What Game Animals are considered edible?

[Gatekeeper]

I have a naive question. What North American animals are considered edible?

I know the quick answer is it depends on how hungry you are…just ask the Donner party.

For example, within the last year I found out that mountain lions are considered good table fare. That was a surprise to me because I had never heard of anyone eating mountain lion. I also read in the book Hunting the Hard Way that Howard Hill fed a group of guys a fox that he had put in a stew. Was this just a joke or are fox considered an edible game animal?

What other animals are harvested for their meat? We all know the usual animals: deer, turkey, rabbit and squirrel but what about groundhog, raccoon, possums and bobcats?

What unusual animal have you eaten?

[Tom Mussatto]

Depends on what side of the Mason-Dixon line you're on.  

[Blackhawk]

All are edible...some just better than others. Personal tastes pretty much dictates what you consume.

Growing up during the Great Depression, my dad told me he ate just about everythingt he could catch or kill.  That included raccoon, possum, carp, blackbirds, etc.

For me, elk is a favorite.

[el cazador]

Nothing out of the norm for me with the exception of racoon... and some don't consider that "out of the norm"!

[Bowspirit]

I think everything is pretty much edible. I've even made meals of coyote and crow. Not saying they were tasty, or even good, but they still went down...
Must say, my two favorite wild meals are roasted groundhog and fried frog legs. Neither of which probably fit the average persons ideal of normal table fare...

[Widowbender]

the ones with fins, fur, or feathers  

David

[trapperDave]

all of em

[IB]

Pretty much anything that don't eat me first  

[Dirty Bill]

Cougar was one of the finest meats I ever ate.I've heard of people eating muskrat,and beaver,but I never did. I won't eat a possum,but that's just me.I've had frog and turtle,and neither one was anything I'd hunt for to eat.I've never eaten snake,but I wouldn't turn it down if I had the opportunity.  

[30coupe]

You CAN eat any animal. Some, however, you would probably rather not. I've tried most of the stuff that lives around here except fox, coyote and possum. I never thought about eating fox or coyote. I skinned a possum once. After that, I'd never eat one!

Coon is kind of greasy for me. I didn't care much for it. Beaver is good. Muskrat not bad.

[Curtiss Cardinal]

Like the ancient Chinese said in their wisedom. Any animal that the noon day sun shones on their back and not the top of their head is edible. In other words anything but human beings.

[Brian Krebs]

I have eaten muskrat; and its good; I believe there is a gland under the arm you need to take off; but its good meat; they have a good diet  

 Mountain lion meat is really good; probably the best meat in the woods; tastes like veal. Guides commonly say its nasty tasting; but ...

There was a man who said we could end world hunger by teaching people to raise zucchini and possums; the idea being the scraps from the zucchini would feed the opossums- and I have eaten them; and they are a good white meat.

 I have never eaten fox or coyote.

Raccoons are really good when they are young; and their flesh is white. When they get older you boil them and then pour off the grease and bake them.
 I have eaten young raccoons; but always gave away the older ones.

Carp are really good in the spring; you need to cut off the 'mud line' down their side. They were brought here as a food fish; and they are traditional table fare for Christmas in some countries.

Snapping turtle is really really good; with each muscle it seems; tasting different. Some have a slight fishy taste; some like pork; some like beef; some yes- like chicken.. its great on a stick over a fire.

 I like deer and elk best; and bear and rabbits.

Nobody mentioned birds. Robins used to be eaten for food all the time. Grouse and partridge; and quail and ducks and timberdoodles and doves; and of course pheasants.

 I just built a smoker; and now nothing is sacred.

   

[Joseph]

While I was in the Army I ate a lot of different things including cat, rat, dog, horse, goat, and camel to name a few.  I have also tried at one time or another just about every 4 legged fur/hair covered critter running around Montana except for Mountain goats and I haven't met one yet I didn't like except for what we call gophers (ground squirrels).  There are exceptions to everything like a bear that has been eating fish for weeks on end, smells and taste like canned cat food!!!!  The stuff I ate in Africa was out of this world good        Ostrich Pot Pie, Kudu, Impala, Gemsbuck, Zebra, and the best of all, ELAND!!!!  I have a very good friend who hales from Texas originally and he told me that they purpose hunted Robins down there because they are better than doves.  Haven't tried them yet but dove is mighty fine eating so I guess the short answer after the long one is yes with a few exceptions.  Good cooking, Joseph

[varmint]

Used to hunt Robins as a kid all the time,as soon as they started showing up in the Spring.Mom always gave my friend and I a weird look,but would fry them up for us.......

Only thing I've found that I don't much care for so far is Gator............tastes "lizzardy" to me.......is that a word??

Just about everything else listed,with a few exceptions(rat,muskrat,beaver,and African game)I have had at one time or another,including horse,dog,cat,and monkey........can't really say any of it was bad.

[Blackhawk7204]

I used to have a cookbook that covered just about every animal you could name, including skunk!  

[Eric in FLA]

It is conversations like this that make this such a special place. I can picture this conversation around a campfire.

I agree with the prevailing opinion that most animals are edible. When I was young my grandfather cooked possum and when I made a funny face about eating it, he told me that all animals were meant for eating, that was why they were made of meat.

[Ron LaClair]

When I was a kid I had two uncles that were coon hunters.... actually they hunted just about everything. In my Grandma's house there was always some kind of wild meat on the table so I grew up with the notion  that everything was edible.

There's not much I haven't eaten except fox and coyote.

Years ago Nancy and I were hunting on state land in Northern Michigan. We were hunting with our longbows and camping in a tepee. I had shot a porcupine out of a tree with my bow and dressed it for eating.

A Game Biologist from the local DNR station was in the area and came across our camp. He stopped to visit and noticed the porky hide hanging in a tree and ask, "is that whats in the pot?" When I told him it was and that I had shot it with my longbow he said he could hardly wait to get back to the office and that they weren't going to believe him when he told them there was a man and women camping in a tepee, hunting with longbows and eating porcupines.    

[Ron LaClair]

Here's a pair of raccoons that I shot out of a wild apple tree that ended up as table fare. This was our Deer camp, Nancy and I in 1959.

   

[Martin Farrent]

I've heard of people eating muskrat,and beaver, but I never did.

Beaver was considered highly desirable during the Middle Ages in Europe, when people treated it as a fish and ate it during Lent. And while many North Americans find the notion of eating carp revolting, it's a rather expensive fish to buy in a food store over here in Europe.

On the other hand, you eat squirrel and we generally don't (ours are smaller, by the way). And I suspect very few people in Europe have ever tasted bear.

Of course, frogs are very popular in France. But they are not often killed in a humane manner and I don't eat them myself.

Best,

Martin

[el oso]

My dad has a great carp receipe. 1.clean a 4 to 6 lb. carp and place on a cedar shingle. 2. season with olive oil, garlic,salt,and pepper. 3.place in preheated 350 deg. oven for 35 to 40 min. 4. let stand for 5 min. 5. throw away carp and eat the shingle