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 ). 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 ). 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/parasi...richinosis.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.