Another post was asking what was good eating from what we catch, beaver seemed to top the list of goodies, anyone have tips on preparing the meat or good recipies?

i cut the loins and backstraps out of the beaver i catch ... and at time the hocks ... the backstraps and loins are cut into bite sized chunks, then battered and deep fried ... or used in stews, baked with cream of mushroom soup, stir fry, etc .... the hocks you can debone and throw in a crockpot with veggies, and taters

Slow cook with moist heat. Crock pot with taters, onions and carrots makes a mean roast. About the only thing I can think of for prep is use a fresh knife for cutting off the meat, don't want castor all over

We soak it in salt water in refrigerator for 3 days, change out salt water each day. The meat will be pink after all the blood is pulled out. This makes a mean stew, taste just like beef to me.

The trick is to not cut through the gut when skinning. Skin clean as possible. If you nick the gut cavity, clean knife with vinegar. Trim out legs and backstraps carefully. Marinate for several days in the fridge. Pound out backstraps with a meat tenderising hammer...flat, then roll up like a filet, wrap outside with bacon, secure with toothpick, and grill. Grind up deboned legs and use like hamburger. During the 70s and 80, I most likely ate a ton or so.

Crowkiller

Make sure you remove the small grey colored glands which are on each side of the backbone (body cavity side) and under the legs.

Unless you like the taste of sac oil and castor don't let the fur touch the meat if you can help it. And don't use the same knife you cut glands with to butcher.

Amen V3N...if you get castor or sac oil on it...NO amount of garlic etc will hide that taste....LOL.

Beaver tastes just like fine grained beef. I use it in "beef" stew and sausage all the time. If you don't know what it is....you'll love it. If you do know what it is...might be mind over matter....LOL.

At present these beaver seem to be primarily corn fed, I heard mentioned that you want to cut off all fat or it will taste like castor,How tough is the meat on average,

ive had beaver a few times we made it in a stew and you couldnt tell the difference from beef very delicious.

Beaver Stew!!! MMMMgood! Take a fresh beaver skin and be extra careful not get table slime whatever take chunks from back and hams w/ clean knife cube 1" get extra fat off take 2 lbs soak over night in salt water w/half cup milk just enough to cover draws out blood... then paper towel dry...Brown in skillet w. a little butter and pepper- soup greens put in medium crock pot w/a beef boulion cube and 1 cup water w/ 2 Tbsp flour stir good to get lumps out, add 1 cup ea. chopped carrot, turnip, potato, 1/2 cup ea. onion and cut green beans salt pepper to taste start in the morning before running trapline and prime vittles for supper...Can't tell me its not sirlion beef!

Oh, boy! A thread after my own heart!

I've been eating beaver for years, now. That was the sole purpose for me to start trapping. We love the stuff here.

I throw nothing away.

The ribs I leave in tack and my wife will slow cook them in the crock pot covered with bar-b-q sauce. Fantastic!

The fat that I trim off goes into a cast iron pot and gets rendered down. The oil drained off is used as cooking oil and what's left I'll put into a press and press out just like if I were squeezing cracklings from hog fat. It makes some of the best cracklings you'll ever eat.

The tail, I'll heat till the hide pops loose then strip the hide off. Then I'll take the remaining tail and bake on a cookie sheet until all the oil is cooked out and it turns brown and slightly crispy. This is great with Scotts Bar-B-Q sauce(a vinegar based pepper sauce).

The large beaver with plenty of fat, I'll take the flanks out and grind into sausage. They usually have enough fat layered into the flanks that there is no need to add pork fat. This makes some of the best sausage you've ever tasted. The flanks that don't have enough fat for sausage making, I may just flour lightly and fry them up. They make for great sandwiches while you're sitting in a deer stand.

Hams and shoulders I cook various ways. I'll debone and fry some, stew some, slow cook some or fry on the bone like I would chicken. Some of the larger ones I've even been able to slice steaks out of and grilled them. A large ham makes for a beautiful roast done in the oven with carrots and taters. Man! I'm getting hungry just talking about it!

The back straps, oh, man! There are lots of ways to do them. Mostly we grill them or saute them in the pan with butter and garlic. Add a few mushrooms and, wow! What a treat!

Once the hams are separated from the rump, what you have left is another piece for a fantastic roast. That's what we do with the rump and back bone from over the belly. A-1 steak sauce is my favorite on this.

Did I leave any part out?

That's bound to be a myth.

See my last post.

As far as tough, they are just like any other critter. You get some that are tough and some that ain't. Generally, they ain't as tough as beef.

cut the meat off the head for stew meat ,then let ants clean skull .