# How best to use raccoon meat/hide



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Hello everyone,
My son just shot a raccoon that has been getting our chickens. He skinned and cleaned it. The skin is in one piece (with head and all feet and tail) and is 36" long from nose to tip of tail. The meat looks healthy as were the heart and liver. We would like to eat the meat and tan the hide. We have no idea how to use a raccoon meat or hide; thus, my reasoning for posting here.
I would appreciate any help. Thank you


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## themamahen (Jun 26, 2005)

When I was a lil girl my grandmother Fried a **** i was 2 she said and i carried my **** leg (Which covered my whole face) around eating it. Now... i dont remember eating the **** but for a 2 year old to think its good and eat it... Well i would say try it


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## Use Less (Nov 8, 2007)

In spring, the fur is not prime, so you may not want to mess with doing this, unless for experience. Google home-tanning, or look in Foxfire books or old Mother Earth. I have eaten ****; it was a lot like eating the grisly part of cheap chucksteak. I would not mess with eating **** now, though, because of various diseases they can carry such as raccoon roundworm. That is mainly in feces, don't know if is blood-borne too. I also now stay away from organ meats from wild game; pathogens tend to accumulate there. And away from brains of any kind of critter. Sign of the times.... Sue


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Trim off as much fat as you can and roast the meat. You can keep it whole if you've got a big enough roaster. If not, cut in two just back of the rib cage. Sprinkle with salt and pepper but don't use any other spices. Don't use any vegetables with it as they'd just soak up any fat that cooks off. Hind legs are the judge as to when it's done roasting. When fork done, remove the cover for maybe 10 minutes to allow the surface of the meat to dry a little. Then enjoy! 

Martin


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## tn_junk (Nov 28, 2006)

We always parboiled it for 30 minutes or so then roasted.
Seemed to be a little less greasy and gamey that way.

alan


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i have eaten roasted raccoon...it was tasty! my dad cooked one for his **** hounds one time. it was smelling mighty fine simmering in the roaster on that woodstove, so i pulled a mess of it from the back straps and i was pleasantly surprised.

the hide will definately not be prime, but you can cut out a piece of plyboard and stretch the hide over it and scrape the flesh and fat away. (kinda like pulling a t-shirt over your body...pull the hide over the board. unless the hide was split at the belly, then you need to stretch and tack it flat to a board and scrape. i am not an experienced tanner, but i remember dad tanning goat hides with borax one time.


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

My aunt boils the meat and strips it from the carcass and uses the meat in a dressing. I ate it once when she cooked like this and it was very, very delicious. Till I found out what I was eating!

As for the hide, it might still be prime if you are of the colder states up north. Even here in Oklahoma they might still be prime since it hasn't really gotten warmed up and stayed warm for any lenght of time. This morning it's 35 degrees and the wind is howling here.

Also you would get very little money out of it since most states have cashed their hides in already. So you might just use it for craft purposes. Make a **** hat, a arrow quiver, a purse pouch, etc. Dehair it and make leather out of it and use for knife sheath, axe sheath, small gun holster, etc. etc.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

I have eaten **** that was very tasty. I tried to cok some once. I roasted it with sweet potatos. The meat was dark (like purple) and the more I chewed it the bigger it got  I think there are some musk glands that need to be removed.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

vicker said:


> I think there are some musk glands that need to be removed.


If you take most of the visible fat off the carcass, you pretty much also take care of any glands. Even if not, none are very strong to where they'd spoil the taste of the meat. Bad tastes in a **** come more from the fat than anything else. Properly prepared, it should actually taste like pork. 

Martin


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## Scrounger (Jan 6, 2007)

Burn it and bury it.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

Do you think it will taste like chicken?


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## paulaswolfpack (May 22, 2006)

I went to a family get to gether a few years ago my uncle brought in some BBQ **** it was like pulled pork he cooked it in a slow cooker and when it fell apart he sherded it with a fork like pulled pork and added BBQ sauce, He severed it on a bun did not tell anyone until it was his trun to stand up and tell us his name and all of his kids named then he told everyone what they just ate.
He is always doing things like that bringing in weird food but really this was so good even after I knew what it was I went back for thirds, he used a cherry wiskey in the sauce.
He also brought in some somked **** with the wiskey.
Man all I can say was it was Good Eats,Paula


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## THETOOLMAN (Feb 15, 2008)

suitcase_sally said:


> Do you think it will taste like chicken?


Thats what I was thinking exactly, A **** is like trying to eat motor oil.


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

suitcase_sally said:


> Do you think it will taste like chicken?



Hey Parboil it until Tender,bake up with Sage,Salt and pepper.And it all taste like Chicken.

big rockpile


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## Hoop (Jan 1, 2003)

The racoons around here frequently are afflicted with mange and other diseases. 

If you've got the stomach and constitution for it, go ahead and chow down. Me, I find the concept of dining on racoon not all that different than a meal from the south end of a skunk headed north. Edible, but not all that appetizing.

The hide is worth maybe $10. This assumes it has been properly stretched and the coat is prime. 

The best use of racoon, IMHO, is crow feed.


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## oldgaredneck (Jan 2, 2007)

Dad would skin and remove the guts, feet and head, dear old Mom would remove the fat,cut the racoon into small pieces to fit into a pressure cooker. After a couple of hours, cool down the cooker and release the pressure. Remove all the bones, return the stock and meat to the cooker, add potatos, onions, garlic, carrots, celery, salt and pepper. Pressure cook for another hour or so until the vegetables were done.
Some of the best stew you would ever want to eat. They've both passed away now, and I would give my left leg for a big pot of that stew!!!

But racoon, just like any other animal to include so-called domesticated ones, can be ruined by improper cooking. I have travelled the world over and eaten a lot of what we Americans would not normally consider edible. The only thing I ever ate (so far) that I did not care for was octopus, and that's probably because of the way it was prepared....


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## Sabrina67 (Mar 24, 2008)

My ex was a trapper/hunter when we met and we ate alot of the stuff he got. I agree with parboiling then roasting. We always put a little vinegar in the water when boiling to help with any gamey taste. And also If you like onions they can make anything good 
Kinda funny story. When I was a teenager my brother went coonhunting and they brought a **** in while we were all asleep. They had gutted and skinned it but that was all ,so the tail and head were still there. My mom got up in the morning and saw it in the sink and was yelling and having a fit because she thought it was a cat. It took forever to tell her it was a ****. She said she was gona draw the line at cat !! Might not be funny unless you were there, but thought I would share.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

motdaugrnds said:


> Hello everyone,
> My son just shot a raccoon that has been getting our chickens.



suitcase_sally: Do you think it will taste like chicken? 

I don't think anyone caught my sarcasm...


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## Jethro (Sep 30, 2005)

I have eaten tons of parboiled and BBQ'ed ****. Love it better than pork. The Indians that lived around us growing up used to call it "Fur Pig".
Jethro


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## Kevin and Laura (Jun 23, 2002)

Yep, par boil & then BBQ that rascal! Put garlic in the sauce. I love it.





Kevin


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

suitcase_sally said:


> suitcase_sally: Do you think it will taste like chicken?
> 
> I don't think anyone caught my sarcasm...



"Oh now I get it".










Just kidding! I go it earlier too! Just didn't respond to it.


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