Animals that are NOT good to eat

[rc135]

Read a coupla threads recently about whether coyotes were edible (most didn't want to try it - some liked it). My question is this:
1. what animals out there are definirely BAD to eat (unsafe/disgusting taste, etc.);
2. which are borderline (edible in emergencies only/only if very, very carefully prepared); and
3. Which are generally okay to eat.

I've had porcupine (except for the belly meat, it's fine), and pigeon/dove (good!).

Comments?

"I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -- Winston Chruchill"

 

[Biker]

The only wild meat I've ever tried that I didn't care for was bear and rockchuck. I'd eat both in a pinch, just ain't my favorite. Besides the nasty taste, they both gave me gas that melted the windows and peeled the wallpaper. My stereo quit working. I ran the Ol' Lady outa the house. I ran the dogs outa the house. Hell, I tried to *run from myself* but I couldn't get away.
It was horrible.

After elk and deer, my favorite is cougar.

Biker

 

[Seismic Sam]

And these ain't good eatin!!!

African Pygmy hedgehogs - impossible to clean without getting your hands all stuck up, negligble meat on whatever's underneath, and it probably tastes as ridiculous as it looks....

 

[ID_shooting]

Hey Biker,

Is that the week they evacuated the whole southern half of the sate a few years back? LOL

Seriously, I guess the deffenition of "edible" depends alot on where you are from and what you are used to. Growing up I had everything from moose to rattle snake. Some good, some bad. The only thing I didn't like were squirrels (tree or ground). I think most critters will sustain life depending on how hungery you are.

 

[Mornard]

I've liked almost every animal I've tried. Even Raccoon is great. Beaver was not so great though [NO JOKES HERE, DAMMIT... ] It tasted kindof fishy. Never had muskrat, wonder if it tastes the same.

 

[Deanimator]

There's no critter I wouldn't rather eat than what they sell at Hardees.

There are whole stretches of the Ohio Turnpike where there's nothing ELSE...

 

[JJE]

Eating fish or garbage is a great way to make yourself taste bad. Supposedly bear meat is tasty when they've been eating nuts & berries, but pretty nasty if they're gotten into a dump or scored some salmon. I suppose that same principle applies to most animals.

Edit: For some reason the trash & fish theory doesn't apply to lobster, crab & other crustaceans which taste good and pretty much just eat dead stuff off the ocean bottom.

 

[learn2shoot]

Animals...

Well Lobster and Crab taste great. Catfish tastes great. They all eat the garbage at the bottom of the ocean. I bet that Seagull is fantastic!!

 

[torpid]

Always pass on "long pig" unless you are at death's door.

 

[BryanP]

I'd have to be pretty hungry to try buzzard.

 

[HankB]

I don't think I'd care to try either hyena or baboon.

Skunk doesn't sound appetizing, either. Nor do armadillo, vulture, or sewer rat.

Some may find this to be heresy, but I'm not particularly fond of waterfowl.

The one time I had an opportunity to sample Cape buffalo it was so tough it bent the tines of the fork. (The camp cook was excellent on everything else served, so maybe it was a bad buff.) The bear meat a buddy tried cooking up STANK so bad I was having none of it, and some wild boar I tried was really "gamey."

I've eaten (with gusto) moose, deer, impala, sable, warthog, tsessebe, klipspringer, kudu, wild turkey, pheasant, and - the best of the bunch - bushbuck.

 

[Biker]

ID Shooting...

Yes, that day warranted an extreme air quality alert in my neck o' the woods. I hopped on my scoot and tried to outrun me but just couldn't do it...even at 90mph on the freeway. I'm still waiting for the civil suits to begin and Homeland Security to come after me as a WMD.

Biker

 

[Biker]

Another of my favorites is cottontail fried up in country gravy with mashed red spuds (unpeeled) on the side. Throw in some garden fresh fried green 'maters and I'm in heaven.

I'm hungry...

Biker

 

[PressCheck]

Bald Eagle & Spotted Owl are very tastey.

 

[hossdaniels]

duck is the worst i've tried with dove's being #2. not at all like quail.

 

[BryanP]

Oh, I want to fry up an eagle,
just to see
Fry up an eagle
use the Colonel's recipe.

With apologies to Steve Miller ...
(stolen shamelessly from a comedian whose name escapes me at the moment

 

[rustymaggot]

peacock sucks. so does bluejay.

 

[Seismic Sam]

Can you imagine??

How bad the taste would be of Personal Injury Lawyer Stew??

 

['Card]

With enough effort (spices, marinating, preparation, etc.) just about any critter can be made edible, but there are several (raccoon, possum, beaver, bear, catfish, carp, ducks) where I don't think the end result justifies the labor involved.

Sometimes it just makes more sense to let the dog eat it and order yourself a pizza.

 

[rbernie]

Fried catfish isn't bad, but I've been cured of EVER wanting to go duck hunting after eating some of that nasty greasy stuff.

 

[DWARREN123]

#1 on "LONG PIG".

 

[1 old 0311]

Had alligator in Louisana. The tail is all you can eat. Cooked slow it tastes like lobster.

 

[GMAN]

There is a bar/resturant by me that serves muskrat every friday for years. Years ago, Chatholic could only eat fish on Fridays. The city tried to shut them down for serving meat and they went to court and the court agreed it was aquatic, so they still serve it.

 

[Bodo]

Gator meat

Gator meat is terrible if you dont remove all fat before cooking.
[ WAKE UP AMERICANS WE ARE LOSSING ARE COUNTRY]

 

[redneck2]

Never ate crow (literally) but I talked to one guy that tried. Said it was nasty beyond belief

I "tried" a buffalo steak once. So tough you could use it to re-sole shoes.