Anyone eat woodchuck?

[Stone Knife]

It won't be long and the little chucks will be coming out, i want to hunt them with a bow and my son Joe is bound and determined that we are going to eat one. Any tips on handling and preparing will be appreciated. I have heard that if there not prepped right they aren't good eating don't want to go thru the trouble for nothing.

[Jaeger]

There are little glands under the arms that must be removed or they can impart a funny taste. Other than that  you don't need to do anything special to them.
I particulary like them with some seasoned breading a fried like chicken. Tasty!!!

[Caveman IL]

My grandmother cooked one for me.  She said to sprinkle it w/ coffee grounds to take out the gamy taste.  She cooked it in a roaster.  (I popped him w/ a soybean leaf in his mouth.)  Good hunting!  Larry

[JC]

Well that's an easy question to answer: YES! And they are good eatin too, not just OK, I mean really good if you take care of em.

What Jaeger said: remove the glands most definately. Get them on ice as quick as you can and it makes a big difference to. Don't leave em out in the field while you are trying to get another...the heat with the hide left on em really buggers up the meat. Cut em up, soak them overnight in the fridge, in a pan of water with about a tablespoon of salt mixed in. There's a couple of recipes over in the recipe forum that work well. We usually crock pot em or if they are young ones, grill em.

[Drew]

ditto, on the glands, and letting them soak in salt water in the fridge over night.

A friend also made jerky out of one, wasn't too bad.

[dino]

Young ones are the best.    

[hit some miss some]

I used work with a fellow who would par boil the ground hog and then coat it with Shake & Bake. He would then bake it just like chicken. He brought some to work one evening for us to try, but I was two minutes late getting to supper break and the other buzzards had already eaten it all. They all said it was good.
Brian

[hunt it]

I stir fry em in mid air with a 7mm mag-110gr TNT hollow point!!! We do bow hunt them as well, got a nice one with the recurve last week. Never been hungry enough to try eaten them. But if JC says there good then they're good.

[String Cutter]

If you get a young one just cut it up and bar-b- q it. Tasts just like chicken.
If'n you get a big ol' boar or sow pare boil it fur a couple hours. then grill it. They are some fine eatin'.

[Ron LaClair]

They're just like a big squirrel, I've eaten lots of them. Young ones can be fried like chicken, the older tougher chucks can be cooked in a crock pot.

They're not easy to take with a bow but fun to hunt. If you can stalk and kill a woodchuck with a bow you've really accomplished something.

 

my son Joe is bound and determined that we are going to eat one.  

Sounds like you're raising a real outdoorsman.    

[DannyBows]

I hunted them alot in Ohio when I was young, used to keep the young ones for my great uncle, he loved them. I can't give you any better advise on cooking them than you've already gotten though. I agree with Ron that your boy is coming along just fine, I like his spunk. Good huntin!  Dan.

[traditional_archer]

Hmmm, never thought about eating them, always have stalked in close and counted coupe.  They are all over the place in the mountains around here.  Called the Yellow Bellied Marmot here.  Gonna have to try for one.  Might just make good deer camp meat.  

[Jesse Minish]

I will have to try eating them. I should have asked this question along time ago having shot alot of them with my bow. To me they are one of my favorite things to spot and stalk, they are great practice.

[IB]

So are they what us boys out here would be callin a "Rock Chuck"

[shootrmn]

can some one explain finding and removing the glands.

[Barry Wensel]

Woodchuck livers rolled in flour and seasoning and fried in butter are excellent. A very mild taste more like chicken livers than beef or deer. bw

[NY Yankee]

I always wondered what the first guy to eat a chicken say it tasted like. Anyway, I know my granddad used to eat them. They were so poor they would sometimes have to go fishing for supper.

[Shawn Leonard]

Yup, I like'em!! My Grandma used to cook them several different ways. I like them in crock pot and add all the fixin's like a yankee pot roast. Ya lety me know when we are going. I am dying to hunt with you and lil' Joe!! Shawn

[Seeking Trad Deer]

Pennsylvania Pot Roast    .  I live trapped one in my yard a few years ago and threw it in the truck to relocate.  It stunk awful bad.  The ones I have shot with the .22 crawled under my shed and died so I never got to them.  I often count coup with em in the summer when out in the woods with the bow.  They have been pretty easy to happen upon in the terrain around here mostly because of the mixed habitat and their absolute fixation on gorging themselves.  Stalking one in a field would be very difficult.

[wood slinger]

I always see marmot's in rocky area's above timberline when I'm elk hunting. I had never thought of eating one so I had no desire to hunt them. After this post, I can hardly wait to give them a try this fall. If I can get one it will be a nice bonus to the pot along with the grouse, ptarmigan and rabbit.