"Gamey smell" of rabbit casserole

Primrose

Despite soaking it overnight, the rabbit casserole we've just cooked still has such a gamey smell and flavour that we simply can't face eating it! (Which is probably why we haven't cooked one for a long time).


Can't do anything about this one, but is there anything that can be done to get rid of the gamey flavour if we do again, otherwise "bunny" is definitely going to be off future menus.


I have previously eaten rabbit which doesn't taste like this. Do wild shot rabbits have a different flavour to those which are commercial bred for eating?

jackyann

I like game ( I was brought up in the country, and we were often given game so I'm used to it). I am aware that it doesn't suit everyone.
The traditional way of soaking to tenderise, which I still use is to put a tablespoon of vinegar (I use cider vinegar as I find malt overpowering) in water and soak the rabbit for several hours. I really don't know if would suit you, I'm afraid. I can tell you that it is a lot milder than game, but also have to say that commercially farmed rabbit is tasteless IMHO (sorry, not criticising your taste, but trying to put in context)

tori.k

Vinegar it what my mum used to do, it was mostly game when we were kids due to it being mostly free probably why I've been a veggie since a teenager it was like chewing shoe leather sometimes

Primrose

We bought this in a hermetically sealed pack from our butcher and it still had the liver and other organs inside so we don,t know whether this would have had anything to do with it.
The whole house now stinks of it which is not how how I remember rabbit casseroles smelling in the past when I cooked them which has made me wonder whether the rabbit was actually “off” in some way rather than just having a normal gamey smell.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Sounds more like it was off to me. Rabbit has a slightly stronger odour, especially wild rabbit (although I'd still describe it as smelling of rabbit rather than chicken whilst cooking), but not anything that could be described as stinking - you certainly don't leave it to get 'high' like pheasants, but even when we used to get hold of those sometimes when I was a kid, once cooked, they didn't smell bad at all, just very deep, strong and rich, rather than unpleasant.

With strongly flavoured/smelling but still fresh meats, I used a technique I was told about by a Chinese colleague that is often used for lamb, as that's deemed too smelly for a lot of Chinese people, which is to use a little vinegar and sweet wine/sherry to cook it in, along with some soy sauce, as that cuts the greasiness and smell. I've used similar when cooking kidneys, as pig ones are that bit too strong for us to eat, despite knowing they were absolutely fresh - and I always use sweet and sour flavours (such as redcurrant jelly, sharp marmalade, elderberry and lemon jam) and a fair bit of sea salt with liver or duck.

jackyann

That's interesting Jojo, as I was given the vinegar tip specifically about cooking lamb ribs - much cheaper than pork.

Primrose - did the rabbit smell 'high' when you opened it up? It shouldn't. Also, I don't think it's a good idea to seal rabbits or poultry / game that has not been drawn. The usual practice would be either to draw, wash out, then seal it, or to hang it up. I speak as someone who has skinned / plucked and drawn good many rabbits and pheasants in my time!

Primrose

Thinking about it, I think the rabbit did smell stronger than I would have expected when it was taken out of the sealed pack. I think a quiet word to our butcher would be in order in case he still has some packs of it. I've eaten casseroled rabbit on several occasions before and it has never, ever stunk like this before. We've had to put one of those oil air fresheners with reeds in the kitchen overnight to get rid of the cooking smell. I don't think a fresh cooked rabbit should smell like that.

Callie22

I haven't cooked rabbit for a long time, but I don't remember it ever smelling *that* bad. I was taught to soak it in milk, changing it every so often until the milk isn't bloody, which helps remove some of the gaminess and can help to make it more tender - I have used this for venison that was a bit strong and it did help. Buttermilk is good too (and I'd imagine you could use the whey from homemade butter or cheese too, if you had some).