Pulled some hindquarters from a pair of 10 lbs kit beaver I caught this year out of the freezer and thawed them out. Was thinking of seasoning with garlic, salt and pepper and throwing them on the grill and serving with mashed taters and corn on the cob, since they are kits and should be pretty tender. Problem is, every beaver I've ever cooked that wasn't in a crock pot was pretty tough/chewy. Put em in a crock pot and fall off the bone and shreds real nice. I'm thinking they should be tender. Aged a few days before freezing and given how young they were. Any other suggestions for preparing 'em without a crock pot. Too hot for crock pot burritos, pot roast or chilli.

I believe the one on the left is one of the kits.

Gonna watch this thread.

Moosetrot

I'd feed the beaver to that dog and grill a steak!

I've had good luck with brining/marinating and pan frying backstraps, I'm sure it would work for the grill. Still a little toothy though.

We've slow cooked thighs in the oven, not a summer deal. Usually we cook in my wife's instant pot (pressure cooker/crock pot) and debone, then crisp up in a pan for tacos, enchiladas etc, even poutine.

Very interested in how your grilling efforts turn out.

The reason beaver turns tough when grilled is that it doesn’t have much fat, I know that they often have a lot of it under the skin but not in the meat itself which then dries out and toughens up when cooking, the trick is to add moisture as your cooking, this can be done by basting or wrapping it in tinfoil with a little water or you can brine it for several hours or marinated it similarly

Just google how to keep your meat from drying out when cooking will give you lots of different ideas




Cooked right most can’t tell beaver from roast beef

I cooked beaver in a smoker once. Wasn't too bad. Just cook it low and slow.

Haven't done it myself, but low & slow on a smoker sounds about right...

I agree with night life, it taste like beef.....jk

I've got them marinating in a mix of teriyaki sauce, onion powder, fresh ginger, soy sauce and olive oil. Might try the tin foil on the grill method with a quick sear after.

What about using a marinade injector to keep it moist? Adding liquid should help keep it from getting tough.

Never tried to grill, though like was said earlier, great in slow cooker.

Pressure cook it.

Wrap in tinfoil with a couple pats of butter and grill away. Seasoning optional, can season before cooking or after. The butter will help keep the meat moist.

Low and slow or grill turning every 30 seconds and rotate a 1/4 turn each time, don’t know why but it works. We eat a lot of this year round, our grill is charcoal or pellet.

Who ever said feed it to the dog, you ever smell your dog after it eats beaver meat? People think coronafluenza52 is a killer, it doesn’t hold a candle to
K9 beaver farts.



Owl

Okay guys update, I've eaten about 30 beaver (flat-tailed variety) over the past 3 years and this was by far the best I've had. Here's what I did. Keep in mind these were a pair of 10-ish pound beaver. I think one was 13 lbs the other was 10 lbs. So very young. Took the hindquarters and aged a few days (3 or 4?) outside in winter weather around 30 to 40 degrees. Then I pulled out of the freezer and marinated in the above listed marinade. I wrapped each hindquarter in tin foil with a tbsp of butter and as much marinade as would stick to the meat. Then I grilled 5 minutes one side at 400+ degrees and 3 minutes flipped other side at same temp. Took out of tin foil and put each side on gril for 1 minute to get sear marks and lock juices in. Served with home fries. Delicious. Tender, fall apart in your mouth meat like eating the backstraps from a yearling whitetail doe. I'll be keeping all kit beaver I catch in the future just to eat. No bait for the coyotes and wolves, they don't deserve this awesomeness.

Sounds great but 7 minutes for a bone in quarter? Be curious to hear opinions on eating beaver not well done.

It was cooked through. 7 minutes plus the sear time. Then rested in the oven on warm while the home fries warmed up. But you're also talking to a guy who has eaten otter before.

Dang! That looks delicious.

Nice work! That looks delicious. I'm going to have to give grilling a try.

My wife usually temps our meat if she's involved. I'm a fan of it cause it lessens the cuance I'll overcook.

Y'all who want to try beaver - whatever you do, don't get any castor or sac oil contamination on the meat. It will taste nasty.