What animals make for bad or dangerous eats?

[Rhino-lfl]

I've never gone for much more then fishing, deer, some foul and the wabbit kill'en. My friend borrowed some of my snares because he said he has a muskrat and some skunk under his house and wants to get them. He said after he catches them, he's gonna eat'em. But I've heard that some animals you just can't eat, and I would think that skunk and muskrat would be one of them. I also heard that possum is riddled with parasites and you don't want to eat that either. I've had squirrel but never chipmunk, nor raccoon or crow, I was also told that some wild geese taste like poop.

Do you guys know any North American animals or foul like this that you can't eat, or can you pretty much eat anything?

[ozt42]

You can (and I have) eat just about anything on four feet, some just taste better than others.

Squirrles and chipmunks carry a prion disorder like mad cow -- don't eat the brains.

'musky animals' muskrat, skunk, beaver are edible but you have to be carefull when you skin them or they taste like... well words can't describe how skunk meat polluted with skunk musk tastes.

[Smile]

Pass on the groundhogs.

[Mother's Finest]

muskrat is good.....just ask any oldtimer on the Eastern Shore of Md. Not too sure about a muskrat living under your friends house, I thought they lived in wetlands.

snares are pretty nasty. why not use a live trap and release the animals? (i know this might me a bit harder with a skunk)

peace
mf

[The Owl]

I have limited experience with this topic, but I am pretty sure that bears would not be considered "good eats" ( sorry Alton! ;) ).

Trout are good, and I love backstrap(venison) when camping. Of course, it's been harvested during hunting season. The only thing I've ever actually caught and eaten while hiking/camping are the errant bug, and a few trout. Trout cooked in an open fire, with a little lemon pepper are very tasty...if you like fish.

But don't eat bears. They don't really like the idea very much and the fur is like a scrubbing brush. icky. :)

[Jester2000]

I was also told that some wild geese taste like poop.

This is because, unlike most animals, the insides of a goose are made up entirely of goose poop.

[Fiddleback]

There's a surprising number of people that think bear are good to eat (more that one was surprising to me:D ). I've been offered bear sausage while being educated on what a great job bear grease does in making pie crust and other doughs (strictly for emotional reasons, I don't eat game meat so I took the sausage home to 'eat later').

That being said, bear meat is the most common cause of trichinosis in the U.S..

FB

[Tin Man]

Shelter mice are yummy! Cook them slowly over a spit and feed them to your partner - tell him its rabbit, but tastes like chicken.

[Jester2000]

I've been offered bear sausage . . .

Is that what we're calling it these days?

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

I've eaten just about every critter. Bear meat is tasty, but greasy. Skunk and possum are meats I would avoid. Squirrel dumplings put chicken dumplings to shame. Deer is wonderful. Raccoon taste like dark meat chicken.

[Jester2000]

I was gonna make a comment about what dinosaur tastes like, but I figure I'd get bit, so I'm backin' off.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

CHOMP - It's official - Jester's toes taste like chicken.

[weary]

....I am pretty sure that bears would not be considered "good eats" ....
Properly cared for, bear meat is pretty good, not gourmet, but perfectly good food.

Weary

[weary]

Pass on the groundhogs.
Henry Thoreau ate a groundhog -- or thought about it. I forget which. I say if you get a chance to cook a groundhog, go for it.

Weary

[EWS]

Dove-Really good

Kangaroo-Bad, sort of like a really old sheep

Ostrich-Great if cooked properly, otherwise tastes like really cheap/dry beef

Aligator-Really good, tastes like interbread chicken and freshwater fish

Elephant-Disgusting, tasted like an 300lb fat chick that had been cooked who was still bleeding gravy

Bison-Good, basically leaner cow

[rjridgely]

try not to eat crow

[sarbar]

There are few animals that I like to eat....bison and deer are about it. And even then, if I had to give up one type of food for the rest of my life? Meat. I wouldn't miss it much.
Having said that...I'd avoid racoon meat. Ever since reading the warnings on the parasites they can carry, that can travel to the brain...uhhh, lets just say NO THANKS!!

[Toolshed]

Is that what we're calling it these days?

Great!!! Smartass!!!!!!
****ing coffee all over my keyboard!!!!

[Slosteppin]

There's a surprising number of people that think bear are good to eat (more that one was surprising to me:D ). I've been offered bear sausage while being educated on what a great job bear grease does in making pie crust and other doughs (strictly for emotional reasons, I don't eat game meat so I took the sausage home to 'eat later').

That being said, bear meat is the most common cause of trichinosis in the U.S..

FB

That seems odd to me since relatively few people eat bear meat. A lot more people eat pig meat (pork) which (I believe) can be a source if not cooked properly.

When I was young racoon, opossum, muskrat, pheasant, rabbit and squirrel were often served at the family table. All must be properly cleaned and cooked. People who grew up hunting and fishing learned early to properly clean and cook their game.
Now too many learn shooting and gun safety in a class but don't learn how to clean and cook what they shoot.
We have too many shooters and not enough hunters.

Slosteppin

[Brrrb Oregon]

I have limited experience with this topic, but I am pretty sure that bears would not be considered "good eats" ( sorry Alton! )


Properly cared for, bear meat is pretty good, not gourmet, but perfectly good food.


There are few animals that I like to eat....bison and deer are about it. And even then, if I had to give up one type of food for the rest of my life? Meat. I wouldn't miss it much.

Having said that...I'd avoid racoon meat. Ever since reading the warnings on the parasites they can carry, that can travel to the brain...uhhh, lets just say NO THANKS!!


That seems odd to me since relatively few people eat bear meat. A lot more people eat pig meat (pork) which (I believe) can be a source if not cooked properly.


When I was young racoon, opossum, muskrat, pheasant, rabbit and squirrel were often served at the family table. All must be properly cleaned and cooked. People who grew up hunting and fishing learned early to properly clean and cook their game.
Now too many learn shooting and gun safety in a class but don't learn how to clean and cook what they shoot.
We have too many shooters and not enough hunters.

Slosteppin

I'd say that, for culinary reasons, you want to stay away from carnivores, especially carrion eaters and lousy hunters. The animal's diet is reflected in the flavor of the meat. I have a friend who says he only likes bear in the fall, when the animal has been having a lot of berries and the meat has good marbling. (I was going to try bear, but this friend was not successful in bagging one while we were still dating.)

As someone else has pointed out, there are parasitic diseases that are only passed on by feeding on the raw meat of infected animals. A combination of higher chances of disease and lower palatability seem like a good reason to stick to vegetarian critters.

I have also heard that no one except those with genetic ties to the Inuit and those northern tribes should ever eat polar bear liver. The concentration of Vitamin A is high enough to be poisonous.


Trichnosis has become very rare in domestically raised pork; most cases are related to improper treatment of game animals. For instance, smoking the meat doesn't kill the parasite that causes trichnosis:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/trichinosis/factsht_trichinosis.htm

Is trichinellosis common in the United States?


Infection was once very common and usually caused by ingestion of undercooked pork. However, infection is now relatively rare. During 1997-2001, an average of 12 cases per year were reported. The number of cases has decreased because of legislation prohibiting the feeding of raw-meat garbage to hogs, commercial and home freezing of pork, and the public awareness of the danger of eating raw or undercooked pork products. Cases are less commonly associated with pork products and more often associated with eating raw or undercooked wild game meats.

[rjridgely]

i dont beleive there has been a pork related trichinosis death in this country since the 50's....our family grew up eating med to mid rare porkroasts almost every sunday. When the USDA outlawed the feeding of garbage and such to pigs, the problem went away.

[Scrub]

My family was friends with some folks that were serious hunters when I was a child. They also owned a restaurant, and therefore took primo care of the meat, which seems to be the key. I have tried the following wild game or "exotic" meat, either from the Painter brothers, my own kill, or other sources.

Deer: {Whitetail, Blacktail, Mule Deer}; Moose; Red Deer; Elk; Antelope; Bison; Bear; Rabbit; Squirrel; Raccoon; Possum; Groundhog: Armadillo {So, I was told}; Alligator; Rattlesnake: Goat{some sort of exotic from Texas}; Quail; Dove; Duck; Goose; Grouse; Pheasant; Ostrich; Kangaroo; and probably several others I cannot recall.

All of them were good when properly cared for and well prepared; and any time it was not good, it was obvious that there was a problem in field care of preparation.

[leeki pole]

Anything that flies..good.
Anything that walks...good.
As any good cook will tell you, preparation and presentation. :)
Well, maybe not skunk.;)

[Photofanatic]

City pigeon is usually the barred rock dove or a mix of the barred rock, dragoon, racers, and kings. Like any other dove only the breast is fit to eat, not enough meat anywhere else. Before it gets its primary feathers it is called squab and people pay a handsome price for the delicasy in the finer restaurants.

[jesse]

True Story:
I use to work with a fellow from Pocahantas, Arkansas. He was telling us one day that his family would eat blackbirds. Someone asked, "damn, isn't that meat a little tough?" He answered, "nah, 'bout like an owl or crow."

[zelph]

Jackalope are poisonous, don't eat em.

Bear liver poisonous, don't eat. (grizzly)

Wolverine, bad attitude, don't eat.:banana

[STEVEM]

When I was a kid I would catch snapping turtles for a "Old Timer" down the road. He'd give me 50 cents or a dollar for them depending on size. He made snapping turtle soup from them. He would keep them in his springhouse in a large wire mesh basket for several weeks to purify them. He told me they tasted like mud otherwise.

[Fiddleback]

Re; trichinosis:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/trichinosis/DS00689/DSECTION=3

[damush]

bear meat doesn't 'marble'-being an animal that will den up for winter means a thick(1/2 and more) layer of very greasy fat.can be a source of trich. if not dressed or cooked properly,but so can alot of things. racoon,groundhog and possum all taste about the same...muskrat too,now that i think about.and squirrel../anyway,remember to remove the waxy glands located under arms,thighs and lower back.they'll leave an unpleasant 'gamey' taste if you don't.also don't use the same knife if you accidently cut into one of these stink knots-it will spoil the rest of the meat.goose is not a favorite of mine,but brining will render almost anything palatable.

[damush]

go to your state ag. co-op ext. site,type in game recipes-you may be surprised at what you'll find

[mudhead]

Rabbits only in a month with an "R" in them. As in OctobeR.

Me, done my share, where's the beans and rice?

[Bloodroot]

The best mammalian meat:

1. Elk
2. Moose
3. Bison
4. Deer
5. Wild hog (ummmm ummmm good smoked in pit)

The worst:

1. Groundhog
2. Bear - Greasy but also very tough.
3. Coon

[Appalachian Tater]

This is the most interesting food-related writing I have read in quite some time:

http://food.oregonstate.edu/ref/culture/taboo_allen.html

[ozt42]

Caribou. Best meat ever hands down if shot at the right time it tastes like its been marinating in a berry sauce.

Moose is second.

Worst has got to be cat, tough and stringy.

[Miu]

Has anyone ever tried rattlesnake tacos? I wasn't brave enough when offered....

[Cannibal]

I've no desire to try to "catch" a bear for dinner and you can have all of my side of skunk, but squirrel meat....yummy. So help me, if I see an alligator on the AT; I'm going home. At least you expect them in Florida.

[damush]

Has anyone ever tried rattlesnake tacos? I wasn't brave enough when offered....
skate(kind of like a stingray) tacos are delicious. just cut off the 'wings',throw them on the hibachi and wait til the skin peels back.soft tortillas,avocado tom and onion! sit back and wait for the stripers to make a run.

[Jester2000]

The best mammalian meat:

1. Elk
2. Moose
3. Bison
4. Deer
5. Wild hog (ummmm ummmm good smoked in pit)


You forgot Humans. The Most Dangerous Game.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Jester may be on to something
CT of Dino's stomach (http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b47/lowcarbscoop/CTstomach.jpg)

[nhalbrook]

FM 21-76 US ARMY SURVIVAL MANUAL page 93: "The box turtle is a commonly encountered turtle that you should not eat. It feeds on poisonous mushrooms and may build up a highly toxic poison in its flesh. Cooking does not destroy this toxin."

Dogs have a gut parasite harmful to humans.

Elsewhere on the White Blaze site are cautions regarding a deadly parasite carried by raccoons.

[spittinpigeon]

Henry Thoreau ate a groundhog -- or thought about it. I forget which. I say if you get a chance to cook a groundhog, go for it.

Weary

"That's pretty good for a quadruped"
"Side of yer eye, side of yer eye"