Anyone Practice Roadkill Dining?

[Ottawa]

For the record, I have never done this.  I do wonder how many people do this...if say - they hit a deer or a kangaroo.  After all, that's alot of tasty meat!.  I hadn't thought about some of the other critters that decorate the roadsides.  What would the rules be in order to assess 'freshness' if you didn't hit the animal yourself?  Are there rules against this in your neck of the woods?  It looks like Montana now issues roadkill permits...

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/10/07/jesse-klines-guide-to-thanksgiving-dinner-on-a-budget-let-your-wheels-do-the-shopping/

P.S. I especially like the sound of the squirrel recipe :-)

[wing117]

For the record, I have never done this.  I do wonder how many people do this...if say - they hit a deer or a kangaroo.  After all, that's alot of tasty meat!.  I hadn't thought about some of the other critters that decorate the roadsides.  What would the rules be in order to assess 'freshness' if you didn't hit the animal yourself?  Are there rules against this in your neck of the woods?  It looks like Montana now issues roadkill permits...

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/10/07/jesse-klines-guide-to-thanksgiving-dinner-on-a-budget-let-your-wheels-do-the-shopping/

P.S. I especially like the sound of the squirrel recipe :-)

I use to wish I could do this! In Illinois if you hit a deer with your car, you CANNOT remove it for yourself. It is actual illegal to harvest a roadkill deer. This was probably to cut down on people who would aim for them with massive grill guards. :)

Squirrel and Rabbit are both fantastic meat choices - I wouldn't take meat from the road unless I had actually killed it. Otherwise contamination can happen quite quickly.

Just raise your own rabbits/quail!  :)

[brewer12345]

I'd pass.  Its a lot more funt to hunt down the critters yourself with the weapon of your choice.

[jba302]

I'm pretty sure it's legal in IL. I remember as a kid  my dad brought a deer home that he hit with his truck. Front quarter strike so it completely ruined one shoulder but the guts were intact and the rest of it was fine. I know a couple people that have done it and are more law-abiding than he, so I have good faith is that it's kosher. The thing you can't do is drive a truck around a field and do the light shine/rifle or light shine/car strike, which I've also known plenty of illinois hillrods to do.

[sloof70]

The day I start eating tire-tenderized possum to retire earlier, somebody put a bullet in my face.

[jfer_rose]

My dad went on a deer hunting trip one year but didn't catch anything. But he hit a deer with his car on the way home and put a tag on it so he could bring it home and eat it.

[brewer12345]

The day I start eating tire-tenderized possum to retire earlier, somebody put a bullet in my face.

So the best bait when hunting "long pig" is possum roadkill?

[The knitter]

DH's friend accidentally hit a deer in CT. State police came and said they could have it(they were driving a pick up), so he took it home, had it processed, and we all at venison for a couple weeks.

He'd probably rather hunt his meat, but why throw out perfectly fine meat because it was an accident?

[kdms]

DH was both amused and pissed off last fall when he spent days in the bush trying to get turkey, and the only one that came home was the one I clipped with the car...

If it's legal in your area, and you know how fresh it is, I (no longer) see anything wrong with it.  (Huge change in attitude for me from a few years back when I didn't live in the country.)  I think it's worse to waste the meat (especially considering what wild game costs to buy) if it can be salvaged.

On an odd yet somewhat related note - two days ago the Ottawa Police shot and killed a wayward elk that made its way into downtown Ottawa.  Evidently the swat team couldn't successfully tranquilize it (?!) to get it out of the city and had to shoot it instead.  Lot of pissed off hunters in my area when that story broke - an 800lb bull is a lot of meat.

[PurposelyVague]

There was something in the news this week that they are changing the law to make it legal in Montana AND there will be a mobile app to help you locate road kill. If someone hits something, they can report their location through the app and then other users can use that to pick it up. It sounds like a win/win for everyone if you're into that, and it would likely reduce overhead for the state.

[NumberJohnny5]

My dad had cows when I was younger. One got out and hit by a car. We ate burgers for a while.

[DunkCityFan]

One of the reasons I bike to work is that I once killed a cat in my car. I'm a vegetarian and realized that cars are create over 1 million animal deaths per year. Added bonus of following MM philosophy.

[ender]

I'd pass.  Its a lot more funt to hunt down the critters yourself with the weapon of your choice.

Why can't your weapon of choice be your car?

[brewer12345]

I'd pass.  Its a lot more funt to hunt down the critters yourself with the weapon of your choice.

Why can't your weapon of choice be your car?

In the case of anything bigger than a rabbit, the "ammunition" could be awfully expensive when using a car.

[MrsPete]

Take it from a country girl, this isn't a way to get quality meat. 

No, I've never hit anything other than a squirrel and have never picked up road kill, but I know people who've done it, and every one of them says the same thing:  When the animal's been hit by a car and killed by blunt trauma, and inevitably it has sat by the roadside a while, the quality goes downhill.  Why?  It has to do with hemoraging of blood throughout the body, seeping into the tissues.  It just can't be put back right.   

My only personal experience with butchering meat is with slaughtering hogs.  When you do that, you begin by setting up your tripod BEFORE you kill the animal.  You also set out all your pans and knives ahead of time because speed matters.  You shoot the animal in the head or cut its throat (though they don't like that much, and they fight).  IMMEDIATELY you remove the entrails, then you IMMEDIATELY hang it up on the hooks so that the blood will drain.  If this isn't done, the meat just isn't good. 

[sneeds]

There was recently a good article in Modern Farmer about the pros and cons of eating roadkill: http://modernfarmer.com/2013/09/eating-roadkill/. It touches on the varying laws in different states and also on the safety issues.

In short, you definitely need to check the legality of it in your area. You also want to make sure the animal hasn't been sitting on the road for long (i.e. you're the one that hit it so you know it's recent). I agree with other commenters that you don't want it if the meat has been badly beaten/traumatized by your vehicle.

With that said, I think there are times when it can be OK. My aunt accidentally ran over a rabbit once in her car. She got out to look at it and basically had run over its head but the body was untouched, so she took it home and cooked it up.

Sort of off topic, but if you are looking for good recipes for wild game, squirrels, rabbits, ducks, etc. I really love this guy's blog: http://honest-food.net/. He makes really delicious recipes for wild game.