How to Slaughter a Rabbit? Detailed Guide to the Correct Method and Steps

Domestic rabbits are very convenient to raise because they are herbivores, a common meat dish on the dining table, and rich in nutritional value. So, how do you slaughter a rabbit?

1. How to slaughter a rabbit?

The commonly used methods include the stick strike method, the head-and-neck dislocation method, and the neck-cut bloodletting method. In the stick strike method, you grasp the hind legs with your left hand and lift the rabbit upside down, then with your right hand strike the medulla oblongata area at the base of both ears hard with a wooden stick; in the dislocation method, you grasp the rabbit's hind feet with your left hand and the rabbit's head with your right hand, stretch the rabbit's body as long as possible, then pull hard while quickly twisting the head to dislocate the joint between the head and neck and cause death; the neck-cut bloodletting method is to cut the blood vessels in the neck to let blood out.

2. How to Handle a Rabbit After Slaughter

1. Skinning

Hang the dead rabbit upside down by the hock joints of the hind legs with an iron hook or rope, then make a ring-shaped cut through the skin at the hock joints of both hind feet, then cut the skin open along the inner side of the thigh through the base of the tail, peel the skin of both hind legs down to the base of the tail, cut off the tail, carefully turn the skin inside out and pull it down with force to the wrist joints of the front legs and the lower root, and cut the skin off. It is best to use scissors as the skinning tool, and care should be taken to avoid scratching the hide and lowering its quality. If you want to eat rabbit with the skin on, do not skin it but instead remove the hair; you can add 400 g of quicklime to 3000 g of boiling water, put the slaughtered rabbit in, turn it a few times and take it out, then rub it with your hands and the rabbit hair will be completely removed.

2. Opening the Belly

For the skinned rabbit, first remove the front and hind feet at the wrists and hock joints, cut off the head from the base of the ears at the neck, cut open the abdominal wall along the midline of the belly, being careful not to damage the internal organs, check for any lesions, and quickly judge whether it is fit to eat. Then take out the internal organs, remove blood stains and glands that may cause off-flavors, and finally separate and handle the internal organs.

3. Sales and Storage

The carcass can be packaged according to different requirements. Sell it after cooling at 0-4°C for 10-12 hours, or keep it refrigerated at -17.5°C to -20°C; you can also use the dry storage method, which includes air drying and smoke drying, that is, soak the carcass (with the head, claws, tail, and internal organs removed, and it must not be washed with water) in soy sauce for 1-2 days, put scallions, ginger, garlic, Sichuan pepper and other seasonings plus five-spice powder into the body cavity, and hang it in a ventilated place to air dry or smoke dry over a fire.

Finally, the editor reminds everyone that although rabbit meat is highly nutritious, rabbit meat is cold in nature, so it should be avoided by anyone with vomiting or diarrhea caused by deficiency-cold of the spleen and stomach. Rabbit meat should not be eaten together with chicken hearts, chicken livers, otter meat, tangerines, mustard, or soft-shelled turtle meat.