Bobcat recipes?

[Tripplebeards]

I was drawn for a tag and was lucky enough to get a bobcat here in the southern zone. WI gave out 1580 tags in my zone and had a 500 harvest quota along with a first and second season. When I registered my Bobcat (drawn for the first season) it was just over the 160 harvest mark in the lower part of the state. I have to turn in the carcass and part of the lower jaw to the WI dept of natural resources by the 7th of the following month. So a skull mount is out with a portion of the lower part of the jaw removed. The teeth are worn down pretty good so it wouldn’t have looked great imo anyways. Guessing it was a pretty old cat. Just thawed and skinned it out the other day so I’ll make a call to run the Caracas tomorrow along with the pelt to be officially (2nd supplied tag, this time by them) tagged by the DNR so I can have it tanned. The jaw needs to be turned in for age and I would assume the carcass for study. It said in my supplied “first stage of” paper tagging directions I could keep the meat for consumption if wanted. I removed the legs, back straps, and neck meat. I removed the glands from the rear quarters and soaked in a salt/vinegar brine mix overnight. I swear I could still smell “gland/pee”. Maybe it was just a mindset? Don’t know if I will be brave enough to try cooking it or just use it for coyote bait. Any brave souls that have cooked and ate it?

[kootne]

When I was a kid, back in the early '60s, we ate several of them along with mountain lions. My mom was not a real inventive cook, anything big enough to make or roll into a roast was a roast. My memories of lion are that it was our favorite meat (we only ate wild meat except for an occasional treat of bacon or hamburger). I don't remember anything specific about bobcats but am guessing they are similar. White meat like pork, no fat. Make sure it is cooked well enough to kill any potential trichinosis that may be present. I would not waste it.

[MaryB]

The back straps are VERY tasty. Treat them like very lean beef... braising works well for example. When my family trapped we ate it often, along with a lot of beaver.

[Tripplebeards]

I didn't brine the back straps and froze them separate. My plan was to try them first. Should I par boil any or all of it first?

[GregLaROCHE]

I’ve eaten lynx in Alaska. It’s about the only edible thing from a trapline. Cooked it in a stew. It was pretty good.

[Tripplebeards]

Think I’m going to wait a month before I try to eat it just in case if there’s any ring worms that could cause trichinosis in the meat. Sounds like 21 days in the freezer will kill them if present.

[megasupermagnum]

Think I’m going to wait a month before I try to eat it just in case if there’s any ring worms that could cause trichinosis in the meat. Sounds like 21 days in the freezer will kill them if present.

So will fully cooking to 145 degrees. I've never tried one. When I try something new, I like to try either a back leg or backstrap steak grilled with minimal seasoning.

[BJK]

Freezing it to a certain temp will kill it. Minor research will uncover the temp' required. Simple freezing might not do the job.

[MaryB]

137 kills trichinosis. I got to 145 to be safe and probe the meat in multiple spots.

A GOOD instant read thermometer is so useful int he kitchen. I use ThermaPens form Thermoworks. They are bullet proof, my oldest one is going on 20 years old.

[Tripplebeards]

I have a game feed on Saturday so I thawed out the four quarters. I did remove the glands and brined them for three days before I froze them. I swear I could still smell cat gland or cat urine faintly. I marinated them for a couple of hours and put 5 pounds of it in my Instapot for an hour. Took it out and and it fell off the bone. I cut it up into thin slices it had the texture of pork as all the readings I found.

I have to say it tasted great!!!…for the first 3 seconds… then I had an aftertaste of what cat urine smells like.

Needless to say the back straps will be tossed out or used for trapping bait.

[Winger Ed.]

Any older game animal has a funky taste.
A younger one is probably really good.
One of my Hispanic buddies says that about goat. If it's an old one, it tastes like an outhouse smells.
When they do a big BBQ, they get one only a few month old, that's not even adult size yet.
Bobcats may be similar.

[HWooldridge]

I personally have never consumed any type of wild cat but my grandparents (who went through WW1 and the Depression in a very rural area) used to claim anything which was 100% carnivore would not taste good; I'm not sure whether that was based on personal experience or not.

They used to BBQ raccoons and eat them with relish but most varmints were off limits - maybe it all ultimately depends on how hungry you get...looks like some of y'all have eaten cat and lived to tell about it.

Now, I have eaten steaks from a young, adult horse that had to be put down due to injury - and that meat was outstanding.

[Electrod47]

Just my 2 Cents. I'd have to be mighty hungry to eat a cat.

[Bazoo]

I’m following this thread because bobcat is on my short list of critters to take and critters to turn into vittles. We see sign here and I’ve seen 2 cats. I need to learn how to deal with them before harvest of course. Does anyone have a video suggestion on skinning and the glands? Or a book or article that they can suggest that deals with it.

[Tripplebeards]

I watched a few YouTube videos. They are pea sized glands in the arm pit area. My guess is if I kept it in the croc pot for a few days and kept dumping out the residual juice and adding in fresh chicken broth I’d eventually cook out the gland taste. I did a three plus day on a couple of snapping turtles till the river taste and smell disappeared. I’d like to salvage the straps since I’ve watched videos of guys eating it and saying it was excellent. Kind of reminded me of fox gland smell. Just wondering if I did a long soak in vinegar if it would remove the gland taste? The cat I caught was a huge female. I had to send its jaw in for aging. I’m sure it was pretty old the way it’s teeth looked. I read the Toms were The ones not to eat because they have strong smelling scent glands that taint the meat. I would hate to taste a Tom after the female I tried.


Here was what I ended up with after an hour in the Instapot. It fell off the bone.



I was pretty bummed because I promised to bring bobcat to our game feed.

I still have a raccoon I quartered up and cut off all the fat for plan B.lol

[Kimber1911]

137 kills trichinosis. I got to 145 to be safe and probe the meat in multiple spots.

A GOOD instant read thermometer is so useful int he kitchen. I use ThermaPens form Thermoworks. They are bullet proof, my oldest one is going on 20 years old.

Thermapen is THE BEST!!!!!

[Tripplebeards]

I found one the other day new in package for $2.99 at goodwill.

[Markopolo]

Should have made Jerky out of the whole thing Cory!!!!!

[bangerjim]

Same recipe used for house cat or junkyard dog!

YUCK. Some things were not meant for human consumption.

[Tripplebeards]

I’ll do a sniff test on the back straps when I thaw them out.