[kerbie18]

A neighborhood close to mine has a TON of racoons. I've seen ten of them eating out of the same dumpster.

The thought occured to me...are they edible? I mean, if you were starving to death, and you cooked the hell out of it. I really don't see it happening, but I was just curious....

[NeverMore1701]

From personal experience, yes. Not the tastiest, and cook the hell out of it, but yes.

[Short Bus]

Hell, you can cut your boots up and eat them if you are hungry enough.

[Porkchop]

Originally Posted by Short Bus

Hell, you can cut your boots up and eat them if you are hungry enough.

hope i never get that hungry.
if i remember correctly revolutionary war and civil war soliders that had no food boiled the leather from their boots and ate them

[Minuteman]

Yes, edible and a good source of fat in the wild if your starving.
Much rather have elk, but obviously anyone looking at a coon as a meal doesn't have a choice.

[kerbie18]

Originally Posted by Short Bus

Hell, you can cut your boots up and eat them if you are hungry enough.

You can eat leather??? Okie dokie, I learned something new today

[Minuteman]

Originally Posted by kerbie18

You can eat leather??? Okie dokie, I learned something new today

No. Modern leather is poisonous. Naturally tanned/dyed leather, OTOH, is basically really tough jerky.

[Short Bus]

Originally Posted by kerbie18

You can eat leather??? Okie dokie, I learned something new today

Yeah, people have done it in years past when they were REALLY hard up. It is just animal skin. Do you eat chicken skin with yo fried chicken?

[Short Bus]

Originally Posted by Minuteman

No. Modern leather is poisonous. Naturally tanned/dyed leather, OTOH, is basically really tough jerky.

There are many companies that use the same tanning process that they have used for years. I guess it depends on where in China it came from or if it is from the USA.

[filthy infidel]

Mama just chased 'em off the porch with a broom.

[rj1939]

They will probably be the only thing left after the other wildlife is gone..........you'll never get them all.

[RWBlue]

First don't eat your leather products, odds are that they were not tanned by traditional means.

Second, I believe I ate coon before. If it was coon, it was fixed in a crockpot and was good.

[thetoastmaster]

Originally Posted by Minuteman

No. Modern leather is poisonous. Naturally tanned/dyed leather, OTOH, is basically really tough jerky.

Well, not really. Hide is a dense irregular connective tissue, if I remember correctly. Jerky is muscle. Muscle is a lot easier to digest than collagen, which is all you're getting out of hide.

I understand that one could digest it, given enough time and water, but jerky it ain't .

[packratt75]

Have "The Official Louisiana Seafood & Wild Game Cookbook" that a relative gave to us. Has small game recipes for Opossum, Nutria, Muskrat, Frog Legs, Turtle, Rabbit, Squirrel and two for Racoon (roasted and fricasseed). Haven't tried any of them but at least have something to go on if need be.

[R_W]

In a crockpot with cranberry sauce. Possum, too.

The stories from the old-timers here there were many families that only made it through the depression winters because of eating them (and anything else they could catch).

They said it was best to catch them live and put them in a barrel/cage with a little corn and plenty of clean water for a few days to clean them out. Definitely Hillbilly, way beyond redneck like I am used to...

[RWBlue]

Originally Posted by packratt75

Have "The Official Louisiana Seafood & Wild Game Cookbook" that a relative gave to us. Has small game recipes for Opossum, Nutria, Muskrat, Frog Legs, Turtle, Rabbit, Squirrel and two for Racoon (roasted and fricasseed). Haven't tried any of them but at least have something to go on if need be.

I would like to have the ISBN number or amazon link.

I would also like to hear you test one of them and tell us if it is an ok cook book.

[thetoastmaster]

Originally Posted by R_W

In a crockpot with cranberry sauce. Possum, too.

The stories from the old-timers here there were many families that only made it through the depression winters because of eating them (and anything else they could catch).

They said it was best to catch them live and put them in a barrel/cage with a little corn and plenty of clean water for a few days to clean them out. Definitely Hillbilly, way beyond redneck like I am used to...

When I served my LDS mission in South Carolina, I knew an old timer that spent his youth in a CCC camp. He told us about "cleaning out" possums with cornbread before slaughtering them; so, that's one more corroborating story.

[Grayson]

Originally Posted by Short Bus

There are many companies that use the same tanning process that they have used for years. I guess it depends on where in China it came from or if it is from the USA.

Mmmm....melamine..nom nom nom!

NOT!

[bdcochran]

What do you get when you cross Eull Gibbons and Linda Lovelace?

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drum roll please
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A person who will eat anything.

[packratt75]

On Amazon there is only one used one for $35, last printing was 1990. Wife says she has used it for seafood mostly, was going to try nutria when my cousin caught another one but it didn't work out. Would only try nutria if it came from the swamp where they eat vegetation and not from the city canals.

[ejsandstrom]

A friend from the DEEP south said locals used to hunt them and skin them and then sell them. But that a few were less than honest and used to sell cats. So you had to leave the feet on them to be sure of what you were buying.

[mitchshrader]

in the interests of safety and taste..

i've eaten a badger. it was good. i'm a good cook.

with heavy(dense) gamey meat, there are helpful tricks..

first gut/ skin, remove small bones (feet/tail/neck) and musk glands, whack up in hunks..

marinade it in salt water several hours, warm is best, rinse well,

repeat, then a warm UNSALTED rinse, and either steam/seethe.. (NOT BOIL!) for 6+ hours, or pressure cook 30+ minutes.

Naturally the bigger the pieces the longer you cook it, and if it's VERY gamey you want to seethe it (in water), to draw out more nasty taste.. whereas if less gamey you can steam it(out of water) and lose less flavor..

In no case waste spices on it until cooked tender, and that is done by 'wet, slow, loooooong' cooking.

AFTER it's 'done' ie cooked soft enough to eat without any teeth.. (let it cool first) you can bread it in an ordinary chicken-style breading with flour, salt, some black&red pepper in it (about 4-1 ratio) and garlic powder if you've got any.. and fry in any available grease, but bacon grease works, lard is good, peanut or corn or olive oil all work.. if you're frying in bacon grease don't salt the breading..

marinade(soak out) wild taste. . cook VERY slow & wet, bread it and lightly saute.. and it's gonna be darn close to food.

[certifiedfunds]

Originally Posted by packratt75

On Amazon there is only one used one for $35, last printing was 1990. Wife says she has used it for seafood mostly, was going to try nutria when my cousin caught another one but it didn't work out. Would only try nutria if it came from the swamp where they eat vegetation and not from the city canals.

Nutria is good, plentiful and very healthy to eat.

Vegetarians.

And, we're lousy with them.

[Short Bus]

Originally Posted by packratt75

Have "The Official Louisiana Seafood & Wild Game Cookbook" that a relative gave to us. Has small game recipes for Opossum, Nutria, Muskrat, Frog Legs, Turtle, Rabbit, Squirrel and two for Racoon (roasted and fricasseed). Haven't tried any of them but at least have something to go on if need be.

I have had many things off of this list. I guess you can make about anything taste decent if you prepare it right.

[Dresden]

If i remember right there are certain glands you need to cut out when cleaning a racoon.