Apple orchard pest control results in some good rabbit hunting for these these chaps, as well as a delicious roadside meal of ginger beer battered bunny.
Cai Ap Bryn is patrolling pear and apple orchards in the UK, doing a bit of pest control as the orchards are overrun with rabbits. These European bunnies look very much like our American cottontail, and they can turn agricultural land into a veritable minefield.
They little long-eared galoots dig holes all over the place, causing great damage to the orchards. But this behavior also makes the orchards prime rabbit hunting ground. Cai drives the bordering roads with a scoped .22 in hand, peering down the long rows for bunnies.
Soon he collects several and decides to take a lunch break. He expertly butchers and prepares the rabbits over an open fire, by coating them in a ginger beer batter and deep frying them.
He prepares a simple dip from white wine vinegar, chili paste and brown sugar, letting it reduce over the fire.
Then he pours some cooking oil into a pot over the fire. He takes about a cup-and-a-half of flour and adds to it (all quantities are approximates):
- teaspoon onion granules
- teaspoon garlic granules
- < teaspoon pepper
- < teaspoon paprika
- pinch baking soda
- ginger beer, enough to make a pancake batter consistency
It appears as though he deboned the rabbit, but I can't tell for sure. It wouldn't hurt to debone the hams and forearms of the rabbit, and of course to remove and cut the loins into bite size pieces.
Coat the chunks of meat in the batter and gently place in the hot oil.
When they're done, dip them in the chili/brown sugar dip and eat. This simple recipe sounds fairly amazing if you ask me, especially when cooked and eaten in the field. What could be better.
After this brief respite it's back to the orchards for a little nighttime rabbit hunting.
A fine day indeed.
Like what you see here? You can read more great articles by David Smith at his facebook page, Stumpjack Outdoors.
NEXT: What to Do If You Find a Baby Rabbit in Your Yard This Spring
