Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation bobcat or coon recipes?

A friend of mine hosts an annual youth deer hunt on his farm during the youth hunt weekend. He gets one of those large smokers on a trailer and smokes turkeys and briskets and has a huge noon day meal for all the families. This year he wants me to supply "exotic" wild game. I think he's thinking more along the lines of rabbit or squirrel but I'd rather have coon or bobcat. Anyone here slow smoke either? I'm thinking of a dry rub and wrapping in foil and smoking for 6-8 hours.

Bobcat? You eat Bobcat?

There are plenty that think Cougar is as good as wild game gets. I doubt bobcat would be all that different. I've never tried either, but I'll be damned if I ever turn it down.

I knew a meat cutter who would make cougar sausage. He told me that it had to be well cooked as it was the highest bacteria count of all wild meats. I am guessing bobcat would be the same. Never tried it but I would not turn it down.

Got an old South Dakota Game & Fish wildgame cook book with about anything you can think of in it.... 'possum anybody?

Possum may be the only thing I cannot do. It is a mental thing that came when I was a kid about 4 or 5. My grandfather found a dead horse when he and I were taking a walk. It was bloating in the warm sun and the belly was just churning. He told me to watch and he gave a mighty kick to that poor old horse's stomach and out flew about a dozen possums. That image is still clear in my mind tonight. I would have to be darned hungry to try possum.

Years ago, when I was still running a trap line.....I discovered the great taste of bobcat. Kept reading about how mountain men though so highly of cougar, so decided to try some of the bobcats I was skinning.

Meat is very light (almost white) and fine grained.....much like veal or pork. Surprisingly, it is very mild in taste. In fact that is the key to cooking bobcat......treat it gently. Too much spice can overpower the delicate flavor. I cooked the backstraps and hams and the meat was always very tender and moist.

Just use any recipe for veal or pork, keeping in mind that strong spices should be moderated a bit. Cook it sloooow over indirect heat on a grill and you won't be sorry.

As far as coon......cook it exactly like a pork roast, but make sure it is kept moist. Coon doesn't have nearly the fat content of pork and may need "help" to avoid a tough, dry result. If the coon is half-grown, it can be placed directly on the grill....but a full-grown coon will need to be boiled before smoking as they tend toward being pretty tough when older. In fact, pre-boiling before grilling is not a bad idea on all coons regardless of age.

Coon tastes very much like bear (if you've eaten bear meat), but is not so fat. Very good when slow cooked.

it has been my experience, that you cook game according to the fat content.
Lean meat you cook more like you would veal, and fatty meats you do as you would a similar cut of pork.

and possum ain't that bad, really

Ate bobcat ONCE... tasted like Tom Cat Pizz...

bet it aint any more dangerous than supermarket chicken or pork.......its just a meat you cook till done and dont serve rare.....keep that in mind and your going to be fine.....

Think I will just have to trust you on this one.

I cannot fault you on this one. That is why we eat our own chickens and cook our pork till it is done.

i aint big on chicken.....other than picking up a few breasts for my chicken and wild rice casserole a handful times a year i dont eat it all that much.....ate more than my fair share of it growing up cause it was cheap meat and i dont eat it all that often anymore, especially pan fried, hate pan fried chicken.....if given the choice between chicken and something else i generally choose something else....unless i get farther east than North Dakota.....i cant stand Midwest and east coast beef....if im that direction i stick to chicken