I was driving down the road today and thought about my coon meat market. I also got to thinking about how other trappers view the meat market. I just thought I would put this out there for food for thought. Every trapper who plans on selling coon meat should take great pride and care in dressing the meat. Dress the carcass as though you were going to eat the meat yourself if you expect other to purchase your animals.

I have witnessed people trap coons, skin the fur off and throw the carcass on the ground, a dirt table or even hang and let the flies blow them, then expect someone to pay good money for the meat. I heard of one person who lives a few miles from me, who tried to sale coon meat with pine straw on the carcass and got mad when the buyer would not buy the meat. When fur prices hit bottom down here in the south, old coon trappers like me and others put more stock in the meat market just to keep trapping. We did it for the love of the game. With in just a few years, the market had been built and people knew where to go to get good carcasses.

I had a trapping partner teach me even more about the handling and care of the meat over the past few years. Combining the two techniques as not only increased the speed of pelting, but also increased the end products value. The following are just a few of the things that we do to care for the hide and the meat at the same time.

First thing I do is wash the fur at the set if water trapping. Then as soon as I get home I put the animals under the water hose and wash even better. This dose two thing, it cleans the fur for pelting and it cleans the fur for skinning. Dirty fur will also mean dirty meat.

Next I set up a bowl of water or hang a water hose near the skinning rack. I wash my hands constantly while skinning.

When making my opening cuts, I try to always roll the fur away from the opening and meat. I use to skin the hide back over the hips to leave as much fat on the carcass as possible, but have since learned that you can keep the meat cleaner by just opening the hide enough to get started.

Once I hang the animal, I roll the hide down and make sure that I never touch the meat with dirt hands while pulling. When the hide comes off, I gut the animal while hanging and then take a water hose to the carcass to wash off any excess blood. Also while gutting, I make sure to remove all organs from the rectum to the bottom jaw. I make clean cuts with a sharp knife and try hard not to make any excess cuts on the inside of the carcass as this makes it appear that you were just whacking at the meat. I wash the carcass real good and then hang by the chin to dry or if I have a pile of coons, I throw them in a ice chest of ice cold water. Once the hung meat is dry of excess water, I then place the animal in wax paper for some sales, or in WalMart sack for other. I then place the carcass in the freezer for storage.

The way I feel about the coon meat I sale is simply, I dress the carcass as though I were going to eat the meat myself. Think what it would be like if you went to the grocery store to pick up a stake for dinner and you watched the butcher pick it up off the floor and then wrap it for you. I know lots of people think that people that eat coon are crazy, but crazy pays good money for the meat. I will close with this, take great care and pride when dressing coon meat for market. Treat each carcass as though it were a 16oz prime rib. I promise, if you take care with the carcass, you will see your meat market grow to the point you can not catch enough coons.

These are just thought I felt like sharing and hope some good thought may come out of this topic.

Oh and one last thought, when selling by the lbs, fat sales on the carcass, and you have to shrap it off the hide to pelt. The people I sale to want as much fat left on the carcass as possible. I have had to throw away coons that had no fat as they felt there must be something wrong with a coon that did not have fat rolls on him.

That is how I did it out here in Calif. but I was ask to leave 1 foot on so they new it was a coon

There's a coon market in CA? Surprising. Do restaurants buy it? How is it usually cooked? I doubt this would ever catch on in Connecticut. Most people here turn up their noses to anyone who's eaten squirrel.

I baked a coon once in yams and hot red pepper. It was very good, but we were also starving from ice fishing all day.

Excellent post by the way. These tips could also apply to dressing deer.

Yeah it always good practice to take care of your coon carcases if you want repeat sales. I always leave all the fat I can on the coon, Head and both Back feet. It all adds up when you put them on the scales.

If washing the carcass works for you fine. But I have been told that washing and hanging to dry just gives the meat more time being exposed and that bigger of a chance to spoil.
I sell some where around 1000 each year and have never had one come back.
I make one incsion remove the guts to the wind pipe. Then use my loppers to cut the crotch open and remove the bung gut. And that's It. Place In 16x 40 2 mil bags and freeze.

Beav, I don't hang them for over 10 mins to dry, I just let them drip off mostly. Sounds like you and I dress coons the same way. Only thing I don't do is looper the crotch. I break the pelvic bone with a knife. Funny tho, I was thinking about using the loopers on it this year as my hands are getting wore out.

Blaine, I leave both back feet on also, or you can't sale the coon here. I leave the head on because the customers want it left on. They eat every bit of meat on the neck also, up to the jaw bone.

TexA, we can sale coons here, as long as it is me selling to a person. A store can not sale wild meat unless it has been inspected by the FDA inspectors.

WE have a Wild Game Feed out here to introduce people to the eating of Wild Game $25 .oo a plate ..They loved it,, where can you get food like we have to offer ..In the past we have had fish like shark ,bill fish and others , elk , buffalo ,bear , boar, beaver , mushrat, coon all good eats ,, this was all donated so the club made good $$$ and over the years it grows and grows up untill the state stops you !!!

I had no idea there was a raccoon meat market. If I put it up for sale on craigslist, I bet I'd get hate mail. I put up an offer to split money 50/50 if I could combine game pieces for the McDonald's monopoly game on the list, and I got hate mail for that. Some idiot accusing me of trying to cheat people. A raccoon meat post, man I don't want to even imagine the responses here.

What kind of prices are you guys getting for your coon carcasses ?

Look it up on Yahoo but I got $2.oo lb. out here but I can not Trap know .The $2.oo lb. was 20 yrs. ago ,but we worked it.Now rattle snake is going for $40.oo lb. so there is a market out there. go look it up or make you owen..

I get 2$ a pound on my coon. Same on possums if I have a buyer lined out already if not I do not fool with them.

Dang, I get $1 a lbs or sell the lot for $8 each. I go with the Sam Walton thought. The more you buy the more you save.

Good golly, you fellas get a heck of a price for those coon. Howard sounds like you take very good care of your meat.

If someone buys 4 or 5 I will cut them some on the price, Most folks around here sell for 10$ across the board. Most coons around here usually average 8# dressed.

Good post there Mike.....But in a Slater House don't they remove the Guts within minutes/ seconds after the kill???? I do with my Big/ small game and Waterfowl/ upland birds.....

anyone know if there is a meat market in Southern Illinois?

pintail_drake04-
#1. Make sure that selling of dressed carcasses is legal in your state.
#2. I'm sure that there is a market. There may not be anyone supplying the market though. A dressed 'coon laying in the freezer won't sell its self. The customer has to know that it is available. See #1 again!

what sick sob would eat them things that is just nasty but I guess they dont see half the things you do when you skin them. Fleas puss sacks not to mention some of the fluids that come out when you skin them.

Kickin buck, I have to reply to this one. I never sell a carcass that has any puss sacks or any form of un healthiness about it. Now as far as who would eat them, I have eaten them many times along with other wild animals, I guess I am going to have to be first to tell you, I do not consider myself to be a SICK SOB.

Further more, not everything good comes from a grocery store.