Raccoon - the Other Dark Meat

Late last year, I wrote an article about eating road kill. It was titled, "Would you eat Road Kill?" Now as disgusting as that sounds, I ran across an article on www.mcclatchydc.com. It talked about the value of eating Raccoon, the other dark meat. Some of these comments are taken from that article that was written by Lee Hill Kavanaugh of the Kansas City Star.

I remember growing up how my grandmother use to prepare Raccoon for dinner. She always made sure that it was cleaned and prepared properly before she would cook it. She would bake it, roast it, fry, stew it, and even barbecue it. She was always searching for the perfect meal. I guess she never found it because she would always try something different.

Now Raccoon does have a "wild taste" to it. All wild creatures have a wild taste to it of some type. The main problem with Raccoon was trying to get away from the greasy taste of it. Raccoon is best, if it is parboiled for two hours. You can also soak it in salt water and vinegar overnight in a bucket. Still, once she had it prepared, it wasn't too bad.

In 1931, Raccoon made the first edition of the book, "The Joy of Cooking."

Trapper Larry Brownsbeger runs an add in the newspaper. He sells his Raccoons for between $3 to $7 each. that isn't a pound either. His Raccoons are clean and neatly wrapped. He announces his location of where the sales with take place. It doesn't take long and he is sold out.

The meat isn't USDA inspected either. Neither is Deer for that matter. There are no laws to prevent trappers from selling their meat. When you think of "green", Raccoon has no additives, steroids, growth hormones, or antibiotics. It is truly an organic "green" form of meat.

In Missouri, it is estimated that there are 20 Raccoons for every square mile. The Raccoon population has doubled since the 80's. There are more Raccoons now than when the State was first settled.

Pioneers use to eat Raccoon. They were easy to trap and prepare. A Raccoon can easily fill a family of four or five. Unless you know a trapper or trap yourself, it is hard to find a Raccoon that has already been cleaned and wrapped properly.

Raccoons provide a great source of protein to a person's diet. Still for many Americans, a Raccoon is still considered as a rodent that they try to avoid hitting on the road. However, for a few that know how to cook it, it is a meal that they can't wait for.