How about Sharing some of your favorite woodchuck recipes for summer.

Lots of videos on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cook+a+woodchuck

My personal favorite:

1) Kill them anyway possible.

2) Carry them across the road and throw them into the corn as far as I can.

3) Watch the buzzards feast.

Lol

Following! Colorado marmot season opens today.

No, just No!

No recipes, but an extended family of Native Americans use to camp on our place and hunt the rockchucks in early summer around our alfalfa. They put them in a Dutch oven and that's about all I know. It was a family ritual for several years; then one summer they never showed and haven't seen them since--some 40 or more years ago.

Yea Lenny my buddy says that stuff will make a turd taste good

Ate them every year after killing them as they raided our vegetable gardens. Italian Mom's receipe...lightly brown pieces in EVOO and garlic. Finish them in the oven with potatoes, carrots, mushrooms with Chicken broth and Red Wine. One hour later we feasted.

LOL @ PD. We used to kill em for my buddy's dad, that dude would eat anything. He made us baked porcupine that was pretty tasty.

Boiled them for an hour or pressure cooked them for 15 min. dust with flour and fry in iron skillet. They make gravy as good as squirrels.

Woodchuck, Porcupine , rabbit, squirrel, muskrat, opossum, racoon, geese, ducks, merganser, snapping turtle anything and everything goes into the pressure cooker for 15 minutes counted from when she starts to wiggle. Let it cool enough to open and discard all the juice, bones, skin and especially any fat. Rinse the meat under hot water in a spaghetti strainer to verify only the meat remains. Use two forks to pull the meat and add salt, pepper and Sweet Baby Rays barbecue sauce and serve on a hamburger bun. I fed my family everything I killed either as barbecue or McNuggets. Nuggets were anything I could cut into a one inch cube and deep fry coated in Drakes batter. My wife didn't come from a hunting family and the thought of butchering anything was out of the question for her but barbecue and nuggets were something she was familiar with. Obviously she new that the stuff wasn't coming from the grocery store but as long as it was prepared these two ways everybody was fed and happy. The fat is what you want to get rid of if your trying to reduce any off flavour that a particular critter may be known for. Good Day.

Field dress him or her. Cut the meat off. Grind it. Throw it in pot of chili with a lot of seasoning. It may or may not taste good I don't know. It just sounded like it might work.. JF

I'm with D31 on the pressure cooker

use one alot

willl even make Frisky's bumper tender is short order

Another traditional recipe is to clean one good and stuff with fresh cut Sassafras wood chips and baste with butter. put some basil and cloves on top. Put in a baking bag, place in oven set on 250 deg. for 2 hours. Let cool and throw away the groundhog and eat the wood.

Just took 4 out of my backyard with a Beeman .25 pellet rifle. They are destroying my wife’s garden. Got our Border Terrier hooked on the scent by throwing a dead one around and having him chase it. One day he went order the fence and tried to go down the hole after one. Probably one of the dead ones.

Really if you think about it they are pretty clean. only eat grass etc. Heck and old bear will eat meat with maggots on it. Can't see why they wouldn't be good.

How do you know if something is really good or not? You have to try it for yourself.

It's been discussed before. I think the crock pot with vegetables and potatoes won.

I give miine to the Beverly Hillbillies.Jethro really digs it!

Coat them lightly with molasses or mustard, then a good dry rub, put em in the smoker until they reach 150, then coat with bbq sauce, wrap to seal with aluminum foil and put back in smoker until they reach 205. Works for groundhog, beaver, deer ribs, whole shoulders. It takes longer but it's some gooood eatin.

I've yet to try groundhog chili, but I bet it could be excellent. Chili quality depends as much on the recipe and cooking process as what meat is in it.

Groundhog skins make make good rawhide too.

Hey what about groundhog breakfast sausage? Grind up a few of them, mix with ground pork trimmings and a sausage spice pack. Just leave it loose and make patties. Bet that would be some good eats too.

Dad and I parboiled them and some times added barbeque sauce.

One thing to note. It’s important to get out the 4 scent glands and all fat while butchering up Ground hog. I like that breakfast sausage idea Jeff.:)

I have only eaten groundhog once and it was a youngish one about 5-6 lbs I bowshot. Treated just like rabbit or squirrel. They appear to have a gland under each front leg that needs to be removed. My mother seasoned and floured then browned pieces in oil, transferred covered to the oven and baked until it was tender. Very close to rabbit in flavor but a little coarser grained. So I would think any way you cook rabbits or squirrels would work

I’ve eaten several and they were pretty good. No special recipe, just roasted in the oven like any small critter with spices and veggies. And don’t overcook them

My Grandfather ate many groundhogs. I have tried it done when a friend did one in a slow cooker. Young ones are the ones you're after. Truthfully--think about it--these critters eat clean green things. They are not filthy in their diet, and make good eating if you can get past the mindset that there's something nasty about them. In the days past when folks were poor you would be surprised what folks ate. I remember my Grandfather talking about even eating Flickers--the breast meat. In todays world folks aren't used to needing to scrounge for for food like that. As my Grandfather used to say--"Boy you'd be surprised what you'll eat when you're poor, and hungry."

i saw that in Mongolia they boil them in Mare's milk and down around the Andies they deep fat fry them and serve them up in the bars. Personally, I'll stick to moose or elk.

The best chuck I have had to date is cut them up in 2"x2" chunks remove any and all fat. Marinate in a zip lock bag with wishbone Italian salad dressing for about 6-8 hours, overnight is good. Put the chunks on bamboo skewers with chunks of green pepper & onion and grill to your likeness. Good stuff

Where is my bow? I’m going to go hunt for dinner

No one has mentioned woodchuck liver. I personally am not a fan of most livers. Woodchuck liver is the mildest tasting liver I've ever eaten. We used to soak them in salt water in the fridge overnight. Then, mostly just rolled them in flour/cracker crumbs; salt/pepper/garlic salt; and fried them slowly in butter. They taste more like chicken livers than beef or deer liver.

Thanks everyone for the input. And thanks for sharing that about the liver Barry. I’ll have to give that a try. But as you can see by this thread Barry we got some fussy bow hunters here;)

Groundhog is pretty good. Old ones can be tough but that's where the crock pot or pressure cooker come in.

Shredded groundhog BBQ makes a really good sandwich. DANNY

We just eat em whole unskinned without cooking them.Just remove the guts 1st and slather liberally in bacon grease and dig in.

Tip,Get some dental floss for the hair between your teeth.Your gonna need it

I've eaten a couple and they sure tasted like food to me. Now, they don't really measure up to raccoon; but then again what does?

When I was a young teen living in Pa., our dog caught a woodchuck and my mom cooked it. I didn't care for it. So I can't help you. Someone above mentioned Marmot here in Colorado. I haven't had Marmot but a friend of mine has and said it is very good, much better than woodchuck.

My Grampa used to like to eat them but he had to cook it. My uncle said it was good. Unfortunately, the three people who knew how he did it are gone now.

I guess there are glands and fat that needs to come off right away, after that, its pretty much like rabbit and such. Dunno but Id like to try it someday.

If you put enough vegetables, onions, sauces, and spices in the pot, you can make pretty much anything taste decent.

I saw a video of some chef who travels around the country highlighting the area's foods and customs. They went out and shot a nice 'chuck and made woodchuck bergue in a frypan. Looked like a cross between stew and chilli. It looked good!

Those glands are under the legs, in the armpits and groin area. Same deal with many critters.

Haven't tried erfpig liver yet. Thanks for the heads up Barry. Good to see you back here too.

Ya want to get the castor glands out of beaver since we're on the subject. I like the smell for some weird reason, but I can't imagine they'd affect the meat in a positive way.

I have the oven full of stuffed hot peppers now, smells lovely in here :)

I just can't do rodents! Javalina included in that. I'll just have a salad, thanks anyway. :)

My dad said when grandma cooked groundhog it smelled and tasted like cooked sod. He remembers her skimming off the brown scum from the pot.

The Sh!t ain't hit the fan bad enough for me to get that desperate yet. Until I HAVE TO eat one I probably won't...just too many other preferred meats available to bother with 'em.

Like hamburgers,brats and all beef hot dogs Dave.I am eating at your house Dave.Passing on my friends invite where they serve groundhog a thousand diffent ways and thier all bad.

T each their own but I'm surprised that so many hunters are so closed minded (for lack of a better term) about food.

I started eating them when I was young living in Illinois. I got into handgun hunting but they only let you shoot small game and varmints.

I hunted on a farm where the owner was always begging me to shoot his groundhogs. There were a lot of them. Being desperate for something to hunt I figured I would shoot one and eat it to see if I liked it. If I didn't like it I just wouldn't shoot anymore. It was fine, though, like I said earlier, an old one can be tough.

They were fun hunting too. I wish we had more of them around here.

bet they would be good over a camp fire ?

Low and slow--- anytime I e tried to cook them otherwise and theyve been tough. Guarantee if you cook them as follows even the oldest grizzled hog will be tender. Cut into pieces roll in flour salt and pepper. Brown in a little oil or butter. Add tomatoes, onions peppers, garlic and cook on stove over low heat for 4 hours. Serve over noodles All they eat is grass and clover so the texture is similar to beef.

Not bad eating at all if you cook them right so they are tender...we always just fried them like squirrel...rolled in flour. Taste like chicken?....nope....Taste like groundhog, if I wanted something that taste like chicken....I eat chicken

Just not even gonna try one. Hope I never have to.

Tedd

I know hunters who won't eat rabbit, squirrel, turkey, or deer, let alone stuff like groundhog, beaver, turtle, muskrat, mushrooms or whatever. Won't even taste it once! Pfft. I'll take em all! Those picky guys give me stuff they won't eat. Works for me.

As noted above, getting the glands and fat off is priority one. After that, sautee the pieces in oil then use almost any recipe that cooks them to tender without drying them out. Haven't tried BBQ but sounds good.

I had it numerous ways at wild game feeds when I was a kid. I always thought it was pretty good but it seemed like everything at those events tasted good.

I may have to cook up the next one I kill. Farmers around here want every one of them killed and they are fun and challenging to hunt.

Never been that hungry.

Well when you are you got some good recipes on here and you will be ready.The hungrier you are the better they taste.You will tear a ground hog limb from to limb and want another and another.

Never been that hungry either.

Food and diet, is often what your used to, and what is socially acceptable to your "neck of the woods" so to speak.

Folks will turn up their nose at the thought of eating a groundhog...but swarm all over fish eggs, and snails. Give it a fancy name and serve it on a flaming silver platter served by a waiter wearing a tux, and it's rated as top cuisine.

Kinda like "venison," in some circles it could be considered a rare elegant dish served to the elite at a high price.

Around here it's more like. ... "What's for supper" ? (Answer) " deer steak, and mashed potatoes "

Or...that groundhog that was raiding the garden and ya just popped him with a 22... "Think I'll eat him"

So ya skin him, soak him in salt water overnight, parboil him till tender , roll it in flour, and fry it in a cast iron skillet, on top of a wood cookstove.

Then you heap your plate full, along with pototoes, and the beans out of the garden that the bugger was chewing on.

You'll comment, in between bites, "nuthin wrong with that" and when your done you wash it all down with a drink of water that came from the kitchen faucet and your well.....cause ya don't drink or need bottled water.

If I had to choose between the waiter in the tux bringing me that stuff on a silver platter, or the latter?

" where's them 22 shells I had in the drawer" ?

When I was stationed in Korea I ate Kagogi (dog). I earned my experimental carnivore wings then.

I just cant

My recipe has two ingredients.

#1 a bow and arrow

#2 a shovel

Not everyone will eat frog either. But you Well find it in some of the fanciest restaurants in the world.

But it is quite tasty:)

I dont eat them - but if I did I would only use recipes that start with some sort of parboil(and remove the glands before boiling).

Then I would cook again to suit my taste - probably with a good dose of spices or flavorful sauce.

The point of the pareboil is to is just to remove the unpleasant smelling/tasting layer of musky fat.

When I was young I ate only the young ones. Cooked them like squirrel. Since the

coyotes showed up, no more ground hogs.

Best meat I ever had was raccoon, cooked by some folks who really knew how. Groundhog prepared right? Dish it up!

Just remember, there are goobers out there who can ruin tenderloins...

There are a lot of hunters who've never had deer tenderloins. They don't know what/where they are, or to tell the processor they want them packaged separately. I bet a lot get ground up, or just 'disappear'.

better vote, Bill Gates is brining you grass hoppers.

We have a fancy German restaurant near me that serves Venison. They give it a fancy name and the city slickers tear it up. If Ask people if they eat deer meat” they look at me like I have 3 eyes . Maybe a need a better presentation or a stronger premeal wine

I put whip cream,fudge and cherries on top of my groundhogs.Old Family recipe

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