# Beaver Tail



## dadsbuckshot (Nov 4, 2008)

I have heard of folks eating beaver tail - does anyone on here eat it? If so how do you cook it and what does it taste like. Send a pic if you have one too....


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## Jarred (Nov 8, 2008)

Never had beaver tail i here it's good, I killed 5 this year maybe we will eat the next tail.


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## dadsbuckshot (Nov 8, 2008)

Jarred said:


> Never had beaver tail i here it's good, I killed 5 this year maybe we will eat the next tail.



I saw a recipe on here once for it, it may be deeper in the posts. The recipe looked good, but I just not sure about eating it etc...

If I can find the recipe I will post it.


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## dadsbuckshot (Nov 8, 2008)

[BEAVER TAIL BEANS 

Blister tail over fire until skin loosens or dip in boiling water for a couple of minutes. Pull skin off. Cut up and boil with a pot of beans. Add salt and pepper to taste. Some chopped onions adds to the flavor. Beaver tail is also good roast over a campfire or in the oven.]


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## dadsbuckshot (Nov 8, 2008)

Another Receipe,

Found this one in a old post thats over 1.5 years old.

What you do with the tails?
I love eating beaver tail!




2 beaver tails
1/2 c vinegar
1 tb salt
2 ts soda
1/4 c flour
1/2 ts salt
1/4 ts pepper
1/4 c butter
1/4 c dry wine
1 ts dry mustard
1 ts sugar
2 tb pepper sauce

1. Skin beaver tails, clean thoroughly and wash well in a solution of salt
water. Let soak overnight in cold water to cover, adding 1/2 cup
vinegar and 1 tablespoon salt to water.

2. The next day, remove from the brine, wash, then cover with solution of
2 teasoons soda to 2 quarts water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and
simmer 10 minutes. Drain.

3. Dredge beaver tails in seasoned flour.

4. Melt butter in heavy fry pan and saute tails at low heat until tender.

5. Mix wine with mustard, sugar, garlic powder and pepper sauce.

6. Add to beaver tails and simmer gently for 10 minutes, basting
frequently.

Nothing like a properly prepared tail!

Mike


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## dadsbuckshot (Nov 8, 2008)

Another readers quote:

"Beaver is a fine textured red meat. Fat deposits are found outside or between muscles, much like venison. While the meat will not dry out while cooking as fast as venison it will dry out faster than most lean cuts of beef. Unlike venison, the fat is not as likely to become rancid. Removal is however recommended, especially deposits inside both the front and rear legs which contain glands. The castor glands are found in the lower abdominal cavity. As with other internal organs, fluids escaping will give the meat an off or bitter flavor. Castor glands should be frozen and sold or given to a trapper who can in turn sell the glands to be used by the perfume industry. 

Also unlike deer, beaver needs to be soaked overnight in salt water to remove blood from the meat. Trapped beaver do not have a chance to bleed out. 

Cutting up a dressed beaver requires special attention to bone structure or most meat will end up on soup bones. Meat tends to cut easier when it contains some ice crystals. Most of the best meat on the beaver will be found on the hams and along the back bone. The larger muscles attest to the powerful back legs and tail. The tender loin or back strap found along both sides of the top of the back is wider at the shoulders and tapers to a point near the hams. The tender loin is found inside the body cavity at about the middle of and to either side of the back. Steaks are difficult to cut from the ham area. Most meat will be chunks or strips. The flanks, between ribs and the hams, are often strong tasting either by nature or contamination by body fluids.

Many of your favorite venison recipes will probably work with beaver."


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## dadsbuckshot (Nov 8, 2008)

Anyone ever tried this stuff?


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## dadsbuckshot (Nov 8, 2008)

Fried Beaver Tail 2 Beaver tails 
1/4 ts Pepper
1/2 c Vinegar 
1/4 c Butter
1 tb Salt 
1/4 c Sherry or cooking wine
2 ts Soda 
1 ts Dry mustard
1/4 c Flour 
1 ts Sugar
1/2 ts Salt 
1 tb Worcestershire sauce 

Skin beaver tails, clean thoroughly and wash well in a solution of salt water. Let soak overnight in cold water to cover, adding 1/2 cup vinegar and 1 tablespoon salt to water. 
The next day, remove from the brine, wash, then cover with solution of 2 teasoons soda to 2 quarts water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Drain. 
Dredge beaver tails in seasoned flour. 
Melt butter in heavy fry pan and saute tails at low heat until tender. 
Mix wine with mustard, sugar, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce. 
Add to beaver tails and simmer gently for 10 minutes, basting frequently.

From "Northern Cookbook" edited by Eleanor A. Ellis, Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Ottawa 1973. 
A note received from Jimm Gordon:

Born and raised in the Big Belt Mountains of Montana, every winter fried beavertail was a culinary treat that would grace our table on a weekly basis. I was tickled to see a recipe for it in your bizarre foods section, but noted one area of the recipe that I thought needed clarification. One does not, in the usual fashion, "skin" a beavertail. The thick, scaley hide adheres too tightly to the gristly flesh for that to be a good option. Oldtime beaver eaters had a little trick that made getting the hide off a snap.

Stick a barbecue fork into the "meat" end of the beavertail, then "toast" it like a marshmallow over the woodstove or electric burner or other heat source. As it toasts, the hide puffs away from the meat like a slowly expanding balloon. After a few minutes you can strip it away and trim the edge, leaving you with a nice filet of greasy pink/white meat for your recipe.

The smell is not charming, but it's not as bad as some things. And the taste (and saved work) is worth it. Just thought I would share that tip.

Jimm Gordon


Typos by Bert Christensen
Toronto, Ontario

Taken From: http://bertc.com/subfive/recipes/index.htm


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## Jarred (Nov 8, 2008)

Thanks man, I've been stalking the big one. I took a friend Beaver hunting one time because he wanted to see what it was like, we saw 6 beavers and he never had a comfortable shot. While we were waiting on one that we had already started stalking I turned and saw a Beaver weighing about 45 pounds, I turned and he went under. That was in July and I'm still after him, if i kill him I'll try one of these recipes.


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## dadsbuckshot (Nov 9, 2008)

*PM me sometime*



Jarred said:


> Thanks man, I've been stalking the big one. I took a friend Beaver hunting one time because he wanted to see what it was like, we saw 6 beavers and he never had a comfortable shot. While we were waiting on one that we had already started stalking I turned and saw a Beaver weighing about 45 pounds, I turned and he went under. That was in July and I'm still after him, if i kill him I'll try one of these recipes.




No problem dude - PM me sometime. I see that your in the Blairsville Area. I work that area alot - maybe you know somewhere I can get into some beaver and help out a landowner at the same time. We have beaver here where I am, but alot of the landowners don't allow hunting because the beavers do not bother them etc...


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## Jarred (Nov 9, 2008)

Well the land I hunt is the experiment station in Blairsville,  but they have seen me down there and told me (to get them out of here) I don't now why they would have a problem with you coming.


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## sgtstinky (Nov 28, 2008)

Yes, the Beaver is good! Just remove the hide and start slicing! I make a mean beaver pot pie.


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