How To Clean And Cook A Woodchuck

You've finally managed to get the woodchuck that'southward been plaguing your garden all season, at present what?  It seems a shame to waste adept meat, especially when information technology's been well fed on the food that was supposed to be on your family unit'south tabular array.

Groundhogs are not but edible, they're tender and delicious if properly cleaned and prepared.  They live on a completely vegetarian nutrition and comport no life-threatening diseases for humans.  Groundhogs are like to rabbits in taste, and most recipes for groundhog take you gear up them in the same way.

The main difference between rabbit and groundhog is the scent glands.  Groundhogs have scent glands that tin impart an off-flavor to the meat if not removed promptly.  The scent glands are small kernels a flake smaller than a pea but beneath their skin, located around the back, armpits, and tail.

Update: The pictures here are shown without gloves, but I have since read that the guidance these days is gloves should exist worn when cleaning wild game.  There'south a small chance of parasites from the digestive tract of the animal getting into your body from skin contact.

Obviously, they weren't used historically in the weald, but this is i of those "improve safe than sad" scenarios.  The risk may be small, but the consequences are potentially disastrous depending on the parasite.  We at present ever habiliment gloves when skinning/gutting wild game, and propose yous practise the same.

How to Make clean a Groundhog (Woodchuck)

Start by making a small incision at the sternum with a abrupt knife.  Be careful to only become pare deep, rather than puncturing the meat or viscera below.

If you lot have a field hunting knife with a gut hook for skinning, this is one place where they're very useful.  The hook on the behind of the hunting knife can be looped into that small slit and used to "unzip" the groundhog from his skin.  Carefully pull dorsum with your hunting pocketknife hook to open the skin down the centerline of the stomach.

If you lot don't have a hunting knife, a minor high carbon steel knife is also a good choice.  Either style, make a very shallow cut with an extremely precipitous knife then that you don't puncture the viscera and spoil the meat.  Remember, yous're only going skin deep, keeping the abdominal muscles intact so they comprise the viscera.

One time you've opened the skin downward the centerline from the neck to the groin, expand that line out in an "Ten" by cutting down each leg.  Every bit you open the skin down each leg, work your fingers between the peel and the meat to loosen the skin away from the meat.  There's no demand to apply a knife to dissever the skin from the meat at this point, and doing so will just risk putting holes in the hide.

The peel should come away from the meat relatively hands, merely if y'all encounter a particularly stuck patch, utilize the tip of your knife to assist it along with very shallow cuts.  Exist conscientious not to puncture the hide.

Work your fingers in around each leg, separating the skin from the leg meat.  Once the peel has pulled away from the leg meat, the skin on the feet should be all that's holding together.

Slip your pocketknife into the opening created between the pare and leg meat, and cut outward to remove the concluding bits of peel still attached most the pes.  This should free the skin, and allow y'all to remove information technology.

If you lot've used your hands to work the skin abroad from the meat starting at the stomach and effectually to the dorsum, once the hind feet are removed you should exist able to pull the peel abroad at the back and work your way forward to separate the pare from the meat up around the shoulders.

Subsequently the meat is freed from the hibernate around the shoulders, cut off the skin at the cervix and remove your finished hide.

The hibernate can be saved in a storage bag in the freezer until yous're fix to tan it.

With the hibernate removed, it's now time to gut and fully clean your groundhog.  This is another place where a field hunting knife with a gut claw comes in handy.  Make a modest incision at the sternum and utilize your gut hook to unzip your groundhog without puncturing the viscera.

If you're not using a gut hook, be very careful at this signal.  Thus far yous've kept your groundhog make clean, and spilling the viscera is non only smelly, but it also makes a big mess of your meat that will have a while to wash up.

At this point, can y'all tell if it's a male or female person groundhog by looking at the picture above?  Leave a annotation in the comments if you can.

Once the abdominal crenel is opened, cutting around the anus to release the colon and gently pull it through the hip basic.  Pull out the viscera, using a knife if necessary to cut the esophagus right equally it comes through the diaphragm and above the stomach.  Place the viscera in a basin to bury or compost.

The organs inside the ribcage and above the diaphragm are notwithstanding in there at this point.  Apply your hands to open upward the diaphragm and pull out the lungs and heart.

You shouldn't need a knife at this point, just be certain to achieve all the way up to the top of the chest crenel to get everything in one piece.  If necessary, attain back in and scrape any remaining lung fragments from the inside of the ribs.

Some people utilise game lungs equally a filler in sausages, only at that place's not much to them other than a spongy texture.  They're edible if yous're really hungry, just otherwise, don't carp.

The heart, on the other mitt, is all muscle and very flavorful.  Filet the heart open to remove the blood jelly from the chambers and batter and fry for a real care for.

Your final step is to remove the feet and head.  The best tool I've found for removing small animal feet is a expert quality meat cleaver, and I particularly honey my restored antique cleaver.  Cleavers are nether-appreciated kitchen tools, that come in handy taking autonomously game or piecing apart a craven, and a good quality cleaver is only nigh $10-15.

If you lot're at the point of cutting upwards your own groundhog, you're definitely doing enough cooking to justify owning one.  Defective a cleaver, however, a very abrupt pair of scissors or garden shears volition piece of work for an creature as modest as a groundhog.

One time the caput and feet are removed, y'all've at present got yourself a skinned and gutted groundhog but yous however demand to remove the odor glands earlier cooking.

You can go a footstep further and part out the legs for cooking equally individual cuts, or roast the woodchuck whole in a long slow braise with a lot of adept fatty and seasoning (bacon or pork belly makes a good accompaniment).

How to Remove the Scent Glands from a Groundhog

Each animate being is going to have some number of musk glands around the armpits, along the back, and near the genitals.  They're small nodules, well-nigh the size of a pea or a chip smaller.

Once you have your groundhog gutted and skinned, be sure to remove the olfactory property glands as soon as possible to go along the meat from developing a musky off-flavour.  Some of them are hard to see, and to be safe, soak the woodchuck in salted water overnight to draw out whatsoever remaining musky flavor.

How much meat is on a Groundhog?

Our groundhog weighed in at 7.five lbs earlier dressing, but one time the skin, head, and viscera were removed the concluding yield was 2.5 lbs including bones.  So the answer, non a whole lot.

Bones, tendons, and extra fat fully removed there are roughly 1 to 1.v pounds of meat on an adult groundhog.  A lot improve than a squirrel, and a bit better than a wild rabbit, but still just barely plenty for a single meal for a small family.

How to Cook a Groundhog

Groundhog meat is very much like rabbit meat, and a brine soak helps pull out any remainder gamey flavor.  It too helps the meat retain wet during cooking.

Soak the groundhog in salt water for at least four hours, or overnight.  Somewhere around i/two cup per gallon of water is a skillful place to start.  Pat the woodchuck dry and cook equally you would rabbit.

My favorite way to cook rabbit meat (or groundhog) is breaded and fried, which results in moist and tender meat inside a well-baked breading.  This is my buttermilk fried groundhog recipe, which is wicked simple and super tasty.  That's how this particular little guy found his way to the tabular array.

Since the meat is very flavorful but tends to be a scrap dry, information technology's well suited to a long braise in a flavorful goop.  Try this basic braised groundhog recipe.  I'm peculiarly excited near this pressure-cooked woodchuck and dumplings recipe.

The Northern Cookbook from 1973 includes a number of game recipes including Sugariness Pickled Beaver and Squirrel Fricassee, as well as this uncomplicated recipe for woodchuck in gravy:

Woodchuck in Gravy Recipe from The Northern Cookbook

ane woodchuck
two onions, sliced
ane/2 cup celery, sliced
Flour
Vinegar
Pepper Cloves

Clean woodchuck; remove glands; cut into serving pieces. Soak overnight in a solution of equal parts of water and vinegar with the add-on of i sliced onion and a little table salt. Drain, wash and wipe. Parboil 20 minutes, drain and cover with fresh humid h2o. Add one sliced onion, celery, a few cloves, and common salt and pepper to taste. Cook until tender; thicken gravy with flour.

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Posted by: codythelint.blogspot.com

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