Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Shooting and Hunting => Topic started by: jimmy on June 15, 2013, 10:53:37 am
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What kind of (non-typical) meat have you guys hunted for and ate? For example, coon, opposum, armadillo, crow, gar. I want to expand my choices, I just don't know if it is worth it. Like bow wood, there are lot's of options where I live. It seems a shame to be limited to just one or two types.
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I'm also interested in this topic. Interested in method of preparation too.
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I like frog legs but that's fairly common
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Groundhog is pretty yummy. Just make sure you remove the glands from its armpits. Quarter it, cut up some potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, can of kernel corn and a can of green beans. Put it in a roasting pan covered at 300 degrees for about 90 minutes. It really does taste similar to pot roast.
Fried rattlesnake is good. It tastes like alligator.
When I was vacationing in Zambia, I ate anything strange on the menu. I had warthog, gazelle, cape buffalo. The gazelle soup was my favorite, but the warthog bbq was a close second.
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The only unusual things I have specifically hunted for and eaten, that nobody else seems to like, is carp and jackrabbit.
If you marinate the meat and then grill it with plenty of smoke, almost anything can be eaten.
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I was raised next to my granddad. Spent a LOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT of time with him.He was raised at at time when you just did'nt ride down to wallmart and pick up dinner. Theyed eat everything and everything they could trap or kill. It pertty much ran over to me.
So things like rabbits,squirrels,coons, ground hogs.turtles,frogs, rattle snakes were all fair game and no that bad. It's all really good exspecially in a cooking bag BQ. I grew up eating lots of snaping turtles. We'd also gig ,shoot frogs but we never just eat the legs we'd skin and deep fry the whole frog. It their big the tenerloins as big as the legs. And the front legs as good as the back ones.
My granddad as a for real gobbler hunter. He hunter every spring in NC. at a place called DARK HOLLOR. The old guy he was friends with owned a mountain (miles and miles). They aways had a big turkey camp. I use to go with him growing up. They alway have a big frog fry couple 100 or more. The also eat the whole frog.
Growing up all fish were fair game to gig,arrow or set gill nets ,traps. Even a couple really illeagle ways of fishing were used at times.
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Well, I've giged frogs and they are good to eat. But I have access to tons of carp and gar. My dad ate a lot of carp growing up. They used walnut husks to stun them in the creeks, then his mother would pressure cook them and can them. I had iguana down in Mexico once, but I don't think I'll see any around here. Squirrel, rabbit, frogs are all normal. I am interested in other critters. Like armadillo for example. Is it really dangerous to eat?
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I have not hunted or even seen one in the wild. however I can tell you cougar is really good, we had the back straps given to us. it was cut thin rolled in flower fried in grease and seasoned salt & pepper. Ed
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Gopher pie! Stew like hedgeapple said and then bake it in a pie. Just like tiny beef! Stay away from ones that may have been grazing on pesticides.
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nutria tacos!
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Armadillo, is good. Tastes like pork. We would par boil it, and then dry it off, and season it, with salt, pepper, and garlic, and onion powder, and roll it in flour, and deep fry it. Just be careful handling them, as they are the only animal, other than humans that can contract leprosy (Hanson's Disease). They were used as test animals, in Louisiana, and many escaped. It is mainly contracted from contact with nasal discharge. There have only been a few cases of people getting Leprosy from them. Still not something to take lightly. :o :P My Buddies and I used to catch a couple for camp when we were deer hunting in Gulf Hammock, in north Florida. That is the only time when I would go out of my way to catch one and eat it. But it was quite tasty. Especially with some biscuits, and rice and gravy. As Jerry Clower would say, when asked what that was on the platter on the table, ......."Possum on the half shell". ;) :P ;D ;D
Wayne
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I was visiting a village up in Manitoba, close to The Pas. It was during the Trappers Festival and they were putting on a wild game feed. I went down the line turning nothing down, making sure no animal felt that I was prejudiced against it. When I got to the end of the line there was an Aboriginal Canadian about 6'4" tall, 111 lbs, and three teeth...no two meshed together.
He had a huge cast iron kettle he was stirring and he pulled up a ladle and said with glee, "Rat soup!" I stuck out a bowl. He repeated, "RAT soup." I pushed the bowl closer to him and he lost a bit of his smile as he said, "Aw, it's just muskrat."
Since then I have failed to turn down anything. Rattler, dog, smoked porcupine, smoked squirrel, snails, french toast made with ostrich egg and the rest of the egg scrambled on the side, buffalo tongue-kidneys-sweetbreads, and endless pots of stuff my friend Jerry just labels as "Meat?".
Once we were visiting this same subject around the campfire at a Rendezvous. A young feller about 14 was wide eyed as folks traded their favorite recipes for beaver, finally he could hold out no longer. He blurted out, "Someday I am gonna eat a beaver!" I patted him fondly on the shoulder and said softly, "You will, son, someday you will." >:D
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I work on the Cherokee Indian reservation in western NC; folks there eat a lot of bear meat and coon meat. Bear meat is usually canned. For coon meat, I hear it's best to boil it down quite a bit. Haven't yet had either, myself. Rabbit is well loved in classical cuisine, though I hear it's quite a challenge to prepare it well.
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J.W, ;
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ::) ;D ;D ;D ;D :P ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
I was at a small ranch owned by a good Friend of mine, and he and his wife, and his Wife's two elderly Aunts were visiting. My Buddy had a bumper sticker on his truck, that said, " Save a tree, eat a Beaver". I don't remember the Aunts names, but one turned to the other, and said look, ____ save a tree, eat a Beaver....the other one said, I wish someone would eat our Beavers! :o :P My Buddy's Wife turned beet red, and I had to go stand by the side of the barn, and my Buddy walked away a few yards, while his Wife's aunt said, oh, yes, they come out of the creek, and eat our hedges, and roses, and all the plants!
Steve; Good ol "Hassenpeffer!" Should be a lot of recipes on the internet for it.
Wayne
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Jackrabbits. I've brought the meat to work and only my Navajo friends would eat it. Everyone else was totally freaked out. Traditional Navajos here will eat prairie dogs and I have made mention I'd like to try it the next time they prepare one.
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Desert Pack rats in AZ. Its actually pretty tastey. In a side by side taste test challenge rabbit and pack rat is almost identical.
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As for pack rats, probably taste like squirrel. However, be very careful when handling pack rats, or mice, or other rats, as especially out west, they may have fleas, with the "Hanta" virus. :o Always burn the hair off, and handle with gloves, or stick tongs. As with any wild or domestic animal, be careful about blood contact. We had a problem with "Brucelosis" with hogs down here for awhile. I think they had a problem with that with Buffalo in the Yellowstone area, once also. I have BIG ground squirrels in Montana. Been thinking of trying one. ;)
Wayne
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calf, elk, deer and antelope nuts the calf was the best and antelope by far the worst :)
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I tried squirrel brains once NEVER AGAIN. They tasted like rotted fat. BBlluuukkkk
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Yes, Stickbender is correct. Hantavirus is a problem here in the Southwest. It's usually found among Kangaroo Rats and White-Footed Mice. There is a Navajo taboo against allowing rodents to live in the hoogan, and it probably comes from that. In addition, Bubonic Plague is often found here among prairie dogs which is why so many people have given up eating them. Tularemia is found among rabbits here, so surgical gloves are a must for skinning and gutting. Add to that almost every summer, Rabies occurs among the skunk and fox populations. A skunk seen in daylight here certainly has it. An infected fox once attacked a guy here and he like to have never got it off his foot. Good reason to carry a stout hickory walking stick while hiking here. "Nothing beats a fine piece of hickory..."
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Be askeered, be reeeeel askeered of them thar foamy mouthed varmits! :o :P
Yeah, we had the tularemia problem here also. Warm climate. I don't eat rabbits, and such because of it. Plus the fact they are all full of tape worms, and wolves. There is some form of virus, among the squirrels down here. I have only seen it once in a squirrel, in Gainesville, years ago. A squirrel had big lumps, all over it, and sores. Not supposed to be contagious to humans. Not going to test it. :P ;) I would only eat the western mousy varmits, in a survival situation, if it didn't look like I was likely to get anything healthier to eat.;)
Yeah, a nice big walking stick, and a pistol, or rifle, or shotgun, would handy for the rabid critters! Hmmmm, I wonder if the rabies virus would also be in the skunk spray? I had read where some cave explorers had contracted rabies, by breathing in the virus, that was in the air, from all the infected bats that were in the cave, and their droppings, that were infected with the virus, and coming in contact with it. Kinda takes the fun out of peeking in a cave. :( :P But the bottom line is just be careful, and as hygenic as possible. "Bon Apetite, :P ;D ;D ;D
Wayne
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Be askeered, be reeeeel askeered of them thar foamy mouthed varmits! :o :P
Yeah, we had the tularemia problem here also. Warm climate. I don't eat rabbits, and such because of it. Plus the fact they are all full of tape worms, and wolves. There is some form of virus, among the squirrels down here. I have only seen it once in a squirrel, in Gainesville, years ago. A squirrel had big lumps, all over it, and sores. Not supposed to be contagious to humans. Not going to test it. :P ;) I would only eat the western mousy varmits, in a survival situation, if it didn't look like I was likely to get anything healthier to eat.;)
Yeah, a nice big walking stick, and a pistol, or rifle, or shotgun, would handy for the rabid critters! Hmmmm, I wonder if the rabies virus would also be in the skunk spray? I had read where some cave explorers had contracted rabies, by breathing in the virus, that was in the air, from all the infected bats that were in the cave, and their droppings, that were infected with the virus, and coming in contact with it. Kinda takes the fun out of peeking in a cave. :( :P But the bottom line is just be careful, and as hygenic as possible. "Bon Apetite, :P ;D ;D ;D
Wayne
I don't think the rabies virus goes into a spore state to survive outside the host body. I will do some checking with a vet I know just as soon as I run into her. Anthrax, on the other hand is everywhere. It encapsulates into spore form when outside a host and lasts thru all kinds of weather, cataclysm, environmental degredation, and nuclear holocaust. Encouraging ain't it?
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As much sheep as gets raised out here, I am surprised there is not more anthrax here.
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Yeah, Anthrax is just wonderful. :P >:(
Like our own idiots in the government research dept.s , the Scottish geniuses told the sheep herders, who used an island for sheep grazing for centuries, that they were going to test the Anthrax on that island, but not to worry, they had everything under scientific control, and they would eradicate any trace of Anthrax on the island, and all would be well again. Well they did their testing. And...... after years, of scorched earth, digging, and scorching again, chemicals, etc. .......the island is still uninhabitable. Nor can it be used for sheep grazing, since Anthrax is still detected there. Well, that certainly worked out well for all, didn't it?!! As for Rabies having a "spore" state, I don't have a clue. I do know it is a virus, and can be air borne, and inhaled. Whether or not you can acquire the virus that way, again, I don't know, only what I read about the cave explorers. But it seems that if it enters your lungs, it would be brought into the blood stream. Don't know for certain, just seems like it would. Not a biologist. Still it wouldn't hurt to take along a good respirator, when "Spelunking". ;) Let us know what you find out about the Rabies virus being airborne, and any dangers of it. I know for the first years of Aids scare, they were saying it was only contagious by blood contact, or sex,and not by insect vectors either. Well while they were saying that, Dr. Whiteside, here in Fl. was disputing that, being as how mosquitoes inject an anticoagulant, before sucking the blood. If that mosquito is infected with aids, it will inject the virus. Some Dr.s stated it would not be enough to contract aids. Not enough? ??? Plus there was an elderly couple in their upper 80's who contracted Aids. One had contracted through blood transfusion, the other only shared the same glass that they stored their dentures in. Sex? I strongly doubt it. The denture glass was the only thing that they shared. Both had Aids. One after the other contracted it through the transfusion.
The the CDC told Dr. Whiteside, and others, there will not be any more Aids cases reported. Nice. Our Gov. at our side. :P Anywho, just be careful, either way. ;)
Wayne
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Being a virus rabies does not technically form spores however it can remain stable and virulent in many different environments, and if you get infected and don't get treated its almost guaranteed you will die (only one known case of someone surviving and she had severe health problems after) so get treated if you think you may have been exposed. Also as for armadillos carrying leprosy (from a science point of view a cool organism), That is true, however it is extremely difficult to catch leprosy from anything (even another human) unless you are immune compromised, still I wouldn't let the kiddies play with one. Anthrax is common in cattle in Texas where i live and every year there are a few fatalities in the state but its almost always related to those who work in the live stock industry. Anthrax is a spore former and infection rates always go up in dry years (because it lives in the soil). I know rabbits of all shapes and sizes can carry Tularemia for that matter so can beavers, muskrats, small rodents, and ticks which is why i have always been told to wear gloves when cleaning rabbits and when cooked properly the bacterium should be inactivated. As for AIDS there are many doctors and scientist who do nothing but study AIDS and HIV, however I am not one of them, I do know that HIV cannot survive inside a mosquito if anyone wants a longer explanation on why mosquito cant transmit the AIDS virus here you go (http://www-rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/aids.htm)
Lastly I just want to say the reason I can say all this and be confident its fact is that I am a Microbiologist and a toxicologist and have in the past done research on many of the above organisms. Don't stop eating wild game (like any of you would) its just good to be aware of some of mother natures smaller and meaner creatures.
Also if anyone has any other questions about Microbiology please let me know I love sharing information and sometimes its hard to find an audience.
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Don't stop eating wild game (like any of you would) its just good to be aware of some of mother natures smaller and meaner creatures.
As I process deer and antelope, I am constantly slicing thin, narrow strips off. I keep small bowls of Worcestershire sauce and soy near at hand to dip them in. Venison tartare is exquisite! And I feel safer eating this than I do a well done steak from a cow raised in confinement. I've seen cattle feed lots, I can't eat that stuff.
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the soy and Worcestershire contain enough salt to kill most bacteria so i would say that your pretty safe doing that
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Thanks for the info Darwin. Good to have an actual scientist on board! ;) 8) 8) Always glad to listen to biologic, and insect vector info. ;) Bring it on! It would be good for all of us to get a little more info. I read and still have the book by James A. Duke PHD, called the Green Pharmacy, he was telling about how if you eat Sushi, to be sure to eat the ginger, as it not only kills the parasite anasarkis, but also the eggs. Well one of my cats had worms, and I started sprinkling powdered ginger on her food, and mixing it up, and after about a week, her coat was glossy again, and I didn't see any more worms, on her or in her stool. I have been using it intermittently ever since. I know a lot of people who eat Sushi, say that the wasabi, kills the parasites that are found in fish, such as anasarkis. I don't know if that is true or not. I know if I was a parasite, and came in contact with wasabi, I would be looking for a host somewhere else! :o :P
Wayne
Wayne
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I didn't know that about ginger but I'm not surprised.
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Probably not the smartest thing to do, but I once ate a piece of heart cut from my deer that I just shot with my bow. It was suprisingly mild and very fresh tasting. It was pretty good. Just as good as sushi.
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The odds of eating wild game with communicable disease/parasites has got to be far less than the risks associated with feedlot animals where vectors of infection are out of this world. Deer do not stand around in filth up to their hocks like cattle are forced to do. The sick/weak in the wild are not cared for and do not last, unlike feedlot animals getting daily doses of low level antibiotics...a practice that simply produces stronger diseases that are unresponsive to drugs.
Fresh deer heart, probably one of the healthiest and most natural things you have EVER put in your belly.
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Sushi is usually cooked, sashimi is raw. I've tried pretty much everything in Florida except opossum and some of our newer exotics. House cat and dog are pretty tastie. 8) When I was lobstering I'd usually pinch some tail meat off to chew on while I was diving. If I ate it all, it was lunch and gave me one more to go to make up my limit. ::)
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porcupine
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and endless pots of stuff my friend Jerry just labels as "Meat?".
lol
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Once we were visiting this same subject around the campfire at a Rendezvous. A young feller about 14 was wide eyed as folks traded their favorite recipes for beaver, finally he could hold out no longer. He blurted out, "Someday I am gonna eat a beaver!" I patted him fondly on the shoulder and said softly, "You will, son, someday you will." >:D
Thats just freaking golden, ;D.
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l helped a friend put down Three mules earlier this yr. Made fine stew and roast from them.
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Supposedly, the Apache's preferred mule meat over other meats. Don't know if it is true or not, but I don't see why it wouldn't be as good as beef. Ask the french, ...... horse meat is common over there.
Wayne
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Dont know that i could eat a horse i think horse and dog are both off limits for me had to many of them growing up it would upset me to much to kill one let alone eat it
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Chipmunk , beaver , worms , woodchuck :P, gizzardshad the most bones ive ever seen in a fish , gator that was yummy , still can't get myself to much liver of anykind . ive been wanting to try coyote for a while im working on that . oo yea found a fresh mallard egg when landscaping took it home fryed it up the best egg ever .
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The back strap of a Gar taste like shark, and shark taste AMAZING! But you must eat it fresh or it gets rubbery. I have cooked them on a hot flat rock heated up in a camp fire. Just a pinch of salt and MMmmmMMMMmmm! Gar is amazing.