Roadkill cuisine
Roadkill enthusiasts in Canada[7] recommend roasting beaver, which should first be soaked in salted water overnight after removing all fat.
[8] There are several roadkill cookbooks, typically with a tongue-in-cheek treatment but containing sensible advice, not least of which is ensuring that the flat meat is fresh and free of disease, and is adequately cooked to destroy bacteria and other contaminants.
[12] The more discerning may prefer Jeff Eberbaugh's Gourmet Style Road Kill Cooking, which gives advice on converting roadside opossum, deer, turtle or skunk carcasses into tasty treats including squirrel pot pie, groundhog hoagies, creamed coon casserole and road kill stir fry.
His book The wild and free cookbook includes a section devoted to locating, evaluating, preparing and cooking roadkill.
According to some, raccoon or opossum are preferable to squirrel, and the taste is improved by aging and marinating the meat in roadside oil and grease before preparing a stew.
[15] Alternative recipes for roadkill include raccoon kebabs, moose-and-squirrel meat balls, Pennsylvania possum pot pie and skunk skillet stew.
In Australia, kangaroo meat is produced from free ranging wild animals, typically living on privately owned land.
[27] The Independent and ABC News reported on food pioneer Fergus Drennan, "a full-time forager, environmentalist and star of the Fresh One Productions series The Roadkill Chef" broadcast in 2007 by the BBC.
"[28] Arthur Boyt is a retired biologist who "has spent the past 50 years scraping weasels, hedgehogs, squirrels and even otters off roads near his Cornish home, and cooking them.
"[32] Boyt has published recipe books and appeared on television cookery shows and said that roadkill "is good for the body, the environment and the pocket.
[35] When they receive news of a moose roadkill, volunteers rush to the scene to butcher the animal, which must be quickly bled, gutted and quartered so the meat can cool as fast as possible.
[40] Local residents may also register to be included on the "roadkill list" in the more rural areas, ensuring that the valuable meat is not wasted.
However, for species that are protected by state hunting laws and otherwise would require a tag to harvest, the proper procedure is to first call the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (the poaching hotline is answered 24/7) and report the animal, providing your personal information.
[43] The people of Georgia claim that they invented Brunswick stew, a traditional dish now eaten throughout the southeastern United States which may also contain roadkill.
[49] In February 2005, following complaints by the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Kraft Foods decided to stop production of Trolli U.S. Road Kill Gummies.
The society complained that the products, shaped as partly flattened squirrels, chickens and snakes, would give children incorrect messages about the proper treatment of animals.
[50] Tennessee's legislature has considered legalizing the eating of flattened fauna except domestic pets, a proposal that drew a flood of ridicule due to the awkward wording of the bill introduced by state senator Tim Burchett.
"[52] In May 2002, representatives of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) called on the Texas legislature to legalize the eating of roadkill.
A Texas Parks and Wildlife official said that "The department strongly encourages all persons to avoid engaging in the collection of any animal life on public roads".
[59] The town of Marlinton, West Virginia holds a road-kill cook-off each fall during the last Saturday of September, which attracts thousands of visitors each year.
[60] The festival features dishes such as pothole possum stew, fricasseed wabbit gumbo, teriyaki marinated bear, and deer sausage.
[61] While the food at this festival doesn't actually involve real roadkill, the dishes are prepared with the kinds of animals that are commonly knocked down by cars.
[62] A motorist who hits and kills an animal is entitled to keep it, but they must first obtain a free tag from the local authorities (sheriff or police department).
[63] Found roadkills are considered waste,[64] while in car crashes involving European elk or bear, the meat is inspected and auctioned by police.
A frequently told joke about rednecks or other groups of rural people asks how many it takes to eat a raccoon or opossum, with the punch line "Three.
