Beaver recipes????

[Tripplebeards]

I trapped a half dozen Beavers and saved the back straps, quarters, hides, caster, and tails.

Figured I'd use the castor for trapping scent. The hides I'll end up getting tanned. The tails....??? Read they were edible but every YouTuber said they tasted like lard and fish more or less....no thanks. I immediately washed all the meat off after cutting up in case I had any gland leakage on them. The backstraps and quarters i aged for close to a week. It amost smelled like fresh grocery store pork after aging. I got alot of blood out with the aging process that's for sure. Let it sit in the fridge wrapped and suspended. I tried a back strap the other day. WOW!!!! It tasted like the best quality beef steak I've ever had! But it was chewy. I only fried it for a couple minutes in oil cut up into small pieces. I'm thinking about getting burger made with all the quarters and having some tallow mixed in? Suggestions?

[Winger Ed.]

You might try it with using your favorite possum or raccoon recipe.:bigsmyl2:

[Kestrel4k]

My father made beaver tail and beans (finely chopping the tail);
worked just like pork & beans, it was good to eat growing up.

[Rapier]

"then eat the rocks." :-)

[GregLaROCHE]

I’ve cooked beaver boiling in water with salt added. Onions and potatoes if you got them. It’s great winter meal, when you get tired of lean caribou, it’s a real treat, but I don’t think I would eat the tail. I’ve been told that beavers from lakes taste better. Maybe they are not fighting the current all the time.

PS I take my hat off to you. Beaver is about the most difficult to skin and flesh out that I’ve come across.

[BLAHUT]

Grandmother cooked bever, it was good, I do not know how she cooked it, slow and in with beans ??? Dogs loved it, sled dogs, husky's could crack the sculls to get the brains, only dog I am aware that can do that other than wolves.
A lot of people look down their noses at the thought of eating such things as possum, raccoon, marsh rat, snake,
I will venture a bet, that most cannot tell what the true meaning of en-eatable / non-eatable is ????




24 too 48 hours......................

[maxreloader]

I like my beaver raw but clean! :-P

[Winger Ed.]

I like my beaver raw but clean! :-P

Oh now that's just tacky, tacky, tacky.

[Tripplebeards]

I can tell you the backstraps tasted better than any wild game I've ever had. It tasted like store bought Angus steaks. Just wondering what to do with the quarters.

[MaryB]

Try slow cooking it or cooking in the insta pot under pressure... shred, use in tacos, mix in a little BBQ sauce for a sandwich...

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Oh...uhh...the nutria for lunch crowd is back....! :shock:

DG

[Tripplebeards]

I’m kind of shocked as good as it tasted I figured more people here probably had eaten Beaver.

[Shawlerbrook]

Only beaver I ever ate was chili.

[FergusonTO35]

313871

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

[MT Gianni]

As you have found it can be good. Treat it like beef, depending on the age and fat content.

[Thundarstick]

I have eaten it, but only a stew. It could have been passed off as beef stew easily. I've skinned them as well, it's like skinning a fat hog!

[trapper9260]

I normally eat it , I trap them in season. You can cook it different ways . It is lean meat and make sure you trim as much the fat off. I take some and debone the legs and grind it up and use it like ground beef in anything you like. I also make burgers out of it . Just that make sure the burgers are solid before you flip them over. Also make pull meat use of my home made root beer soda in the crock pot on high heat for about 6 hours of more. Then eat as sandwiches. Also you can use the back straps like you did and also just cut it up and use like you like would do with beef . The tail is all fat that you can fry in the frying pan and eat it like almost pork rinds, or make beaver tail soup. I find it easy to skin a beaver and scrape the skin. It all depends on how you do it . I normally trap them beside other animals in season. Muskrat meat is on the same as beaver . Lean meat It is also one of most healthiest meat you can have that is what beaver is known for. Coon is ok as long you trim as much fat off as you can and remove the glands under the arm pit. possum it most fatty there is. It is good eating , just need to make sure you drain all the fat off when you cook it and also trim as much fat off.

[MT Gianni]

Beaver tail got it's reputation when the mountain men had no fat in their diet, It is necessary and craved by humans but we get so much nowadays we reject other tastes.

[Keyman]

We eat fall, and spring beaver. Winter ice chopping is to much work. Wife and I are waiting for the river ice to go out, and then go and shoot from the boat. No limit, where we live. 6 per trip is enough as they do take 20 minutes or so to skin. We do leave meat on the bones. A light salt soak over night, and into the crock pot in the morning. We use dried onions and lots of powdered garlic, also dried peppers. A 60 pound beaver take 8 to 10 hours to be tender, smaller ones cook quicker. I am going to brine, and smoke this spring. The trick to water shooting is to use a head shot, 22 only. This will not kill the beaver out right, and will allow you to dip them up with a landing net. If you kill them out right they will sink before you get to them. I have used the meat and mixed it with black bear and make sausage. All those I share with have wanted more. If you get a pond beaver make sure they have not been eating pine. Spring hides are not the best, as they like to fight, and the hides have tears in them.
Keyman

[trapper9260]

We eat fall, and spring beaver. Winter ice chopping is to much work. Wife and I are waiting for the river ice to go out, and then go and shoot from the boat. No limit, where we live. 6 per trip is enough as they do take 20 minutes or so to skin. We do leave meat on the bones. A light salt soak over night, and into the crock pot in the morning. We use dried onions and lots of powdered garlic, also dried peppers. A 60 pound beaver take 8 to 10 hours to be tender, smaller ones cook quicker. I am going to brine, and smoke this spring. The trick to water shooting is to use a head shot, 22 only. This will not kill the beaver out right, and will allow you to dip them up with a landing net. If you kill them out right they will sink before you get to them. I have used the meat and mixed it with black bear and make sausage. All those I share with have wanted more. If you get a pond beaver make sure they have not been eating pine. Spring hides are not the best, as they like to fight, and the hides have tears in them.
Keyman

You are so right about spring beaver. I use to do that not anymore . There is not as many around me like it use to be before we had a flood in 1999 . I just trap them when I trap everything else when the season opens in Nov.

[Muskyhunter1]

They say the meat in the beaver tail is really good for fish bait. A bunch of videos on YouTube.

I have a few in my freezer and plan on trying them this summer. Here is a video how this fellow skins the tails.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQVkr2xKdGY

[MaryB]

Beaver tail bacon... guy brought it to the wild game feed one year. Wasn't bad!

[gwpercle]

I like my beaver raw but clean! :-P

I also have enjoyed many a beaver .
But it has been a long time since I caught my last one ...
Trapping them used to take up so much of my spare time ... To the Hunt :drinks:
Gary

[Thundarstick]

I had a wild uncle who tried to convince us teenaged boys that you where better off going to town and buying you a beaver, than spending the resources and time hunting for it. I never took his advice, as I figured the wild caught was better anyway, and I liked the hunt!

[Tripplebeards]

I’ve only eaten one other backs trap since the post. I tried it and what are you tuber said steamboat. I fried out little pieces and then I put it in the oven in tinfoil with water underneath and covered for about two hours at 350 till tender. It was a lot more tender, but I like the taste better when it was a little chewy and fresh off the skillet better. Still good. I ate it all. When turkey hunting is over, after next Tuesday, I’ll thaw out all of the of the quarters and get it ground into burger by the local butcher.

[gwpercle]

I had a wild uncle who tried to convince us teenaged boys that you where better off going to town and buying you a beaver, than spending the resources and time hunting for it. I never took his advice, as I figured the wild caught was better anyway, and I liked the hunt!

The Hunt is half the fun ... To the Hunt :drinks:

[Tripplebeards]

I thawed out all the quarters the other day. I cut off some of the choice pieces of meat and ground them up in my little electric grinder. I have two grinders and one finally is going to get tossed. It’s leaking black grease where the grinder insert goes. Don’t want that stuff getting into my grind. Anyways I ground two pounds. Ran it through my grinder twice. I found a recipe on line for beaver burgers and gave it a whirl. They tasted better than any quality angus burger I’ve ever had. I cherry picked 12 pounds of meat off the remaining quarters I had left. There is a good 10 pounds of excess trimmings I saved that I’ll use for future trapping bait. I took it to the local butcher. He is adding 2 pounds of pork and is grinding up into burger for me. They bag it in to 14, 1 pound bags. All for a whopping $22. It would cost me more for pork and bags.

https://i.imgur.com/yl5oUw3.png

Test burger from recipe with melted cheese curds on top…

https://i.imgur.com/yhGTUmC.jpg

I gave one to the neighbor because I made 3 burgers. He was afraid to eat it. Him and his wife who said heeck no!…shared it. Said it was really good. It’s a super dark red colored meat.

[MaryB]

I thawed out all the quarters the other day. I cut off some of the choice pieces of meat and ground them up in my little electric grinder. I have two grinders and one finally is going to get tossed. It’s leaking black grease where the grinder insert goes. Don’t want that stuff getting into my grind. Anyways I ground two pounds. Ran it through my grinder twice. I found a recipe on line for beaver burgers and gave it a whirl. They tasted better than any quality angus burger I’ve ever had. I cherry picked 12 pounds of meat off the remaining quarters I had left. There is a good 10 pounds of excess trimmings I saved that I’ll use for future trapping bait. I took it to the local butcher. He is adding 2 pounds of pork and is grinding up into burger for me. They bag it in to 14, 1 pound bags. All for a whopping $22. It would cost me more for pork and bags.

https://i.imgur.com/yl5oUw3.png

Test burger from recipe with melted cheese curds on top…

https://i.imgur.com/yhGTUmC.jpg

I gave one to the neighbor because I made 3 burgers. He was afraid to eat it. Him and his wife who said heeck no!…shared it. Said it was really good. It’s a super dark red colored meat.

More of a beaver meatloaf burger...

[Tripplebeards]

Yep, that’s kinda what it reminded me of. I didn’t have any fresh onions, so I just sprinkled in some dehydrated ones and water mixture. I let it in my fridge for about 20 minutes before I cooked it up so the onions would start soaking up moisture.

[Tripplebeards]

I still have over a pound of it left. Mary gave me a good idea. I’m thawing it out and gonna make meatloaf with it for supper. Nothing will be added just some ketchup and low carb sugar mixed on top with some melted cheese.

[lightload]

Possums eat carrion.

[Thundarstick]

Possums eat carrion.

Chickens and hogs as well, if they can get at it!

[Winger Ed.]

Possums eat carrion.

Folks here say you need to trap them, then keep them caged & feed 'em table scraps so they'll 'purge'
for a week or so to get them cleaned out.

Personally, I was never that hungry.

[trapper9260]

Folks here say you need to trap them, then keep them caged & feed 'em table scraps so they'll 'purge'
for a week or so to get them cleaned out.

Personally, I was never that hungry.

You do not need to do all that to keep them and all. Just trap them and butcher them after you save the fur to sell. I mainly keep the legs and strap back on the large ones ., it is lean meat. Just eat them and you are good to go. Too many say to do this and that will some things to eat and you waste your time. The main thing is to remove all the fat you can . That is all you mainly to do.

[Tripplebeards]

I got back my burger. Only spent $21 to get it ground up and talk added. It tasted like gland!!!! I'll be tossing out all the burger. The burger I ground up didn't have any gland smell or taste so I must have gave the butcher some burger that the glands leaked on. Lesson learned. I'll still eat the back straps I saved.

[brewer12345]

Boy, I wish I had seen this thread sooner.

It is illegal to trap anything with a kill trap in my state, so the populations get to nuisance levels on some canals and ponds. We hunt them. I have about half frozen to death doing so after dark in February, but it is always worth the opportunity of making a headshot on a 50 pounder at midnight. Yee-haw!

Anyway, I have found a few keys to success cooking beaver:

- First and foremost, get as much of the fat off the meat as possible. The fat is nasty and will ruin your dish
- When you cook it, get rid of more fat by browning in a skillet or dutch oven and then dump all the resulting fat before continuing to cook it.
- Treat it like lean beef, as you have found.

I mostly follow beef recipes with it. Cubed, lean pieces of beaver work great in any beef stew recipe. A large hindquarter that has had the fat removed works great for an Italian pot roast recipe. Cubes do well in chile Colorado and carbonnade flamande. Smoking it low and slow works because the nasty fat drips off. If you season it very well, put it on a rack in a pan, double wrap it with tin foil, and throw it in a 250F oven for several hours and you get beaveritos. I have even cubed it, seasoned it, and canned it in a pressure canner.

I tried a small batch of burger, but the nasty taste of the fat seems to get spread throughout the grind.

[fourarmed]

Never trapped any, but a friend gave us some. Cooked it in a crock pot using a pulled pork recipe. Quite good. Some neighbors we just met dropped by and we invited them to try it without saying what it was. The lady took one bite and said "Oh, that's beaver!" Turned out her husband was a lifelong trapper.

[Polymath]

We use this one for crock pot moose, but I'm told it's good for Beaver too.
318240

[BNE]

Oh now that's just tacky, tacky, tacky.


It may be tacky, but it made me laugh out loud.

BNE

[Shanghai Jack]

I have used the meat and mixed it with black bear and make sausage.
Keyman

bear beaver sausage

[choctaw/creek]

I would guess that when grinding the meat for burgers or sausage that if you trimmed all of the fat off and ground it with some good smoky bacon it might be really good. The meat that has the leaked scent on it sounds like a total loss. Will the dogs eat the meat if it has the gland scent?