Eating Opossums; Thank Goodness for Barbecue Sauce!

What’s the most disgusting thing you’ve ever eaten?

Ask that to most kids and they’ll say something like brussel sprouts or lima beans. Or maybe they’ll remember some pancakes that daddy made when he added baking powder instead of baking soda (true story). If you aren’t already privy to that well-kept secret, there’s a big difference in the two.

Nevertheless, most people in the civilized world haven’t had to eat things considered truly revolting by the rest of society. We haven’t resorted to eating opossums, snakes, or crows. At best, we’ve had the privilege of eating wild game delicacies such as wild turkey, venison, and salmon.

Harvesting Food

In the days to come, however, we may not have the luxury of being so picky with what we harvest. Our family’s health and well-being, if not our very lives, may depend on stomaching wild edibles and animals that we now consider beneath us.

Could you eat earthworms? What about ants and grasshoppers? These can be dried and added to a stew so that they are not nearly as noticeable. We get the protein and nutrients that they afford us without having to really taste it as much.

But what about other things, such as opossums, groundhogs, and rats? What can we do to help make those a bit more palatable?

Extending Your Food Supplies

Wild game is often associated with a gamey or oily taste  to which most of us aren’t accustomed. If we are starving, we may be able to force it down, but short of that, we’d shy away from the meats if we have an alternative.

But that’s not making good use of our resources. Even if you have a year’s worth of food stashed away in the nooks and crannies of your retreat, that may not be enough. How long will you have to survive? How long must your food last? We may not know that going into the TEOTWAWKI event.

Incorporating what you can harvest from nature’s bounty when it’s abundant will help you to extend your stored supplies that much longer. Making a dandelion and chickweed salad will help keep you healthy while extending your food rations.

Each rabbit or squirrel that you snare will extend your food supplies for another day or two. So how can you make those undesirable things more appetizing to you and your family when there is more palatable food in the coffers?

Stockpiling Barbecue Sauce

Enter Barbecue Sauce, the culinary way to mask the taste of a meat.

Barbecue sauce, aka BBQ sauce, is a strong tangy flavor that can be absolutely delicious. There are a bunch of different varieties of barbecue. Kansas City is renowned for its barbecue. So is North Carolina, Memphis Tennessee, and Texas. All are a little different, but all have a strong flavor that can be used to hide a meat’s flavor.

Laura began stocking up on barbecue sauce a few years ago when I brought home an older deer that I’d harvested. It was 5 or 6 years old and had a strong gamey flavor that she didn’t really like. (Younger deer don’t have the wild gamey taste). So she sought ways to hide the flavor.

Barbecue sauce worked well. (We also made sausage out of some of the venison. The strong flavor of sage and some other spices masked the taste somewhat.)

Adding a deep supply of barbecue sauce and other strongly flavored sauces to your coffers will greatly expand your eating options. When you’re facing a rather unappealing meat, season it with something you like and enjoy. It may not be the best meal you’ve ever had, but it’ll be better than without the sauce.

Thank goodness for barbecue sauce! Also consider adding ketchup, ranch dressing, honey mustard, salsa, and taco seasoning.

Have you eaten something unusual? Got a recipe that you’d like to share? Leave a comment and tell us about it. 

Related Posts

• Eating a Snake
• Squirrel Extraordinaire: A Delicious Recipe
• You Cannot Rely on Hunting After TEOTWAWKI
• Learning Wild Edibles