Eating the invasive protein.

Okay I have been looking for the best place to bring this topic up and you folks seem to be more accepting to unusual ides than most. As a kid I used to run the woods hunting wild game, fishing as well as gathering wild edibles so they run hand in hand with me. After I had kids I ended up with a lot of responsibilities that kept me from having time to hunt and gather but I did keep up with fishing. I did make the occasional hunting trip when I got the invite but it was not on woods I knew and I did not really have time to learn some anyway. Now flash forward several years and I am retired and not as physically able to run the woods as I was during what I call my wasted years. I have deer, squirrels, and rabbits (and other game animals) right out my back door however there are also seasons for those so it is not a year round pursuit. In fact right now everything but turkey is out of season and that ends shortly but there is hope. In this state we have a invasive species the main ones being hogs and armadillos (I bet yours has something too but hogs seem to be a common invader). There is no limit, season, and very few restrictions mostly involving firearms at night on these animals. Now hogs I know as they have always been a target of chance but something like armadillos which are recent residents, with them having moved up from Florida in the past few years, gets my interest up. The problem is I have never tried armadillo and while I assume they are like possums on the edible scale that amour plating looks like it might be a bit difficult to process the animal (not to mention that while I know they are in the area I have not seen a live one I could harvest yet). Anyone got any experience with hunting and eating armadillo (specifically going from whole live animal to ready for the pot as it were)? Anyone else interested in harvesting the free range more unusual or invasive protein available in your state? Please feel free to talk about your experience with or interest in this subject.

Hi Peter,

I live in Florida and am very familiar with armadillo. I've yet to actually try one... but plan on doing so next chance I get (when my wife isn't around she doesn't want me to bring it near her). I've many close friends that have eaten it and say its good.

Hunting armadillo gives them too much credit, simply identify an area with digs similar to those left by feral hogs but much smaller in scale, and walk around. Armadillos can't hear very well or see more then a few feet. Thus the reason God saw fit to equip them with a suit of armor. When hunting other game, we always come across at least one armadillo and at least one of my buddies always sneaks up behind it and picks it up by the tail.

Its common to parboil them and trim off the layer of fat on the outside of the meat. They can then be fried. Some people will don't worry about that fat and just toss it in a stew pot.

Make sure to cook thoroughly, armadillos, though very rare, can carry leprous.

TY for the response and heads up on potential health risk. If I ever find them I am going to try them. So far around my property the only rooted area is hogs but that is on the very back corner (for now). My friend lives closer to an area where I have seen several on the roadside killed by traffic (the same swamp that crosses the hwy is the back border of his property). He said aside from seeing them on the road he has not seen them locally either. I figure we are not dealing with a large population yet but they are here.

I have seen them in Florida myself quite a bit. The ones I have seen bolted for cover as we got close. Not sure if it was they saw or felt us through ground vibrations coming. It just peaked my intrest when I was recently reading the hunting rules and regs (I read what is pertinent for me and  my area but some things I don't look at every year) and saw hogs had gone from a game animal status to open season no limit day or night along with coyotes and armidillos (which had never had a season heck they used to never be here).

I've eaten armadillo before, that my friend killed with a spear. It tastes similar to pork, although with less fat.

I'd be reluctant to eat the armadillo, not because of any food predjudice, but because they are a carrier fro Hansen's disease (leprosy.)

http://www.rusticlifestyle.com/tag/armadillos-and-hansens-disease

Its very rare for them to carry it, its killed when cooked properly, and if you contracted it, its easily cureable nowadays.

In honesty your more likely to contract a tapeworm from undercooked pork.

Peter K. wrote:
TY for the response and heads up on potential health risk. If I ever find them I am going to try them. So far around my property the only rooted area is hogs but that is on the very back corner (for now). My friend lives closer to an area where I have seen several on the roadside killed by traffic (the same swamp that crosses the hwy is the back border of his property). He said aside from seeing them on the road he has not seen them locally either. I figure we are not dealing with a large population yet but they are here.

I have seen them in Florida myself quite a bit. The ones I have seen bolted for cover as we got close. Not sure if it was they saw or felt us through ground vibrations coming. It just peaked my intrest when I was recently reading the hunting rules and regs (I read what is pertinent for me and  my area but some things I don't look at every year) and saw hogs had gone from a game animal status to open season no limit day or night along with coyotes and armidillos (which had never had a season heck they used to never be here).

I have killed plenty of them in my yard.  I have never eaten one though.  That outside looks tough but a shovel blade works well to dispatch.  I have had best luck killing them midday but those were in my yard.  Best time to hunt them is probably dusk or sunrise where edges of forest meet grass clearings (or yards).  They don't see well so it is not to hard to sneak up on them.  From what I have seen, if you don't move they can't see you.  They build lots of burrows and then rotate them.  I have found their burrows to be great graves, and it usually spooks the others off for a long time.

I've eaten a couple out of curiosity. I have to say I'd have to be pretty hungry to consider them again.
It's hard to even clean them. They just plain stink. There is a very heavy musty odor as soon as you open them up.
To put it into perspective I've eaten and enjoyed skunk but armadillo? No thanks.

I can't really contribute anything helpful on this save for another question;

You mentioned coyotes having no restrictions on hunting, does anyone know if coyotes are any good to eat and if they carry anything to watch out for?

(In other news; I thought this was going to be a thread about eating insects lol. I was vaguely disappointed )

Coyotes are scavengers, and therefore a potential disease vector.

we ate some grasshoppers this week. We had a huge population explosion fueled by the record drought this year. So, we ate the pests! We boiled them first, then friend them with garlic and butter. When you boil them, they turn red like a lobster!

velacreations Hatfield wrote:we ate some grasshoppers this week. We had a huge population explosion fueled by the record drought this year. So, we ate the pests! We boiled them first, then friend them with garlic and butter. When you boil them, they turn red like a lobster!

Well? How do they taste? Like lobster? :hoping:

I had hoped for lobster, too, but they tasted like garlic butter

They don't really have a taste at all, and seem to absorb the taste of whatever you cook them in.