How to butcher a rabbit

Skin it, chop it, mince it or stew it: Thom Hunt of 7th Rise demonstrates the simple and speedy art of rabbit butchery

For some people, the art of skinning and preparing a rabbit can look a little gruesome, which is the reason why I believe every person should try it at least once in their lives.Whereas many of us have become disconnected from the meat we eat, in many cultures around the world preparing meat on the bone is a perfectly normal part of everyday life.

The process is surprisingly simple. In fact my record for ‘speed butchery’ of a rabbit is 92 seconds.This includes gutting, skinning and jointing a whole carcass.The carcass can be split into three rough sections; the front (shoulder, neck and skirt), the middle (the loin and tenderloin) and the rear (the rump/hind legs).

The front end is great for mincing for rabbit bolognese or bunny burgers while the loin is fantastic for quick frying, quick roasting or hot smoking.The rear legs are ideal for diced dishes, such as stews or curries. Alternatively, place the whole rabbit in vegetable stock with carrot, celery, onion, peppercorns and bay leaves and poach it on a gentle simmer for three hours. Remove the rabbit and you can pull the meat from the bone, which you can use in fun dishes like crispy rabbit pancakes, rabbit pies (it holds the gravy really well) or Mexican pulled rabbit tacos.

1. Remove the skirt/belly (thin meat from the ribs to the hip) from each side of the rabbit and set aside for mincing.

2. Cut between ribs 3 and 4 on each side (counting from the smallest rib nearest the hips up towards the head), cutting all the way round so the incisions marry up on each side and then literally snap the spine – pull and the front end will detach. Any meat from this front section should be taken off the bone and minced with the belly meat.

3. Take a heavy cleaver and chop the middle section (the saddle) from the rear legs at the lowest part of the spine where it meets the hips. Cleaver the two back legs apart by chopping down the middle.

4. Remove the loin from the saddle by running a knife down the side of the spine on each side and then teasing open the cut. Use the tip of the knife to roll each long thin fillet of meat off the bone. Do not casserole the saddle once jointed – if you overcook it you will end up with lots of small vertebrae bones in the dish.

You can discover more wild food techniques in the second print edition of Ernest Journal on sale now. 

From growing up on his grandparents' farm to travelling the world as a diving instructor, Thom has always had an accute connection with the wild. He now runs 7th Rise, specialising in fishing, hunting and foraging.

 7thrise.co.uk

Word of the week: lunette

lunette

\lü-'net\

noun:

1: something that has the shape of a crescent or half-moon

2: the figure or shape of a crescent moon

"All the windows and doors were topped with lunettes of small-paned glass." – Theodore Dreiser, The Financier, 1912

Did you know?

'Lunette', a word borrowed from French, looks like it should mean 'little moon' – luna being Latin for 'moon' and '-ette' being a diminutive suffix. There is indeed some 17th-century evidence of the word being used for a small celestial moon, but that meaning is now obsolete. Earlier, in the 16th century, 'lunette' referred to a horseshoe having only the front semicircular part – a meaning that still exists but is quite rare. 'Lunette' has other meanings too rare for Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary but included in their Unabridged. Among these are 'a blinder especially for a vicious horse', and, in the plural form, 'spectacles'. (Lunettes is the usual term for eyeglasses in modern French.) The oldest meaning of 'lunette' still in common use is 'something shaped like a crescent of half-moon', which evidence dates to circa 1639.

This is taken from 365 New Words-A-Year 2015 Page-A-Day Calendar
pageaday.com 

Anatomy of a compass

The magnetic compass opened up unreachable parts of the ocean and made precise navigation possible. Duncan Haskell explores its innards for us...

Illustration: Aidan Meighan

Illustration: Aidan Meighan

GIMBAL The gimbal system was introduced for compasses used aboard ships on rough seas and had to remain level to give an accurate reading.To do this, two sets of pivots at right-angles are mounted in brass hoops around the compass and are able to rotate independently in the centre.

PIN For the needle to swivel freely it is positioned upon a sharp balance pin, which reduces any friction that may restrict its movement. 

ROSE CARD Fitted under the needle and pin, this circular card is annotated with the cardinal points N, S, E, W. Initially it was used to indicate the main winds sailors were familiar with at sea. 

NEEDLE The key component of the compass is the magnet itself, often referred to as the needle. The magnetised needle detects the Earth’s magnetic field and aligns itself accordingly, with the south pole of the needle being attracted to Earth’s magnetic North Pole.The end of the needle is often marked to indicate this.

This was taken from print issue 2 of Ernest Journal, on sale now.

Capturing the Hebrides on a Fuji X-E2

For our 24-page special on the Hebrides in the second print edition of Ernest Journal we sent photographer Colin Nicholls and his trusty Fuji X-E2 up north to brave gale force winds and gargantuan seafood platters

Sligachan on the Isle of Skye; one of the days where the weather wasn't terrible. X-E2/ 18mm

Sligachan on the Isle of Skye; one of the days where the weather wasn't terrible. X-E2/ 18mm

When Ernest Journal contacted me with a request to head up to the west coast of Scotland, take on a few assignments and see some incredible sights, all for their Hebridean special and cover of their second print issue, I of course said yes.

I had four goals on my trip and a few places to visit – in short these were:

- Meet a prawn fisherman at Dunstaffnage Marina near Oban, head out on his boat and get some shots of him fishing. This was a great job but also rather difficult balancing on a small boat on choppy waters while taking photos.

- Visit an oyster farm. It was fascinating seeing how oysters are farmed, I met some ace people and was given a seafood platter fit for a party of four. 

- Travel to the Isle of Skye and meet photograph weavers who use a bicycle powered loom to make all sorts of awesome things. Such a welcoming couple living in a beautiful corner of the island.

- Cover shot. During my whole time in western Scotland I was conscious I had to shoot a good selection of images for Ernest's cover – in the end they went for a shot of Sligachan on the Isle of Skye.

I took with me the Fuji X-E2 and various lenses – this was the first major outing of the 56mm lens and I was really pleased with the results. The one body got a bit of a battering on the fisherman's boat but lasted through – these cameras can resist a bit of water. 

The trip wasn't without its setbacks – high winds forced me to stay on the mainland for a few hours while Skye was in sight but frustratingly out of reach, which meant I had less time to explore the island overall. But it wasn't all bad – I got to the bridge at about the only time of day there was any good light and bagged the cover shot. 

The 2nd print issue is out now so go grab yourself a copy for an epic Hebridean adventure.

Colin is a Hereford-based photographer specialising in weddings and editorial work with a keen passion for landscape and street photography. He shoots on a Fuji X-100, Fuji X-E1 and Fuji X-E2 

colinnichollsphotography.com

The Hartlepool Monkey

Whatever became of the seafaring monkey who survived a shipwreck and washed up on the shores of old Blighty?

Of all the flotsam and jetsam to find its way ashore in Hartlepool during the Napoleonic Wars, a monkey dressed in the blue and white uniform of a Frenchman had to have been the most unlikely. But with France having trading posts around the globe, the idea of a monkey being aboard one of their ships isn’t as far-fetched as you may first think.

As the story goes, a French ship, believed to have been a trade ship (though the North Sea is an odd place for a vessel of this standing) was wrecked not too far from Hartlepool. It’s believed the monkey was dressed in French regalia for the entertainment of the sailors onboard. Clinging to some flotsam, the seafaring ape rode the tide and found itself on English soil.

Upon discovery, unable to respond to interrogation from the locals, they took it upon themselves to try it on suspicion of being a spy against King and country. The verdict was guilty and thus, the poor creature was hanged by the neck until dead.

Words: Lewis Coupland

You can discover more nuggets of curious history in our 2nd print issue of Ernest Journal, on sale now.