Anyone ever done anything with jackrabbit? I've shot hundreds (probably thousands) and at some point began to feel slightly guilty about letting them lie. I've watched multiple hunting shows where they prepared and ate them. Some they said they still really weren't good. Randy Newberg's crew in Arizona claimed they cooked up pretty good in a slow-cook stewed method.

I've watched West Texans (who would eat lots of things) shooting them by the bucket loads for decades and never consider eating one.

Any thoughts on this? And/or times of year to eat or not eat them if you were gonna do it?

My brother in law shot a mess of them just before Christmas last year and made a stew from one of Hank Shaw's recipes. The jackrabbit wasn't the star of the dish, but overall, it was great and the stronger flavor worked really well. I've since made it with cottontail, and honestly prefer the jackrabbit, though both are good.

https://honest-food.net/hare-stew-hard-times/

Put them in a crockpot, pull them off the bone, send them through the blender with garlic, onions, dried tomatoes and any other herbs and spices you like. Make it into a potted meat spread.

I left out that I had grilled quail at the Cabernet Grill in Fredericksburg some years ago. I'm sure it was pen-raised and marinated, but it was good enough that I still think about it 10+ years later.

Hi Txhunter65,

I have shot only 1 waterbuck. A nice mature bull. As you know, all else being equal, young bulls and cows make better table fare than old bulls so one should be cautious about rating the meat of a species based only on having sampled one old male. And yet, all that being said, the meat was actually quite good. It was mainly used in stews, curries and for biltong and we all enjoyed it.

Waterbuck meat gets bad press from many SA hunters / PHs. Some say that the meat "stinks" and is not palatable. I don't agree. Others believe that whether or not the meat is palatable depends on the skinning process. A waterbuck's hide does indeed have a fairly prominent "turpentine-like" smell. The theory is that when you skin the buck, you should not touch any meat if you have touched the skin otherwise the smell is transferred to the meat. I believed this theory since the time I was a young boy and when I shot my waterbuck I made sure that there were 2 skinners - one who worked on the inside of the skin and could touch the meat and one who touched the outside of the skin (when pulling it) and was not allowed to touch the inside. As I mentioned the meat from my waterbuck was good - no turpentine smell at all. Nowadays, most farmers skin waterbuck as described above.

Recently this theory was put to the test in a blind taste test and the conclusion was that there was no difference between the meat that came into contact with the skin and the meat that did not. You can see it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pnx7F0G5K5Q

I was surprised by the quality of ribeye that place turned out.

I think my favorite so far has been axis doe, only slightly more mild than my usual whitetails.

I also love rabbit (cottontail) and squirrel, with squirrel definitely having the most interesting flavor of the two.

I think the only game I've eaten that I didn't like was a jackrabbit I killed and ate about 10 years ago. I leave them alone now.