OT-sous vide whole rabbit time and temp

mtasker

looking to do my first SV whole rabbit.  looked on chef temp, not real helpful.  can anybody point me to another site or have the correct time and temp?

Killit_and_Grillit

Hmm...never done one SV. I just pulled one out of the freezer ironically to thaw and toss on the Joetisserie. 

Standing by for an answer on this...

Is it wild or store bought? 

gdenby

Here's and incorrect time. 133F/12 hours. I was working on making aconfit. Rabbit, lots of salt, a stick of butter. At 12 hours, unbagged the bunny, and thought, "Maybe a little browning on the Egg..." Grabbed a fore leg, it fell off.  Tried turning the whole over to spice the cavity, back fell apart. Made for fine pulled rabbit. Still had a little bite in the flesh, but otherwise came apart completely in my fingers.

For what I wanted to do at the start, a confit, or a paté, it was OK, but no Maillard reaction.

I guess it depends on what you want. The flesh is firm, and there is a fair amount of connective tissue. If you want it to be really tender, maybe an hour at 140, and then some fast heat.

mtasker

Killit_and_Grillit said:

Hmm...never done one SV. I just pulled one out of the freezer ironically to thaw and toss on the Joetisserie. 

Standing by for an answer on this...

Is it wild or store bought? 

we raise rabbits.  this is our first batch.  have made rabbit several ways, just not SV.  now I  have to  buy a Joetisserie.  sweet!

mtasker

gdenby said:

Here's and incorrect time. 133F/12 hours. I was working on making aconfit. Rabbit, lots of salt, a stick of butter. At 12 hours, unbagged the bunny, and thought, "Maybe a little browning on the Egg..." Grabbed a fore leg, it fell off.  Tried turning the whole over to spice the cavity, back fell apart. Made for fine pulled rabbit. Still had a little bite in the flesh, but otherwise came apart completely in my fingers.

For what I wanted to do at the start, a confit, or a paté, it was OK, but no Maillard reaction.

I guess it depends on what you want. The flesh is firm, and there is a fair amount of connective tissue. If you want it to be really tender, maybe an hour at 140, and then some fast heat.

thank you.

blind99

Out of total inexperience, I'd treat it like dark meat chicken, and go 160 for 3 hours, as a starting point.  please let us know how this works

@mtasker have you tried doing the rabbit confit without using the sous vide? for duck, i'll pack 3 or 4 thighs in a cast iron pan and let the fat render, and as they cook submerged in the fat they brown up beautifully.  I know SV is supposed to be easy, but for something like this it just takes longer and more steps and mess.

georgia boy

@mtasker rabbit is much like chicken in that it is lean and delicate, so I SV it very similarly.  

What I do, SV at 145 for 1.5 to 2 hrs.  Then pull from the bags, pat completely dry, and sear at 500+ for 2 mins each side (depending on thickness).  They turn out wonderfully.

Also, don't put butter in the SV bags, the butter will just infuse all of the flavors into the butter and not your meat, and it's not necessary since with SV you don't need to worry about moisture loss.  I usually add dried or fresh herbs and some pepper/seasonings to my meat in the bag.  Then I salt the meat after I pull it from the SV prior to finishing (searing, grilling, whatever).

As @gdenby pointed out, cooking rabbit SV for 12 hrs will cause the rabbit proteins to break down to a point that they don't retain their texture.

mtasker

georgia boy said:

@mtasker rabbit is much like chicken in that it is lean and delicate, so I SV it very similarly.  

What I do, SV at 145 for 1.5 to 2 hrs.  Then pull from the bags, pat completely dry, and sear at 500+ for 2 mins each side (depending on thickness).  They turn out wonderfully.

Also, don't put butter in the SV bags, the butter will just infuse all of the flavors into the butter and not your meat, and it's not necessary since with SV you don't need to worry about moisture loss.  I usually add dried or fresh herbs and some pepper/seasonings to my meat in the bag.  Then I salt the meat after I pull it from the SV prior to finishing (searing, grilling, whatever).

As @gdenby pointed out, cooking rabbit SV for 12 hrs will cause the rabbit proteins to break down to a point that they don't retain their texture.

thank you.  I will give this a try this evening and let you know.

georgia boy

@mtasker awesome!  let us know how it turns out.  pictures too! ha