The Invasive Species Cookbook?

[Staff]

Chad Love: The Invasive Species Cookbook?
January 25, 2010

Chad Love: The Invasive Species Cookbook? | Field & Stream
excerpt from above:

I'm a pretty adventurous eater, so given the right chef, I wouldn't hesitate to give Asian carp a gustatory chance. It's pretty much a given they're here to stay, so surely there's got to be some commercial value to the damn things, right? Considering the way they're spreading, we may not have a choice. So I commend Chef Parola for thinking outside the box. But I have to ask, has anyone ever actually tried Asian carp or nutria? Python? Snakehead? Everyone wonders what the face of hunting and fishing will look like in fifty years. Maybe we should instead be asking what our wild-game cookbooks will look like?

[Staff]

Would you eat this fish?
The chef who tried to get us to eat the nutria turns his attention to the invasive carp. Will people buy it?
By Thomas Rogers
Thursday, Jan 21, 2010 09:15 EST

http://www.salon.com/news/env/environment/index.html?story=/food/feature/2010/01/21/philippe_parola_asian_carp
excerpt from above:

Invasive species are not, by any means, a new problem on American soil. From zebra mussels to boa constrictors, they've been pushing out indigenous animals for centuries. Louisiana chef Philippe Parola, however, has an unusual strategy to get rid of them: putting them in our stomachs. (His oh-so-subtle eating philosophy: "You’ve got to have balls.")

In 1998, the flamboyant Parola was involved in the notorious (and unsuccessful) attempt to make the nutria, a large aquatic rodent pest, into a nationally popular meat. (It probably didn't help that the animal looks like that giant rat from your childhood nightmares.) Now he’s turned his attention to another invasive species, the Asian carp...

[havalotta]

We've eaten a carp or two (taken from the bay) for many years.
I couldn't picture those tasting much different than the ones we eat now...
The only thing is they must be taken when the water is still cold otherwise they take in a muddy flavor.
The best way we found to eat them was pickled with a white wine sauce...or smoked as they have enough fat to keep them nice and moist.

As far as nutria.... I can't figure them tasting much different than the locally basted squirrels.

[lonediver]

Where's bigblueeyes?

Why don't you pack up some of those nutria on dry ice and send me some? Got to be pretty good on the bbq . Make sure they are dead though , I do not believe there are any live here yet .

[Pahinh Winh]

About eating nutria - not much different from eating squirrel, just more of it. And a squirrel is a rat with a blow-dryed tail.. Possum & nutria probably taste about the same, & possum is good eating.. And with nutria, you can wear the coat after you eat the animal - or sell it to the local fur buyer. Great thing where we have win-ter.. I had a nutria stole & someone stole it. It was toasty warm..
In re eating carp - we ate tons of carp when I was a kid & if someone brings me any now, I still eat them. The answer to muddy taste is simple - provided they are brought in live - put them in a washtub with the garden hose trickling into it. Let it run over, you want it to. leave the carp in the water for 2-3 days with the water trickling, & feed them only cornmeal. Voila!, no muddy taste. Yum, yum! Especially smoked.

[havalotta]

So you cleanse the carp from the inside out for a few days while it's living yet to remove the muddiness..... Makes sense. I see they do that with worms before cooking them. I've never tried those though...Hmmmmm Don't know if I care much to either....

My Hubby won't eat tree rats as he calls them (Squirrels)....
Kids ate them and loved them all the while they were growing up until they noticed dad wasn't eating them.
That was the end of that. I still partake in a few here and there. Raisin gravy is tops!

[biigblueyes]

Raisin gravy?

I have a friend who swears there's nothing better than squirrel cooked in blackeye peas.

[biigblueyes]

Originally Posted by lonediver

Where's bigblueeyes?

Why don't you pack up some of those nutria on dry ice and send me some? Got to be pretty good on the bbq . Make sure they are dead though , I do not believe there are any live here yet .

Awwww, and miss the scene where you go chasing thru the desert trying to catch a stray nutria? What fun is that?

[lonediver]

Originally Posted by havalotta

My Hubby won't eat tree rats as he calls them (Squirrels)....
Kids ate them and loved them all the while they were growing up until they noticed dad wasn't eating them.
That was the end of that.

On a different property we had a pond large enough that I aquired a paddleboat to put on it such as you see at parks etc. . Used to take the daughter out on it when she was little and she would beg me "please daddy pick me some cattail" a la Eull Gibbons/stalking the wild asparagus style . Husk it down and eat . Catch some of the crawdaddies (yes , I have done my share of head suckin') and go out at night giggin' frogs . Yummy ! Could have a dinner out on my pond , water lotus , water lilys , cattails (were you aware that there are 3 portions of the cattail plant that are edible by humans) . Ponds etc. are virtual supermarkets . Not sure the daughter either remembers (or will admit to) eating all that but she did .

Originally Posted by biigblueyes

Awwww, and miss the scene where you go chasing thru the desert trying to catch a stray nutria? What fun is that?

You really would like a pic of me chasing a nutria would'nt you ? I got enough critters to chase/trap . Now go out and pack up some nutria on dry ice and let me try it out since it seems that you are not going to !

[havalotta]

Originally Posted by biigblueyes

Raisin gravy?

Oh it's the best! You can make it with just about any kind of meat, Venison, beef, chicken.....It's an old Swedish recipe passed down from grandmother.

Here's a quicky.
Fix the meat just like you would swiss steak.... Dipping it first in milk and then in seasoned flour, quick brown it a bit and smother it with a rich gravy (Actually canned mushroom soup, cream of chicken or what have you works well) toss a handful of raisins in and slow cook it in the oven till tender. Mmmmmm Mmmmm good. Those raisins swell way up and sweeten the gravy just right.

Another variation.... Toss a handful of raisins into your barbecue sauce before cooking your pork or ribs. It compliments them quite well!
Let me know what you think......