Paunching a rabbit

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Paunching a rabbit
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sustainable jane

Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 09 12:29 pm Post subject:

Thanks so much for the clear instructions. Have just paunched my first road-kill rabbit. It's something I've wanted to learn for a few years, but a daunting task for an ex-veggie! Am new to this site and haven't yet found instructions for skinning. Any chance of step-by-step instructions and pics for that? (Obviously not in time for this bunny!) Also have a concern about how to tell if a rabbit has myxomatosis.

Thanks

mochyn

Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 09 12:40 pm Post subject:
Welcome Jane. I'm sure someone will be along who's skinned many more buns than I but it's very easy.

Penny Outskirts

Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 23385
Location: Planet, not on the....

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 09 12:49 pm Post subject:
Hi Jane. someone who is much more expert will be along shortly, but it's a bit like taking a jumper off the bunny, so start at the back legs, then up the back, slide his front legs out then off with his head.

Behemoth

Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 09 12:55 pm Post subject:

Snip the feet off. Slide you fingers between the skin and the saddle where you've paunched the rabbit. Go round both sides until you've made a handbag. You'll see. Grasp the rabbit firmly and pull the skin off the back leggs and haunches. It maky take a bit of effort. Once that's done repeat at the front pulling the skin forward and over the head, slipping the front legs out as well. Chop the head off and play bunny puppets.

Gervase

Joined: 17 Nov 2004
Posts: 8655

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 09 1:27 pm Post subject:

I tend to just pull the skin up as far as the neck and then chop off the head with the skin attached.

Which reminds me of a ghastly surreal trip to the West of Ireland with a couple of friends. We took rods and guns with the intention of being self-sufficient, and bagged a great many rabbits and very few fish.
Over 10 days staying in a friend's cottage we had every conceivable rabbit recipe, and the daily routine would be to skin two or three bunnies in the little walled kitchen garden (with a couple of large Powers whiskies to whet the appetite), peel the spuds and chuck the pelts over the wall for the foxes.
On the final day we did the dutiful clear-up, going round the house and garden to erase any trace of our stay (which mainly involved a trunk full of booze bottles). And then someone thought to look on the other side of the kitchen garden wall.
There was a gnarled and stunted old oak tree, on every branch of whch was draped an empty bunny, like some bizarre piece of contemporary art or a vegan's nightmare Christmas tree. We must have pulled nearly 30 pelts off the tree!

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 09 4:36 pm Post subject:
Jonnyboy's article can be found here.

nellydouglas

Joined: 31 Oct 2011
Posts: 4

Posted: Tue Nov 01, 11 12:14 pm Post subject:
This is a great read, just what I was looking for. Does anyone know how to fav a post?

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Wed Nov 02, 11 12:40 pm Post subject:

Hi Nelly, this is an old post of mine, I hope it might be of use to you.

I recently saw a post by a Johnny Rambo type character on how to joint a rabbit. Well I ask you? He'd got 4 of the most evil looking knives, an axe and a humungous meat cleaver

These are the tools that I tend to use.

Even the secatuers are a bit of overkill, as you can snap the bones of the feet and cut them off with a knife.

Cut the feet off with the secateurs at the equivalent to our wrist.

and tidy up with the knife.

Don't forget to do all four

I always cut the tail off at this stage.

Now this is the bit where you need to take a bit of care. Pull the skin up and nick it with the point of the knife being careful not to go into the body cavity.

Then just widen the hole with your fingers.

Then you just peel it like a glove.

Pull the fur right down over the head and then just cut the neck right the way around with the knife.

and cut the head off.

I always use the secateurs or a knife to cut down through the pelvic region.

JOINTING

I use a knife to cut the back legs off.

Two nice joints - voila

Then I cut the ribs and forelegs off.

Which leaves me with the fore-quarters and saddle. I dont cut the front legs off, simply because they are just too small but this leaves 4 nice joints.

The bit in my hand is the tail bone which I got rid of.
The whole process took about 5 minutes and more to the point I still have all my fingers.

mochyn

Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales

Posted: Wed Nov 02, 11 1:14 pm Post subject:
Did you not illustrate removing the innards? Or did I miss it?

nellydouglas

Joined: 31 Oct 2011
Posts: 4

Posted: Wed Nov 02, 11 2:24 pm Post subject:
Thats great thanks as well. I missed the gutting bit but assume you do that before you skin it? Using the secaters is a good idea (sorry for the spelling!).

matt_hooks

Joined: 01 Aug 2010
Posts: 312
Location: Lambourn(ish) Berkshire

Posted: Tue Nov 29, 11 12:23 am Post subject:

To skin, all I do is lift the skin on the spine, about half way back. Make a small hole, big enough for a couple of fingers. Poke a finger from each hand through the hole and pull in opposite directions. The skin comes off very easily. Just ease off around the legs, and then chop off the little furry bits. You can do this before or after paunching, though I'd normally gut in the field and skin at home. I can paunch, skin and joint a rabbit in a couple of minutes. This assumes you've not got a use for the pelt. If you are using pelts then it takes a little longer to skin, but only a minute or so.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Tue Nov 29, 11 12:42 am Post subject:

nellydouglas wrote:

This is a great read, just what I was looking for.

Does anyone know how to fav a post?

If you bookmark it in your browser it will be there as long as it doesn't get deleted from here.
Going back to BBs gutting hook knife a cheap alternative would be a Stanley hook blade.

magnet

Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 41
Location: Northumberland

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 12 8:55 pm Post subject: paunching rabbits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7trIwVMYZA&feature=plcp just found this never seen this done before. bit graphic but seems to work a treat,

pricey

Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Posts: 6444

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 12 12:50 am Post subject: Re: paunching rabbits

magnet wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7trIwVMYZA&feature=plcp just found this never seen this done before. bit graphic but seems to work a treat,

Going to try that one.....

foggy

Joined: 21 Feb 2012
Posts: 343
Location: Devon

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 12 5:54 pm Post subject:
that's fantastic.

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