I was thinking this morning, early, before I even got out of bed, that I've been skinning, gutting, cutting up and grinding whole rabbits for about ten years now. Agh! I must be some kind of nut to be doing this ... well, maybe not, but it is a lot of work.
I've become very good at it. A while ago, the man who supplies my rabbits came to my house for a rabbit cleaning session. He had some rabbits that he wanted to clean, debone and then grind (with my grinder) for himself. He started to clean his rabbits and I cleaned mine. He did his in the conventional manner: hanging them up by the rear feet and removing the skin using a skinning knife.
Me, I do it much quicker. He was still cleaning his first rabbit when I already had two done. He quickly learned my method.
At least I am no longer picking up dead deer on the side of the road. I connected with the owner of a local game processing outfit and for a couple of cases of Coors Light, I get tons (and tons!) of venison scraps and all the bones I could ever want.
It sure beats grocery-store-bought meat, which I rarely feed to my cats these days.
It's all for the love of my cats (and dogs) that I do this.
