Porcupine Recipes?

[Catch It]

My buddy and I went out for a long ride yesterday, the bunnies were reclusive, the ptarmies were flighty, but, we came upon a clutch of Porkies and I had heard for years how good they were to eat and I was itching for some fresh meat and a little diversity from my moose/grouse/salmon diet. So, we took one and skinned it out, gave the pelt to friends for handicrafts, but, I am curious as to the best way to cook it up. The flesh seems very very tender and dark red....and the animal was the least stinky thing, inside and out that I have ever processed so my hopes are very very high, just lookin for some ideas from those who have eaten one of these guys and how best to do it. Thanks.

[BrownBear]

Haven't eaten them in years because of location, but did so regularly most of my life. We ate them any of three ways most of the time.

For big groups we stuffed the chest cavity with dressing and veggies just like a turkey, but covered the whole works with foil for baking to keep it from drying out. About a half hour before serving, pull off the foil, brush with butter, turn up the heat and brown lightly.

If you cut them up more or less like a chicken, roll the pieces in flour, dip them in egg, then roll them in cracker crumbs and fry like chicken. The cracker crumbs won't stick if you don't do the flour and egg thing first.

Finally we would fillet the meat off, cut it in strips and chunks and do much the same thing, turning out something like "chicken tenders" in the process. Last time we did it, I experimented with Shake and Bake and the oven rather than frying, and I have to say it was probably better due to the seasonings.

Don't remember the details, but my grandmother used to use it instead of chicken in "chicken and dumplings" and in pot pies. Really good, and the memory makes me wish I lived a little closer to porkies once again!

[Heinous Berzerker]

One way I used to cook them was stick the cut up meat, after marinating them for a few hours, was to stick them in the barrel stove on a grate after the fire had died way down, leaving the damper wide open. This tended to take away the gamey taste, especially on winter porkies, who are eating more spruce needles and spruce bark than during the milder months.

[Rick P]

Growing up in the Upper peninnusla of Michigan we had lots of porkies and my grand mother prefeered them to just about any other meal. Roastig or frying them works great but do'nt forget stewed yummmy. And you have'nt eaten till you've had porkie pasties( a little round finlander meat pie)
1) Grind up the meat. 2) Add cubed carrots potatoes rootabaga(gotta have this one no substitutions allowed, pastie pureists say the vegies should be shreded on a coarse chess grater) and alittle onion.3) Add salt and peper and just enough lard to make the ingreediance stick together(dont over do this one).4) Put a softball size portion of the mixture on a pie crust fold the crust over the mixture and pinch edges closed.5) Bake at 325 till crust is nice golden brown color. About 45min to an hour depending on how big you make them you can ussually get 6-8 pasties out of a nice size porkie.

This recipe works for any game meat especially venison. I made venison hart pasties for my wife and I on our secound date. It was x-mass time and Rudalph the red nosed raindeer was on the tube while we were eating My wife said "I supose I should feel alittle guilty but I just cant these are soo good."

[Catch It]

Sounds like your porkies were camp meat on the trail....neat idea. I got this guy in a horribly ringed birch grove so I'm hopin he won't taste like my late season spruce chickens....I like pine-sol on my floors, not my game

Keep em comin, I've got lots more snowmachinin comin out here this year and might be able to testify to a bunch of recipes, since I find porkies more readily than most edibles....and they can't fly.

RickP, I spent several years livin in Ispheming and Marquette, great country and indeed, pasties are just about the most fantastic "one item" meal I think I have ever had...can't forget the gravy. Say Yah to da Up Eh. Thanks, good memories.

[Heinous Berzerker]

No, I'm not a trapper, although I have trapped beaver and wolves in the past, but mostly for the meat. I shoot porc's when they come around for the meat and because I have a dog team. It's easier to skin a porcupine than it is to pull quills out of a struggling dog.

[Catch It]

No, I'm not a trapper, although I have trapped beaver and wolves in the past, but mostly for the meat. I shoot porc's when they come around for the meat and because I have a dog team. It's easier to skin a porcupine than it is to pull quills out of a struggling dog.

I hear ya, I was pulling quills out of a struggling hunter yesterday

[Alaska Gray]

If it's like anything else it should taste like chicken

[kahahawai]

Porcupine Burgers ! mix with lipton onion soup mix and crackers...Mmmmmm Good!..........................K

[kahahawai]

Oh Yeah, I forgot to mention, the quills make good toothpicks too. just rub the barbs off on a rock. also try teriyaki porcupine kabobs, marinated overnite, Mmmmmmm Good.............K

[ak_powder_monkey]

hmmm might have to blast some porkies sometime, quills make awesome flies

[Gshepherd]

Growing up in the Upper peninnusla of Michigan we had lots of porkies and my grand mother prefeered them to just about any other meal. Roastig or frying them works great but do'nt forget stewed yummmy. And you have'nt eaten till you've had porkie pasties( a little round finlander meat pie)
1) Grind up the meat. 2) Add cubed carrots potatoes rootabaga(gotta have this one no substitutions allowed, pastie pureists say the vegies should be shreded on a coarse chess grater) and alittle onion.3) Add salt and peper and just enough lard to make the ingreediance stick together(dont over do this one).4) Put a softball size portion of the mixture on a pie crust fold the crust over the mixture and pinch edges closed.5) Bake at 325 till crust is nice golden brown color. About 45min to an hour depending on how big you make them you can ussually get 6-8 pasties out of a nice size porkie.

This recipe works for any game meat especially venison. I made venison hart pasties for my wife and I on our secound date. It was x-mass time and Rudalph the red nosed raindeer was on the tube while we were eating My wife said "I supose I should feel alittle guilty but I just cant these are soo good."

Never got to try a porkie pastie, but I trapped a pretty big Beaver once over in Kinross, boy she made some good stew and pastie!! Tastes alot like beef!!

[Rick P]

Beaver is definatly another of the unrespected but dang tastey meats. Never understood trapers who throw it away or use it in predator trapping.

[DEDWUF]

Sometimes they taste a little "piney", especially when they have noticable fat, we found that boilng them until most of the fat "lifted", and then roasting, frying, stewing etc, there was much of the "piney taste". If your hungry enough, the warm gut might look good.

[Montana Native]

I too have partaked in the delicious porkie & beaver consumption. While packing a string of horses in Montana, we were a few miles from camp, hungry, and low and behold, a big fat porkie came out. We cooked him like a rabbit, with salt & pepper right over some hot coals... Mighty tasty!

Beaver~ like the other Yoopers here, I lived in da UP for 9 yrs. During that time, I had the privledge of eating roasted beaver. I think it was better than roast beef! It fell off the bone... Oh, I am getting hungry now! See what you guys did, now I have to go raid the fridge...

[Rick P]

I'm beginig to wonder if anyone still in the UP. Where have all da yoopers gone, long time passing

[otterman]

I to eat alot of porky and beaver and all the recipies above are great I still prerfer them just simply crock potted. with salt and pepper. plain and simple. One secret with porkies that i didn't see mentioned above is upon removing the guts you will see a thin membrane of flesh thatactually attches to the ribs i was taught that taking it out simply by grabbing hold and pulling takes a bit of the meat off the inside of the ribs when done right helps remove alot of if not most of the strong wood taste that some might have.
Rick P to answer your question about why trappers use beaver for bait well you can only eat so many I take 25-40 a year I have a few choices I can eat some and I do, the rest I can give some if not all away but in doing so would be giving many to alot of lazy men capable fo going out and getting their own and that I despise or I can turn them into a few thousand dollars as it really is the best bait out there everything likes beaver so we eat as much as we want give some to some elders and the rest well we trun it into bait to catch more fur and make more $$ on the line

[MNViking]

I'm beginig to wonder if anyone still in the UP. Where have all da yoopers gone, long time passing

Maybe the Aliens from the Paulding Light are eating them?

[Rick P]

The Paulding light!! Now there's a blast from the past didn't even know anyone still remembered that!

Thanks for the smile MNViking!
Rick P

[MNViking]

I just went home on leave and went up to the Paulding light. It's still there, still unexplained, and still a hot spot for underage drinking.

They did put up a sign at the viewing point. (It might have been there before but I was too busy underage drinking to notice)