I’ve salvaged road kill. Birds (grouse/pheasant) are easy and very often relatively undamaged.
Large animals are a different matter. Depending how hard they were hit and what part of the animal took the hit… it can get messy. The first time you deal with it is usually enough to educate yourself.
Why waste it? Most animals I come across are left on the side of the road and the coyotes, birds etc are on the carcass.
Somehow, I can’t imagine myself chewing on a burger made out of a dead road-flattened gopher.
Good idea.I used to see dozens of moose smucked by logging trucks around Prince George,and the meat was left for the birds and coyotes.
Not so much, Don. I used to commute across highway 16 in the early 2000s, and would often pick up hitchhikers when it was below -20. One young job-seeker was going home after a day of resume-and-interview in Prince George. He helped his dad with their dogsled team.
There was a waiting list for picking up roadkill moose, deer, and elk. It saved them hundreds of dollars in dog food when they could get a moose, but more and more people were signing up for free (if gamey if you don’t know how to clean it or it was grilled too hard) meat. “Last” year they had got one moose. “This” year (2002 I think) he wasn’t sure if they were going to get one. They were hoping for the call from the highways department telling them where to go to pick up “their” moose.
I hit a deer about ten years ago on the way to work in Minnesota. The poor doe was still breathing, but blood was bubbling out her nose. I called the local sheriff to come put it out of its misery (no guns allowed at work). They offered me a tag so I could process the deer myself, but I had neither the skill nor time. They had a list of people and organizations that would salvage the deer. I was glad it would not go to waste.
Not in Canada.A logger told me a lovely tale of watching a mounty try to put an injured deer out of its misery,with his pistol.
After 2 mags the logger said he lost it,used the 30-30 from behind his truck seat to put the poor beast down.
Oh yah,the mounty wanted to charge him.
Besides we don’t need no road kill, we got government certified Hala whatever meat.
Ha! “Organic, Free-range” … and I’ll add … grass-fed … road kill. Because I consider myself a conservationist … I am quite supportive of the practice. However, I DO worry about food safety. Is there some sort of a field test for food spoilage? I mean other than the human nose and taste buds. Sometimes the on-board, human test kit can provide a delayed reaction as another one of our human skill set … uh … eliminates the problem via every orafice available. Seems a bit messy in our high tech world
I used to live in Alaska. If you hit a moose or a deer (which accounts for most of the roadkill) you call the cops and they have it butchered at you expense and its given to charities for the poor. (or you put the thing in the back of your pick-up and take it home yourself)
Great show,” Northern Exposure”… song reminds me of my cooking…
No thanks for the roadkill- moose, deer etc, tastes too wild. I once made rabbit pie with homemade crust, with a little beef and pork. Still too wild, others liked it though.
I remember the episode in which someone found an ancient mammoth that had been frozen for thousands of years and had been exposed when the ice in which it had been buried had melted. Eventually, someone in the town took it and had it carved up into steaks.
So much for it being a scientific find.
Ha! The show was a gem!
Nancy out here at the trap shack wild meat is de rigueur. It is delicious if prepared properly.
Wild meat isn’t marbled like beef. It is lean and has to be prepared with that in mind. Over cooked and it’s ruined. The taste of different game varies widely and certain species are widely sought by the epicurean.
Eating well is the goal. Meals are planned. Friends gather. Good food, good drinks and conversation at a high level. LG.
great idea, I wonder if they do that in NFLD?
in Terana we ain’t allowed to butcher road kill bicycle couriers :-))))
Speaking of tasting too ‘gamey’ …
In Canada, good luck on getting the Mounties off their asses to respond to a road kill unless someone is injured or the road is blocked. My son hit a deer and someone driving by asked for and took the animal. The guy that took it risked untold fines. Deer are like rats. I knew someone in highway maintenance and they scraped about 100 deer a year off the road in 100 km stretch. They just hauled them back in the bush for the ravens and wolves.
I grew up in a poor rural area but we never ate road kill because you never know if the animal died from disease {maybe that’s why they wandered into the road} .
I think salvaging road kill moose and deer is a pretty common thing in rural Ontario, especially in the north. I don’t know what the rules are but I suspect most people don’t care what the rules are.
There is a movement afoot among the urban crowd seeking natural meat. The no hormone, naturally produced meat that wild animals produce.
I’m told women are motivated by the idea and there is an increased interest in hunting. A friend of mine made a presentation at a women’s hunting seminar and said there were a number of professional Asian gals who were determined to get into hunting. Hunting is not a thing that is easily done if you haven’t had an extensive apprenticeship with a mentor.
You have to study the logic and habits of wild animals before you might ever harvest one and then what do you do once one is down? Can you deal with a dead animal and get the meat to the table? It’s a really tough game to get into if you haven’t grown up in it. The reward is worth it if you can get to that point.
@ 7:35 and @ 7:52 abtrapper:
The love for a well prepared meal with fresh ingredients is a way of life. I am a soup and salad queen!
As I said, I tried making rabbit pie and followed instructions to a ‘T’…slow boiled with spices, onion and celery, etc. I think this one experiment turned me off deer and moose meat, figuring all would be gamey-tasting. As a result, I avoided searching it out, and have never tried any of it.
I guess one has to keep an open mind, and as a matter of fact, I once prepared oven baked beef heart from a recipe! You know, it wasn’t bad, in fact, it was pretty good!
My exposure to the east coast was what you called, if I remember correctly all fish, fish, fish! Et voilà!
I’ve salvaged road kill. Birds (grouse/pheasant) are easy and very often relatively undamaged.
Large animals are a different matter. Depending how hard they were hit and what part of the animal took the hit… it can get messy. The first time you deal with it is usually enough to educate yourself.
Why waste it? Most animals I come across are left on the side of the road and the coyotes, birds etc are on the carcass.
This song comes to mind:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt-o2xlffWo
Somehow, I can’t imagine myself chewing on a burger made out of a dead road-flattened gopher.
Good idea.I used to see dozens of moose smucked by logging trucks around Prince George,and the meat was left for the birds and coyotes.
Not so much, Don. I used to commute across highway 16 in the early 2000s, and would often pick up hitchhikers when it was below -20. One young job-seeker was going home after a day of resume-and-interview in Prince George. He helped his dad with their dogsled team.
There was a waiting list for picking up roadkill moose, deer, and elk. It saved them hundreds of dollars in dog food when they could get a moose, but more and more people were signing up for free (if gamey if you don’t know how to clean it or it was grilled too hard) meat. “Last” year they had got one moose. “This” year (2002 I think) he wasn’t sure if they were going to get one. They were hoping for the call from the highways department telling them where to go to pick up “their” moose.
I hit a deer about ten years ago on the way to work in Minnesota. The poor doe was still breathing, but blood was bubbling out her nose. I called the local sheriff to come put it out of its misery (no guns allowed at work). They offered me a tag so I could process the deer myself, but I had neither the skill nor time. They had a list of people and organizations that would salvage the deer. I was glad it would not go to waste.
Not in Canada.A logger told me a lovely tale of watching a mounty try to put an injured deer out of its misery,with his pistol.
After 2 mags the logger said he lost it,used the 30-30 from behind his truck seat to put the poor beast down.
Oh yah,the mounty wanted to charge him.
Besides we don’t need no road kill, we got government certified Hala whatever meat.
Ha! “Organic, Free-range” … and I’ll add … grass-fed … road kill. Because I consider myself a conservationist … I am quite supportive of the practice. However, I DO worry about food safety. Is there some sort of a field test for food spoilage? I mean other than the human nose and taste buds. Sometimes the on-board, human test kit can provide a delayed reaction as another one of our human skill set … uh … eliminates the problem via every orafice available. Seems a bit messy in our high tech world
I used to live in Alaska. If you hit a moose or a deer (which accounts for most of the roadkill) you call the cops and they have it butchered at you expense and its given to charities for the poor. (or you put the thing in the back of your pick-up and take it home yourself)
https://youtu.be/c4bISyBHDBY
Great show,” Northern Exposure”… song reminds me of my cooking…
No thanks for the roadkill- moose, deer etc, tastes too wild. I once made rabbit pie with homemade crust, with a little beef and pork. Still too wild, others liked it though.
I remember the episode in which someone found an ancient mammoth that had been frozen for thousands of years and had been exposed when the ice in which it had been buried had melted. Eventually, someone in the town took it and had it carved up into steaks.
So much for it being a scientific find.
Ha! The show was a gem!
Nancy out here at the trap shack wild meat is de rigueur. It is delicious if prepared properly.
Wild meat isn’t marbled like beef. It is lean and has to be prepared with that in mind. Over cooked and it’s ruined. The taste of different game varies widely and certain species are widely sought by the epicurean.
Eating well is the goal. Meals are planned. Friends gather. Good food, good drinks and conversation at a high level. LG.
great idea, I wonder if they do that in NFLD?
in Terana we ain’t allowed to butcher road kill bicycle couriers :-))))
Speaking of tasting too ‘gamey’ …
In Canada, good luck on getting the Mounties off their asses to respond to a road kill unless someone is injured or the road is blocked. My son hit a deer and someone driving by asked for and took the animal. The guy that took it risked untold fines. Deer are like rats. I knew someone in highway maintenance and they scraped about 100 deer a year off the road in 100 km stretch. They just hauled them back in the bush for the ravens and wolves.
I grew up in a poor rural area but we never ate road kill because you never know if the animal died from disease {maybe that’s why they wandered into the road} .
I think salvaging road kill moose and deer is a pretty common thing in rural Ontario, especially in the north. I don’t know what the rules are but I suspect most people don’t care what the rules are.
There is a movement afoot among the urban crowd seeking natural meat. The no hormone, naturally produced meat that wild animals produce.
I’m told women are motivated by the idea and there is an increased interest in hunting. A friend of mine made a presentation at a women’s hunting seminar and said there were a number of professional Asian gals who were determined to get into hunting. Hunting is not a thing that is easily done if you haven’t had an extensive apprenticeship with a mentor.
You have to study the logic and habits of wild animals before you might ever harvest one and then what do you do once one is down? Can you deal with a dead animal and get the meat to the table? It’s a really tough game to get into if you haven’t grown up in it. The reward is worth it if you can get to that point.
@ 7:35 and @ 7:52 abtrapper:
The love for a well prepared meal with fresh ingredients is a way of life. I am a soup and salad queen!
As I said, I tried making rabbit pie and followed instructions to a ‘T’…slow boiled with spices, onion and celery, etc. I think this one experiment turned me off deer and moose meat, figuring all would be gamey-tasting. As a result, I avoided searching it out, and have never tried any of it.
I guess one has to keep an open mind, and as a matter of fact, I once prepared oven baked beef heart from a recipe! You know, it wasn’t bad, in fact, it was pretty good!
My exposure to the east coast was what you called, if I remember correctly all fish, fish, fish! Et voilà!