Coot

After watching this video I would gladly take out my limit of coot. Since I started hunting I don’t shoot them because my dad always said how disgusting they were. I live by the “You shoot it, You eat it” motto when it comes to hunting. I would shoot them if i knew I could eat them. I eat a lot of ducks and its pretty rare that one truly tastes bad.

Seriously now, does anyone eat them? Are they really that bad?

We cook them for dog treats

I ate one for the first time last year. to be honest I couldn’t tell the differance from the teal gadwall and woodies we had with it. I think its an ego thing why people dont shoot/eat them. I make duck by boiling the breast in a pot with celery and onions. Then let it sit overnight. The meat peels away from the bones. Then fry it with butter and lemon. Good stuff. I pretty much give up on listening to what other people think is bad table fare because I hear “I wont eat venison, grouse, pheasant, duck etc” all the time. Which I would eat over beef, pork and chicken almost any day. Most of the time people dont enjoy these meats because of poor culinary skills imo.

I have shot a few. My grandpa used to have us kids shoot a batch of them so he could make Hasenpfeffer out of them. I hatted it and vowed never to shoot another coot so I didn’t have to endure that nasty meal again. Now that I see this video though I am not sure I can give coots a pass anymore. I’ll have to find another way to cook them. I was shocked to see that they actually destroy duck nests and kill baby ducks. Those SOB’s

sticker wrote:

My grandpa used to have us kids shoot a batch of them so he could make Hasenpfeffer out of them.

Isn’t hasenpfeffer rabbit stew?

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>sticker wrote:</div>
My grandpa used to have us kids shoot a batch of them so he could make Hasenpfeffer out of them.

Isn’t hasenpfeffer rabbit stew?

Not when you replace the rabbit with coot

Normally it is, but Grandpa was a creative old german…

Here’s a good write up about eating coots. Never ate them as a kid and don’t duck hunt now but if someone shot some, I’d be willing to give it a run to see what I could whip up.

http://youhavetocookitright.blogspot.com/2016/10/making-coot-edible.html

I also really enjoy this blog for all his entries, lots of great ideas/recipes for wild game with some good stories too.

Speaking of coots…I was fishing below the dam on the Mississippi just north of Prairie du Chien Wisconsin last week early in the morning. There was a coot swimming near the rocks close to the shore. I watched an eagle come out of nowhere and pluck that coot right off the water about 20 yards from me and fly into a tree on shore…not a sound was made. Quite the sight. Evidently eagles enjoy eating them.