Very OT: woodchuck au vin

[Alison Murie]

Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>

 >Endangered only by traps and automobiles.

 >Did you grind patties?

 >How much ground could a groundhog hog if a groundhog could  hog
ground?

Joel
~~~~~~~~
The deadly automobile can be your friend if you want to try
groundhog.  Look for a fresh kill. No fish & game
person will object to your carting off such a find.

No. Skinned, cleaned & dismembered it, soaked it in a marinade of red
wine, lemon juice, s & p, a little brown sugar  & a dash of cranberry
juice  for a couple of hours, seared it in olive oil, covered in water
& simmered for a couple of hours.
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Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>

At 8/13/2009 09:05 PM, Tom Zurinskas wrote:
So what does woodchuck/groundhog taste like?

Chicken, of course.  (Just kidding; I have no idea.)

Joel
~~~~~~~~~~
If chicken is taken to mean something like the real creature of the
farmyard, not the horror created in chicken factories, then yes, it is
rather like the meat on the second joint of a well-developed succulent
chicken.

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From: Herb Stahlke <hfwstahlke at GMAIL.COM>

Groundhogs are similar to a West African animal called  Cutting Grass
or Grass Cutter, depending on how much you decreolize it.  They are
tasty, and I thought the flavor was a bit like rabbit.

Herb

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Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>

We've had a few in our neighborhood too--some neighbors caught one in
a Hav-a-heart trap but carted it off to some distant woods rather
than throwing it on the griddle, then one turned up on our deck in
the early morning, but we didn't eat it either.  I wouldn't know how
to go about preparing one for the table, but perhaps there are
instructions in Joy of Cooking.  Meanwhile, I wonder if it's kosher
(unlike the non-ground kind).  Maybe it falls into the same category
as aardvark, which has a similar etymology...

LH
~~~~~~
I suppose you'd have to get an authorized whatzizname to kill &
butcher it?  As far as the animal's own characteristics go, I should
think it'd be okay.
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Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
Subject:      Re: Very OT: woodchuck au vin
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At 8/13/2009 10:21 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
We've had a few in our neighborhood too--some neighbors caught one in
a Hav-a-heart trap but carted it off to some distant woods rather
than throwing it on the griddle

In my state (Massachusetts), even non-endangered species -- certainly
gray squirrels are not -- cannot be carted off by just anybody --
only by a licensed animal remover (or whatever they're called).  I
know -- three separate times I've had squirrels in my eaves and soffits.

Joel
~~~~~~~~~~
I can't imagine any muncipality or state in these difficult times
spending scarce resources on enforcing such rules.  Locally, the
equivalent official will come on request to remove an animal one has
trapped. A neighbor here does that with the groundhogs she captures,
but I don't think he'd come after anyone doing it for him!

AM

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