called "Wanton Waste". Yep... only Ca. can come up with laws like that.
I thought they used to be under the non-game animals till recently? If so it has to do with the condor. Since you can shoot small game with lead in the condor zone they don't want you leaving them out there.
Jacks are not a rabbit, they are a hare. The meat is a lot darker. The smell is much more pungent. I hear the younger ones taste better. I also understand that if they are from an alfalfa field they taste good. I made burritos out of one once but it was nasty I wouldn't do it again. I feed them all to my dog.When I boil them up for my dog it just stinks the whole house up. I find all kinds of nasty bugs even when its in the teens every night.Luckily my beagle just loves it. I use the .223 and go for the head. It keeps me tuned up for shooting predators.
I thought they used to be under the non-game animals till recently? If so it has to do with the condor. Since you can shoot small game with lead in the condor zone they don't want you leaving them out there.
Jacks are not a rabbit, they are a hare. The meat is a lot darker. The smell is much more pungent. I hear the younger ones taste better. I also understand that if they are from an alfalfa field they taste good. I made burritos out of one once but it was nasty I wouldn't do it again. I feed them all to my dog.When I boil them up for my dog it just stinks the whole house up. I find all kinds of nasty bugs even when its in the teens every night.Luckily my beagle just loves it. I use the .223 and go for the head. It keeps me tuned up for shooting predators.
Grandpa Fudge
New member
no deuce they have been the same for as long as i can remember. thats along time! most people think they are not game animals but they do have a season..