Nutria, It's what's for supper

[GunnyGene]

Apparently CA is looking to start eating nutria to "help control the population". Question is which population - nutria or people? :roll:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/0...tlands-and-theres-talk-about-eating-them.html

If you can’t beat them, eat them?

Wildlife officials in California are asking residents to report any sightings of nutria — an invasive rodent that threatens wetlands-- and at least one report raises the question of whether or not the rodents should be eaten.

There is no indication that the rodent is anywhere close to being on the menus at Craig’s or the Polo Lounge, but The Verge’s report said other states that have grappled with nutria have turned to eating them.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Thursday it is trying to eradicate the rodents from the state because once established, nutria could cause loss of wetlands, damage to agricultural crops and levees, dikes and roadbeds.

 

[Fox Mike]

Big muskrats. Been trapping for the fur and eatin' them on the East Coast for many many years. I think I still have a couple muskrat traps somewhere. Don't know how they are with tufu though.

 

[tinman]

Since the libs out that way don't want anyone owning guns, I guess they'll be ok with them critters being clubbed to death. :arrow:

 

[GunnyGene]

Since the libs out that way don't want anyone owning guns, I guess they'll be ok with them critters being clubbed to death. :arrow:

Ooooh. That's right up there with baby seals. :wink: :roll: I foresee a protest march coming in the near future. :roll:

 

[JFB]

Nutria....SHOOT ON SIGHT!

"Knock on wood", I haven't seen one since the drought several years back, where I did my share of dispatching the ones that wandered into NC

 

[Bob Wright]

The story of nutria, as I have heard it, is this:

Nutria, or coypu, are from South America. They were introduced into the US, especially Louisiana, to control weeds in the canals and ditches. They eat vegetation and would control plant growth which would choke the waterways. Worries about their spread were solved by the fact that alligators would control their populations, and they would not migrate beyond Louisiana.

Of late, I have seen nutria on the banks of the Mississippi River at Memphis, and as far north as Dyersburg, Tennessee.

Their fur is similar to beaver fur, and is used blended with beaver in making felt for hats. Because of their fur, they have been farm raised for their fur.

They look at first glance like a beaver, since they are fund in the same locale. Absent of course is the flat beavertail, and also their facial profile identifies them apart from beaver.

Bob Wright

 

[contender]

Yep, and they don't taste bad either,, ! So does muskrat.

On a side noted,, a local church had a wild game dinner fundraiser a little over a week ago. I looked over the proposed menu,, and told the girl at the hardware store (where the flyer was,) "This looks like a dinner menu from my house. Nothing exotic,, (and they had a diverse menu.)

 

[Ugly Hombre]

Wut? The nutria are Illegal Alien animals.!

California needs to give them free food, housing and vet care- like they do Illegal Alien humans.

otherwise the are wacist....

or something.

 

[bogus bill]

No buck toothed rat for me unless it`s a survival situation. Give it to Mikey.

 

[Tensaw]

In the 60's and 70's it was estimated that the Mobile-Tensaw Delta in South Alabama had 100,000 nutria. We had annual Nutria Rodeos where we hunted and shot as many as possible. Prizes were given for the largest, smallest, the most, etc. I once won a tackle box and life jack. There almost none now due to the increased alligator population.

 

[WAYNO]

If a feller wants to eat them, more power to them. I wouldn't care to.

We have many in all of our wetlands. A common sight when duck hunting. They are big, and I'll tell you from experience just how many rounds of #2 steel they can take, and keep on their attack when the weeds are wrapped around my hip boots and I can't get away... And my buddies wont save me cuz they're laughing too hard.

One of my nephews told me that when his high school buddies were out partying way too late at night, they'd go on a nutria hunt with clubs.






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[bogus bill]

I was a Yankee who went south for the first time for my job in 1962. I seen those Nutria for the first time in Louisiana. It wasn't long before I got the impression Southerners would eat anything that walked, crawled or grew. Absolutely nothing was safe!

 

[GunnyGene]

In the 60's and 70's it was estimated that the Mobile-Tensaw Delta in South Alabama had 100,000 nutria. We had annual Nutria Rodeos where we hunted and shot as many as possible. Prizes were given for the largest, smallest, the most, etc. I once won a tackle box and life jack. There almost none now due to the increased alligator population.

Maybe the concerned folks in the South should help out those poor folks in CA, and send them a bunch of gators. Maybe 2000 or so, 3 or 4 footers. :wink:

 

[Conservative]

Louisiana had a state sponsored recipe contest for nutria. They hoped to generate enough interest in eating these critters to help lower the nutria population.

Get hungry enough or just like exotic game, a ten pound or less nutria is some good eating.

Yes, the only revulsion factor is they look like giant rats on steroids. So what?

I know folks who love to eat armadillo, possum or coons.

Of course, if you're overly sensitive about the meat you eat, they're not for you, you little girl you...

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

Folks next door to my grandparents raised them in the late '50s to early '60s. Spent all kinds of money on concrete enclosures with water and whatever one of those ugly buggers likes, in hopes of making their millions selling the furs. This was outside San Diego, so it's not like they're brand new here. I have no idea how they disposed of them when they figured the money promised on the back of the magazine wasn't quite there.

Jump forward a half century, and my understanding was the State of LA was talking like a Dutch uncle to get folks to eat the critters there, but even the Cajuns weren't jumping on board. I ran into a very interesting young black fellow from LA at a local lake quite a few years ago, and we were talking about different things folks eat here and there. He said in LA, if there's a ditch beside the road, you ain't gonna starve. Unless you want to... so if a Cajun won't eat it, I'm not sure anybody oughta.

Rick C

 

[Don Lovel]

Shwamp Rat, Schwamp is the sound it makes when they flop their wet body in the mud

actually the name of a really good biker bar band from Kansas City many years ago

 

[caryc]

Nobody mentioned the fact that them buck toothed varment's big front teeth are orange.

 

[Muley Gil]

Hi,

Folks next door to my grandparents raised them in the late '50s to early '60s. Spent all kinds of money on concrete enclosures with water and whatever one of those ugly buggers likes, in hopes of making their millions selling the furs. This was outside San Diego, so it's not like they're brand new here. I have no idea how they disposed of them when they figured the money promised on the back of the magazine wasn't quite there.

Jump forward a half century, and my understanding was the State of LA was talking like a Dutch uncle to get folks to eat the critters there, but even the Cajuns weren't jumping on board. I ran into a very interesting young black fellow from LA at a local lake quite a few years ago, and we were talking about different things folks eat here and there. He said in LA, if there's a ditch beside the road, you ain't gonna starve. Unless you want to... so if a Cajun won't eat it, I'm not sure anybody oughta.

Rick C

My wife is from Louisana and she said there a few things even a Cajun won't eat and nutria is one of them.

 

[protoolman]

Hey muskrats have been eaten by hobos for years all across the country. Show them where these big ol rats are. I hear muskrats is good eating so maybe these are too?

 

[dougader]

If they are anything like the cuy in Ecuador, no thanks. Weird, slimy meat, even grilled.

 

[Bull Barrel]

Nutria season ends here in MO the 31st.
No limit.

 

[mike campbell]

Trappers around here save the hind legs of muskrats. It's not uncommon to see a platter of em in BBQ sauce at the game dinners. I don't seek em out, but they're not bad.

My all-time favorite game is gray squirrels. So I figured a young groundhog that hasn't exercised more than 30 feet from it's den, and eats nothing but the finest green beans should be tender and tasty, right? Wrong.

 

[Bull Barrel]

I used to to have a supervisor who was from WV.
He liked to make groundhog stew. Said you had to boil the grease out of the meat before putting it into the stew. Its not bad!

 

[Jeepnik]

In the 60's and 70's it was estimated that the Mobile-Tensaw Delta in South Alabama had 100,000 nutria. We had annual Nutria Rodeos where we hunted and shot as many as possible. Prizes were given for the largest, smallest, the most, etc. I once won a tackle box and life jack. There almost none now due to the increased alligator population.

Maybe the concerned folks in the South should help out those poor folks in CA, and send them a bunch of gators. Maybe 2000 or so, 3 or 4 footers. :wink:

Nope, we had a free range gator locally. The experts finally trapped it. They claimed the lake it was living in wasn't healthy. Though they can't explain how it grew a couple of feet while living there, got chubby and just spent most of it's days sunning itself on the adjacent golf course.

So the experts took it to a zoo. It make a break for it but got caught again. Then, and they still are tying to keep mum about it, Reggie died while safely in captivity.

What to kill something, let the experts protect it. :evil:

 

[Rick Courtright]

Then, and they still are tying to keep mum about it, Reggie died while safely in captivity.

What to kill something, let the experts protect it. :evil:

Hi,

All the time they were trying to catch Reggie, I was rooting for HIM!

What the experts fail to consider is this is an animal which has survived 10s or 100s of 1000s of years, maybe well over a million, and thrives in what we might think are absolutely horrific conditions. After all that, we think it's some kind of a wussy animal. Not in the wild, folks!

Rick C

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Just a few ways to cook the tasty morsel
https://cantbeatemeatem.com/recipes/nutria/

Everything goes with Rice :wink:

https://boingboing.net/2013/04/29/meat-from-a-20-kb-swamp-rat-t.html[/img]
Some hearty hunters bagged 8 nutrias for us and we had them processed by a butcher who was legendary for his skills at making nutria not only palatable, but delectable.

Three ways to prepare the meat did battle in our scientifically rigorous taste test: Snack Stix, sausage on a bun (with a touch of Tabasco sauce) and nutria jambalaya.


Nutria Snack Stix - This curious item runs about 6” to 7” in length. They are basically like a thicker Slim Jim minus the snap. Overall, what you're going to notice on the first bite is a strong smoky natural meat flavor, but one that is well countered by the Cajun seasonings and a moderate amount of heat that builds up with each chew.

They have a fresh pepperoni like kick with an oily surface feel. The stix have some flexibility to them and don’t easily crack open with any amount of bending. Chewing was easy and there isn’t a high degree of saltiness.

We decided that the mixture of the flavors helped to make the nutria meat palatable but the addition of the spices seemed to be hiding the actual flavor of the meat. Our findings were inconclusive.


Nutria Cajun Sausage - These chunky links tasted wild and exotic. The slight garlic and cayenne flavors percolated on the tongue, but were quickly overwhelmed by a taste we have to describe as the flavor of the “swamp”. One of us thought it tasted like a morgue, while another tasted a hint of walnuts. You’re definitely in unique flavor country here as the true taste of the nutria meat really came out, for a perplexing culinary experience.
This item provides a nice real meat flavor for a medium grind sausage that can work well on the grill if its tended carefully, but given the meat’s natural leaness you have to watch that it doesn’t get too dry. If we were to try it again we’d choose to boil it in water or an Abita beer, bratwurst style.


Nutria Jambalaya - Like a film crew, the nutria meat seems to work best in collaboration. It really shined in this dish as it easily took on all of the spices & flavors associated with Louisiana cooking. The long simmer and slow cooking time resulted in a soft, moist meat and a jambalaya with a light tanginess and a smoky background in each bite.

We’re not convinced eating nutria meat will ever go mainstream, as heck look at those big orange teeth and long rat like tail. Nonetheless, nutria can be quite tasty. It truly is the other OTHER white meat.

If you are interested in scoring some nutria meat for yourself or checking out some clips from the film, you can visit the ongoing Kickstarter campaign for Rodents of Unusual Size here:

 

[caryc]

Just a few ways to cook the tasty morsel
https://cantbeatemeatem.com/recipes/nutria/

You got to be kidding with that. :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Taste just like fried chicken. That is if you are REAL hungry :wink:

 

[Rick Courtright]

Taste just like fried chicken. That is if you are REAL hungry :wink:

Hi,

Once upon a time, an Indian became separated from his hunting party. His horse had followed them, leaving him on foot. After walking for a couple of days, he was getting pretty hungry. All he could find to eat were two items he'd never heard of humans eating: an artichoke, and a nutria. He was so hungry he ate both of them. The artichoke became a delicacy... but to this day I've never heard of another Indian eating nutria! I guess one would have to be crazed with starvation.

Rick C

 

[barrycarraway]

I thought you were going to say Louisiana they can make anything taste good!