Ok guys I'm gonna try to butcher and cook a beaver. From what I know you don't want any castor to touch the meat. I also heard you want to trim all fat off meat. Any other things I should do? How about a good crock pot recipe? Thanks, bob

Do a search on youtube for "catch and cook" by 330maniac

I love beaver. Treat it like you would any other critter you're cooking for the table. Don't butcher it in your fur shed, to start, butcher it somewhere clean. I do mine on the kitchen counter tops. If the castors look extra full, squeeze the juice out of them before you even start skinning. Make your opening cut, and before you even start the actual skinning, get the castor out. Now use a separate knife to skin, and smell it often. If you catch even a whiff of castor, stop and wash it in soapy water. Keep fur off of he meat, and when you flip it over to skin the back side, don't flip it over onto where the fur was just laying. Gut and save the heart liver and kidneys if you like them.

I cut any big chunks of fat, but it's not bad to eat, so don't worry if you don't get it all. You can separate the backstraps, legs, and belly meat, or cook it whole. It's kinda sorta like beef, so any recipe for beef will suit it well. Older ones do better parboiled until the.meat falls off the bones, younger ones don't really need it.

My way of consuming beaver meat... Depending on how many you have at your disposal... I only use the backstraps which easily fillet out soak over night in milk and salt water mixture to draw blood out (will remove the gamey livery taste)... Fillet the silver off and cut into chunks and brown for stew use like a sirloin beef Google any food.com for a good stew recipe... Or bacon wrap and put on grill... and be clean about when skinning pretty easy when just filleting the tenderloins... The bigger hams you'll have issues getting the blood out so if using them cut into smaller pieces before soaking...

hind quarters in a crock pot with 1" of water and Montreal steak seasoning sprinkled on top of the meat. Very good and tender.

I shall now bring home a beaver for the pot! I love Montreal steak seasoning, and I know how well a crock pot treats wild game. I'm on a mission now.
Thank you.

If i have a lot of beaver i cut them behind the ribs and freeze the back half i call this a beaver butt roast they store well this way and dont take up much room sometimes i slow cook on the grill other times i might boil off the bone and make pulled beaver they also do well in a roaster .
If im camping on the line i will bone out the first beaver i skin of the eavening cut in small chunks put on elm skewers and throw them on my portable gas grill with salt and pepper to cook while im skinning.

I use the back straps and de-bone the legs remove most fat and silver skin and use slow cooker season meat add a onion little water and a couple beef bullion cubes and cook till it falls a part for pulled beaver sandwiches. And actually the last one I made we tried the wifes instant pot and it was probably the best yet . Just Sear the meat then pressure cook until done.

My son and I saved the backstraps off one last week. Cut the silver skin and fat off. Cut each strap into 3 pieces. Lightly browned all sides in a frying pan with olive oil. Baked at 450deg for an hour and a half in a dish in the oven. It was just like beef and tender. Shredded them up for burritos. I will do it again.

best for me is a young fall beaver gutted and roasted whole in on a wood fire like a pork roast with some smoke. Then kick up the heat a bit towards the end to crisp it. Nothing but some salt and pepper best meat ever.

Just cooked up some
cube in 1” cubes dip in flour with johnies seasoning salt and fry In Some oil . family loves it

This.
I will also roast these in a baking pan with some onions, carrots, and bay leaves. It makes a very tender and moist "roast beef", no one will know the difference.

Hind legs in crockpot done like beef roast .

I have not found connective tissue/fat etc to be very gamey on beaver. Old habits die hard and I still try to take most of it off (don't know why really).

Venison is more gamey than beaver. I'm convinced that in most recipes you would be hard pressed not to think it is lean beef.

I trim the silver skin off my beaver tenderloins then marinate in a gallon zip-lock bag for a day or two using 1 bottle of soy sauce and 1/2-3/4 cup of brown sugar. Wrap the loins in bacon then cook on grill or in oven in a disposable aluminum foil pan for 30-40 minutes. I usully pour all of the brine into the cooking pan also.

If your more of a fried meat lover, you can' beat a good hot cast iron pan with some butter. Simply fry your "beaver tenderloin tip's" with mushrooms and some garlic then put over noodles or rice.

This one is almost ready to have the backstraps pulled. I get about a lb per strap on one this size. Just right for a nice beaver stew. A staple for me this time of year.

Well I put the tenderloins, front legs and back legs in my instant pot for 50 minutes on high pressure w beef stock and some seasoning salt. Have to say tastes just like beef. Gonna shred the meat add bar b que sauce and serve on buns w coleslaw and chips tomorrow nite for dinner.

I usually pressure cook the front back legs and tail muscle, until its falling off the bone. I do trim some fat but you want to leave some too. I throw in a few whole spuds and make beaver gravy with flour and milk, salt and pepper. Don't forget to liberally pepper the meat too. it really brings out the flavor of beaver.

I have only tried it once; it seemed very sweet to me. I would have to acquire a taste for it. Good luck!

The meat from a beaver is excellent. Just make sure you cook it all the way. Same as bear and pork. I am in the process of making a few videos on cooking it. Knew to that part of the world but figured its time i shared that part of life with people. will post here when i have completed them. not that great with editing but it will taste good that i know. beaver taste similar to beef and i think the flavor profiles of beef will give you a good starting point to doo some cooking. i do enjoy the liver this time of year. and i am not a liver person at all. I always make sure the beaver i eat are pulled from the trap ASAP for me every morning. when i skin them i do like you mentioned make sure the castors don't touch the meat and get them and the oil sacs out first. if you use the front rest the animal just remove any gland you find or anything dirty or that looks distasteful. the front legs are good cleaned of any dirt and some fat rinsed and if you want you can always soak the meat in salt water to draw some of that red bloodiness out. a good way to do them is drop them in some seasoned flour then brown them in a pan and braise them. braising meat is a great with wild game and works well on beavers. i do grind a lot of my beaver meat and it makes a great meatloaf or meat for spaghetti or goulash. IMO there is not many bad meats in this world just bad cooks. Any questions shoot me a pm will always answer questions.

BTW beaver peeler one day I need to teach myself to clean skin. Thats looking great. I was shown that way when i first started beaver trapping but never could get it right so i just taught myself to rough skin and hit the fleshing beam.