We prepare delicious dishes from muskrat meat. Muskrat meat: taste, calorie content, benefits and harms, cooking features Muskrat meat for men

To execute this recipe, we need at least the meat of a couple of muskrats, which has been hanging out in the refrigerator since the fall. A small preface: I have been cooking water hare for a long time, at least 5-6 seasons, but mainly in the field, that is, while hunting. During this time, I went through different stages of cooking and settled on the fact that the muskrat has the most delicious meat, so it needs to be separated from everything else and cooked just that. One muskrat produces approximately 200-250 grams of excellent meat. I had some meat from a couple of muskrats left over from my last trip to the lakes, so today I decided to cook a water hare at home.

To do this, we take the meat out of the freezer and soak it in water for almost a day, so that the blood drains and the inherent smell (or taste) of the muskrat disappears. I don’t know how to explain this correctly, but anyone who has tried it will understand me. So, after soaking the meat, salt it and cover it with a mixture of spices, which includes dried red Bell pepper, tomato, cumin, dill, parsley, dried garlic, cilantro, etc.

After mixing all this, roll each piece of meat in flour and fry it in a hot frying pan in vegetable oil.
Until the meat turns golden brown,
after which we transfer it to a cast-iron frying pan, add vegetables there in layers, namely carrots and onions, add water, unforgettable, salt, and leave to simmer for about 50 minutes over low heat.
To add piquancy and improve the taste of the meat, we add about 70-100 ml of semi-sweet red Spanish wine to our roast. About 10-15 minutes before the end of cooking, add the sweet peas and bay leaf.
At the same time, we boil the potatoes and make mashed potatoes. We set the table, take out drinks and voila, our water hare is ready and takes its place at this celebration of life (on the plate).
By the way, it turned out much tastier than in the field (even my wife and her friend ate it). Almost indistinguishable from a land hare. By the way, there was something to compare with since I was preparing it at the same time. Bon appetit everyone!

Here is a wonderful food: muskrat. By the way, in English muskrat is muskrat, and folk etymology understands it as a “musk rat,” especially since it has musk glands (now we will cook it, and they will have to be removed). In fact, the name is believed to come from the word mòskwas (in the language of the Abenaki Indian tribe.)

Mòskwas - how much in this sound merged for the Russian heart, how much echoed in it.

So. Remove the skin and remove fat from the back and front legs. Remove musk glands from the abdomen and groin. Keep in boiling water for 45 minutes, without bringing the water to a boil (this process is called poaching, I couldn’t find a translation). Remove, dry, chop, wrap in ribbons of bacon (well, you can skip this stage, since the bacon is now covered with a copper basin), add a glass of weak broth, chopped onion, bay leaf (Is Abkhazia ours? Am I not confusing?), three cloves ( Didn’t we quarrel with Thailand?) and half a teaspoon of thyme.

Close the lid and place in the casserole dish over low heat until cooked.

That's all, fools, why are you alarmed? Serve with celery béchamel sauce.

And by the way! Importing muskrats into New Zealand is prohibited! It's not easy there either. New Zealanders walk around angry and dejected.

Or a porcupine. Bunnies, who would refuse a delicious porcupine? I think Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev himself would be happy, after work, tied with a linen Kremlin napkin, with a silver knife and fork, and with a glass of good Massandra!.. And most importantly, businesslike: hang him on hooks by his hind legs, rip skin with needles, remove, again, the glands that are on the back and between hind legs, and let it hang in a cool, dry place for 48 hours. Afterwards, soak it overnight in salted water, and boil this water in the morning, what’s easier. Boil, dry, and then proceed in exactly the same way as the muskrat. But without cloves. Yes, it’s even better without cloves!

But you will have to tinker with the possum. There is nothing to be said here. You must catch the opossum and feed it milk and grain for 10 days before killing it. Gut it, but do not peel the skin yet. Place the opossum in boiling water and keep checking by tugging on the fur: is it already coming off or not? When yes, then take it out of the boiling water and rip off all its hair, and then boil it in three waters and bake it for your health, like pork. It is recommended to serve possum with turnip tops. This is right. It's even some kind of staples.

Today I won’t tell you how to cook beaver tail on coals; this knowledge will be useful to us when we go to live in the forests. But experts praise it!

And at the end - a picture of how to skin a squirrel. Be sure to wear gloves, as the squirrel may have tularemia.

In many countries, muskrat meat is considered a delicacy and is expensive. Dishes made from it can be found in the most sophisticated restaurants. In the cookbooks of the peoples of Europe, North and South America, the muskrat occupies a worthy place. In our country, few people know about the benefits and taste of the meat of this animal, which is why it is not so popular.

Useful properties of muskrat meat

If we consider muskrat meat as dietary product, then, first of all, it is worth noting its good digestibility by the human body. This figure significantly exceeds even rabbit meat, which in nutrition is considered a record holder and leader in terms of ease and speed of digestion.

It is worth emphasizing the fact that not only the meat of this animal is well digested, but also its fat. This is due to the fact that it melts and begins to disintegrate at a temperature of +30 ° C, which distinguishes it from lamb fat and even pork. In addition, muskrat fat contains many unsaturated acids that are beneficial to the body. They are practically absent in beef, pork and lamb fat.

The beneficial properties of meat make it possible to include muskrat dishes in the diet of people whose bodies are significantly weakened by long-term illnesses or for other reasons, for example, in the postoperative period. It is also useful to use for diseases digestive system, diabetes and excess weight.

It is worth knowing about the health benefits of muskrat meat for men. In Eastern medicine, muskrat meat is a strong aphrodisiac and is sold in dried form in stores and pharmacies. Its regular use will help to get rid of problems associated with potency and other ailments forever. genitourinary system in men.

Use in cooking

The appearance of the meat of a fur-bearing animal does not cause a negative impression. It resembles rabbit meat, the only difference is the color is more saturated and darker. This is explained by the content in muscle fibers large quantity hemoglobulin.

As for taste, muskrat meat combines several flavors at the same time - rabbit, hare and wild bird. Of course, it has a specific taste, but we can say that this is for an amateur and a connoisseur.

Before preparing muskrat, it is worth considering one important point - the removal of the perianal musk glands, since they are responsible for the release of odorous secretion. If they are removed incorrectly, the meat will acquire a not entirely pleasant taste, but even in this case there is a way out - the carcass needs to be soaked in cold water for several hours and change it regularly.

You can cook muskrat different ways: it is stewed, boiled, fried, grilled and baked in the oven. But, according to hunters and cooks, such meat is best processed in the oven or on the grill. However, to prevent it from becoming hard, it is better to boil it first (at least an hour in lightly salted water). If you plan to fry the meat, then it is advisable to marinate it with spices for several hours. It should be noted that a properly prepared muskrat meat dish goes perfectly with any classic sauces.

Recipes for cooking muskrat meat dishes

In Europe and the USA, muskrat dishes are served as delicacies. They are prepared with a variety of sauces and served on a bed of a variety of vegetables and with all types of rice.

In our country, dishes prepared from this animal are considered non-traditional and are known mainly to hunters and fishermen, since catching this animal is not difficult for them.

Today there are many dishes made from this meat. All recipes are quite simple and include well-known and available ingredients, so preparing them at home is not difficult.

• muskrat meat from one carcass;
• white cabbage - medium size forks;
• 200 g onion;
• 10% cream – 300 g;
• 60 g plant. oils;
• 5-6 teeth garlic (chopped through a press);
• 2 tbsp. l. lemon juice;
• 0.3 tsp each ginger and nutmeg (ground);
• a mixture of peppers - a few peas each;
• salt - to taste.

Preparation:

1. Pre-beat the carcass and add salt. Prepare the marinade: beat the vegetable oil with garlic and spices until smooth with a whisk or blender. Place a bed of onion, cut into rings, on the bottom of the baking dish. Place the meat on top and pour the marinade over it, then place a wooden cutting board on top of the meat and put a weight on it.
2. The meat should marinate for 2-3 hours. After this time, remove it from the mold, and place cabbage leaves scalded with boiling water on the bottom. Place large pieces of meat on them, pour cream and cover with a layer of cabbage leaves.
3. Close the mold with a lid and simmer the dish in the oven for 1.5-2 hours.

The hunting recipe is the simplest; to prepare it you will need:

• one or two muskrat carcasses (cut into pieces);
• 200 g onion;
• 200 carrots;
• 50 g vegetable oil;
• 2-3 tbsp. l. low-fat mayonnaise;
• 0.5 bunch of fresh herbs;
• bay leaf, pepper, salt.

The carcass should be washed well, soaked for 3-4 hours, and cut into portions. Fry the pre-prepared vegetables with pieces of muskrat in a frying pan in vegetable oil until smooth. Add salt, spices, mayonnaise, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Sprinkle the prepared dish generously with herbs. You can serve wild rice, boiled potatoes or any vegetables as a side dish.

There is another known recipe for such a dish, only using other ingredients:

Before cooking it, the muskrat needs to be marinated for 3-4 hours with kiwi, salt and vegetable oil. Cut the kiwi fruits into rings, place them in a container with meat, add oil, salt and mix well. Kiwi juice will serve as a marinade, eliminate unpleasant odor and make the meat soft. Unlike marinade prepared with vinegar, this one is natural. It does not break down meat fibers, imparts a piquant taste and does not add a strong taste and aroma to the dish.

Muskrat with vegetables is delicious and rich in vitamins dish. Its composition includes:

• muskrat carcass (500-700 g);
• 500 ml vegetable broth;
• 1-2 pcs. onions;
• 300 g cabbage (finely chopped);
• 200 carrots (grated);
• tomato;
• bell pepper;
• 50 g sl. oils;
• 150 grams of sour cream;
• salt, pepper mixture.

Preparation:

1. Rinse the carcass, cut into pieces, salt, sprinkle with a mixture of spices and fry until half cooked in a frying pan. Next, place the meat in the duck pot, place vegetables on top: onion, cabbage, carrots, cut into rings, sliced ​​tomatoes and sweet peppers. Salt again, add spices, bay leaf.
2. Place sour cream on top of the dish and pour in hot broth so that it covers the contents of the duckling by about half. If there is no broth, you can use hot water, but the taste of the finished dish will be less rich.
3. Place the mold in the oven for an hour, simmer at 180 ° C. Serve with a vegetable side dish, boiled potatoes, rice, or as a separate dish.

It is worth noting that the final result of preparing muskrat meat, its benefits and taste directly depend on how accurately the processing and preparation rules are followed. If everything is done correctly, the dishes will turn out tasty and healthy, and their taste will be unforgettable.

Muskrat- a mammal of the subfamily of voles of the order of rodents, brought to our country. Its homeland is North America. The Indians called the animal "musquash", which means "musk rat". They hunted him because delicious meat, and, of course, the magnificent skin attracted miners. In the fur trade of the United States, the muskrat occupied the same place as the squirrel in our country. During the day, the hunter caught twenty-five to thirty animals. Over the course of a year, there are fifteen to twenty million skins throughout the country. In large areas of the United States and Canada, muskrats are still abundant.

The “swamp beaver” was brought to the Soviet Union not without fear, but to be on the safe side, it was first settled only on the northern Solovetsky islands. But the very first two years produced amazing results - the prolific rodents increased their numbers eightfold. In 1929, the muskrat (now “our own”) began to spread throughout the Arkhangelsk region and everywhere from the lakes of Kazakhstan to Yakutia, from the western borders to Kamchatka. And everywhere the beast took root. In the first years, the increase in numbers was striking (the phenomenon of a “biological explosion”), then the number of muskrats decreased, but almost everywhere they felt good, and our country became the second homeland of the “musquash” - “the beaver’s younger brother.”

Externally, the muskrat resembles a rat (it is often called a musk rat) - the weight of adult individuals can reach 1.8 kg, although, as a rule, they weigh 1-1.5 kg. Body length is 23-36 cm, the length of the tail is almost equal to the length of the body - 18-28 cm. The lips, like those of beavers, are overgrown with incisors, isolating them from oral cavity, thanks to which the muskrat can chew off plants underwater without choking. The tail is flattened on the sides, covered with small scales and sparse hairs.

The muskrat's fur consists of coarse guard hairs and soft undercoat. The color of the back and limbs ranges from dark brown to black. The belly is lighter, sometimes grayish-blue. In summer the color brightens. The fur is very thick, dense and lush, which makes it waterproof. The muskrat constantly monitors its fur: lubricates it with fatty secretions and combs it.

The muskrat is nocturnal. It feeds mainly on plant foods, but is not averse to eating mollusks and aquatic insects. He eats fish extremely rarely. With high fertility, the population is not excessive due to the large number of enemies.

Muskrat in cream

Ingredients:

For 1 kilogram of carcass net weight (butchered):
100 milliliters of boiled, cooled water;
50 milliliters of unrefined sunflower oil;
3 tablespoons lemon juice;
100 grams of crushed garlic;
half a coffee spoon without the top of ground ginger and ground nutmeg;
a quarter of a coffee spoon without the top of bay leaf ground into powder;
five dried clove buds, ground into powder
three peas each of black, white and pink pepper.
Salt - to taste.
Cabbage,
Onion
10% cream.

1. Beat the marinade in a blender until smooth.

2. Then you need to prepare the carcass. We take the animal and hit it on the back. We don’t beat it to pieces, but we don’t beat it completely weakly either.

3. After we have prepared the carcass, cut the onion into rings and line the bottom of the baking sheet with it. Place the game on it and pour marinade over it.

4. Place another smaller baking sheet on the carcass and place a weight.

5. Let it marinate: for each kilo - 1 hour. Plus 1 hour.

6. After the expiration date, release the carcass from the baking sheet and prepare a place for baking... or stewing. Whoever likes it. Line the bottom of the baking sheet with cabbage leaves and fill with cream. According to the recipe, 1 cm, approximately 400 ml. Place the carcass on the leaves. You can add more salt, because... they will take away the cream and salt.

7. Then fill the carcass with more cream (approximately 250-400 ml). And cover with cabbage leaves. Then put a smaller baking sheet and place the load.

8. By that time, preheat the oven to 110-120 degrees and place our carcass. It will be stewed there for 1.5 - 2 hours, depending on the volume of game. So that the onion does not disappear, you can stew it in cream.

Regular mashed potatoes will do as a side dish.

The taste of a muskrat is somewhat reminiscent of a rabbit. In North America it is called the "water rabbit".

The second recipe from sanchez in Cooking (THE ABC OF AN AIR HUNTER).

Udod 10.03.2013 - 01:14

Well, this is a message, like a reserve, to insert something found 😊
Purely from my own observations, they begin to show activity at dusk. While fishing on the same Paletskoye, I repeatedly observed them swimming along the shore literally 4-6 meters from the fishermen. At the same time, they managed to hook the line of almost all the abandoned donks and cause a commotion among the fishermen 😊, they also rustled all night in the thickets of coastal reeds. The lake, by the way, is very overgrown and surrounded by peat bogs and swamps, so the places there are hardly passable and rarely visited by people. I have not seen any huts on this lake, but it is quite possible that they exist in the reeds, which are very thick and high on this lake.

We also had to meet muskrats in a holiday village near Perkhushkovo. A small stream flowed right between the plots. There was a bridge near the stream from which they peeled potatoes (running water). In general, the owner of the site, a hunter, found footprints on the clay next to the bridge. Over the course of several nights, the set traps caught either 4 or 5 pieces. (Just for the hat). By the way, muskrat hats are quite good in Soviet times were highly valued and in short supply 😊
Again from my own observations: I didn’t notice that they were afraid of weak scattered light at night: they caught crucian carp at night, illuminated by homemade lanterns from a candle inserted into a glass jar. So they easily swam past us, not afraid of such light.

Fil55 10.03.2013 - 01:18

You have to shoot a muskrat not only on land, but also on water (hunting season starts from October 1, when water is no longer suitable for swimming) 😊.

It is convenient to remove the carcass from the water with a fishing rod with a small wire net or large tee attached to the end. The most convenient are 6-meter Chinese fishing rods - light, durable, cheap. They are both folding and telescopic, which is very convenient in terms of carrying.
For hunting, anything from 4.5 to 6.35 will do. If from 4.5 it is desirable to hit the head, then 5.5 and 6.35 allow you to hit the body (in the chest area). The animal is nocturnal, and therefore you will need either a night vision device or a designer based on the MNV (topic:).

P.S. I promised information support. And you design it as you see fit. The topic was returned to its original place in the NAVIGATOR.

Hunting for muskrat begins on October 1 and is carried out in several ways, the main of which is hunting with a trap.

Since the muskrat is a brave and curious animal that is not afraid of traps and snares, they are not even camouflaged. Installation locations can be very different: in front of the entrance to the burrow, on artificial or natural feeding areas - “tables”, inside feeding huts, along the water’s edge. Traps are set in such a way that the animal caught in them immediately falls into the water, and does not remain on land, since the muskrat, having chewed its paw, can simply leave.

The second method is rifle shooting. They use a small-caliber rifle and shoot in the head so as not to spoil the skin (pneumatic guns are a very convenient weapon for catching muskrats). Unlike the beaver, the muskrat practically does not drown, and if it goes under water, it emerges after 15 minutes. So a broken muskrat is found in 100% of cases.

In winter, under the ice, the muskrat is constantly active, but this is exclusively for catching it with traps. The hunting season is the same as for beavers.

It should be added that they swim much faster than beavers.

BDA 10.03.2013 - 10:36

Fil55
The animal is nocturnal, and therefore you will need either a night vision device or a designer for
EOM database

Mikhail, this is absolutely unnecessary! An LED flashlight with a lens is enough; the muskrat is not afraid of light.

kombat0302 10.03.2013 - 13:24

BDA
An LED flashlight with a lens is enough; the muskrat is not afraid of light.

Quite controversial! 😊 I had to observe different behavior patterns with different reactions to the light source, from instant diving to attempted attacks! Therefore, everything depends on the specific conditions of the habitat and the internal mood of the inhabitants. 😀 But the NVG is definitely a winner!

BDA 10.03.2013 - 14:01

Guys, a flashlight without a filter. Shined and killed from 4 meters. I turned the light quickly left and right, turned on the strobe mode, the result was the same - it sits and swims calmly, without diving. We’ll leave the NVGs for other hunts.

Stepan 82 10.03.2013 - 14:11

What can I add about the daily lifestyle of this animal?!

They are also active during the day, but not as much as at night, of course - but still! Much, of course, depends on the place - where to guard it; if it is a remote place overgrown with reeds on a pond, then they feel good there even during the day. And if you stand quietly, you will definitely want to.

At one time I caught them a lot with traps, sometimes you put a trap in a hole and it swims to the hole, you quickly disguise the trap, cover the hole with turf cut along the hole - and wait for the trap to work! From one hole I got 5-6 pieces per season.

I didn’t eat, I didn’t eat, but the dog was always happy!

Fil55 10.03.2013 - 14:26

Stepan 82
At one time I caught them a lot with traps

It's clear! Step, you didn’t have a Huntsman then. Now you can hunt with a gun, and at the same time taste it (I’m not kidding).

Stepan 82 10.03.2013 - 14:37

No... I definitely won’t try them, they won’t work. 😀

Now it’s the other way around, there’s something to hunt for, but nowhere, I’ve seen it a couple of times on the river. Moscow, but didn’t touch it - let them swim.

Udod 10.03.2013 - 15:12

No... I definitely won’t try them, they won’t work.

Come on... This is not a garbage rat. This environmentally friendly animal eats fresh grass, almost like a bunny, only its ears are short and its tail is long 😊. First, a drink for courage and.... 😊

Stepan 82 03/10/2013 - 16:52

Udod:
An environmentally friendly animal, it eats fresh grass, almost like a bunny, only its ears are short and its tail is long.

Well, I’m not particularly picky about food, I can calmly watch “Fear Factor” as they eat all sorts of delicious things, 😀 and at the same time I can calmly eat myself without wincing and closing my eyes. But the wife runs away immediately closer to the toilet. 😀

But with “Anatra” love from childhood did not happen! Although... 😊

Fil55:
Stepan, if there is enough “Firewood”, you won’t even notice

If you don’t know what it’s made from, and it’s also delicious and in nature with “Firewood”, I think I’ll gobble it up on both cheeks! 😀

Fil55 10.03.2013 - 17:58

Stepan 82
It’s delicious and in nature with “Firewood” I think I’ll gobble it up on both cheeks!

That's what we're talking about! How cooked!!! Especially if you have something to eat! I use beaver just fine without anything! 😊 After all, it’s also a rodent!!! 😀

sanchez 03/11/2013 - 05:06

Villenich, I myself shaved off the previous “muskrat” because of the incomprehensible stubbornness of some who prove that there is a muskrat “fell” and all sorts of veterinarians who are tired of writing in Latin a “bouquet” of diseases among muskrats 😞.... And I eat... I eat... and I will eat! 😊 and the wife eats and the guests and everything is normal! 😊

SERGEEVIC 03/11/2013 - 08:16

Guys, what about your muskrat fur trade? We (ZabVo) have a lot of it, but no one needs it. It’s not even like that: in our country, no one even needs a mink, let alone some kind of rat (that’s what the hunting service said). But what about this in other parts of our vast Motherland?

kombat0302 03/11/2013 - 10:05

SERGEEVIC
What about this in other parts of our vast Motherland?

Yes, almost the same! 😞 Everything has been ruined and no one needs anything...

SanSanish 03/11/2013 - 13:05

Udod
eats fresh grass, almost like a bunny

And he washes himself every day. 😊

SERGEEVIC 11.03.2013 - 14:12

Yes, almost the same! Everything has been destroyed and no one needs anything...

Looks like you won’t surprise anyone with a muskrat cap now...ehhh... 😞 okay, in the fall I plan to do a test for meat 😀 according to the methods: I tried at night (early in the morning) to sit on a hole near the water (30 meters away) but unfortunately the muskrat didn’t arrive... and like that for four days in a row 😞

Fil55 03/11/2013 - 19:35

SERGEEVIC
Looks like you won’t surprise anyone with a muskrat hat now...ehhh...

Nowadays, more and more people are running around in knitted ones... They don’t look like anything, they can’t be compared with a muskrat, but they are mobile. But in the cold weather outside, knitted fur will not replace!!!

RDX 11.03.2013 - 23:03

I ate muskrat, the meat is delicious, it doesn’t smell of anything, it’s very soft, I don’t even know what to compare it with.
From experience, a child with a speed of ~200 kp is enough for 0.68 up to 30 meters without problems, further, with such characteristics, it’s not worth shooting only at the head, because what the heck, what if something happens, and the head is such an organ that it turns off everything carcass

Stepan 82 03/12/2013 - 11:23

:
according to the methods: I tried at night (early morning) to sit on a hole near the water (about 30 meters away), but unfortunately the muskrat never swam... and so it was for four days in a row

Maybe the hole was uninhabited!? 😞

The muskrat usually swims up to the hole/hut underwater, so you might simply not notice it.
Try to sit on its nests/gnaws, but only on fresh ones - it will definitely come.

You can also sit not far from the place where she floats in the “00” office - she should also pass - but just first let her do this thing, and shoot the flood. 😀 😀

RDX 03/12/2013 - 11:34

let her do this first

😀 otherwise he’ll suddenly get scared

BDA 03/12/2013 - 13:00

Muskrat meat smells, and the smell is peculiar. Duck tastes much better. I also want a muskrat hat, I will sew it myself. I want a hat like earflaps, but inside there is only a fabric lining so that it is soft and takes up minimal space when folded.

kombat0302 03/12/2013 - 13:25

BDA
Muskrat meat smells, and the smell is peculiar.

Dima, the smell rather depends on your diet. 😊 I got it in different regions. The Kuban muskrat is incredibly stinky, but in Siberia or the Orenburg region they don’t smell!

Duck tastes much better.

Well, just like with felt-tip pens, they all have different tastes and colors! 😀 Muskrat's meat is much more tender and juicy, while duck already has a pronounced gamey taste. For example, I won’t eat a goose, it won’t fit into my throat and that’s it, but I’ll eat a swan with great pleasure. Instead of goose, I prefer frogs. 😊 Muskrat is an excellent prey, the meat, like nutria, is very healthy because... in him high content ash elements, and the skins lend themselves well to dressing and are very durable, you can use them to make mittens, a warm hood or fur tunics for boots.

RDX 12.03.2013 - 13:25

Muskrat meat smells, and the smell is peculiar

Who knows, I didn’t even notice this 😊

Frol Frol 03/12/2013 - 13:38

The muskrat's fur is lousy in terms of quickly drying on the folds. But there is an undeniable advantage even compared to mink: if it gets wet during snow or rain, after drying you shake it and that’s it, the fur doesn’t stick together.
As for taste, it's a matter of how you cook it. And the main thing is how to cut it correctly!!! Otherwise there will be a stink!!! Having cut along the womb, we cut out and tear out everything in the groin (bladder and glands) in one movement, grabbing it with the blade of a knife (be careful not to crush or cut)!!! The meat begins to smell peculiar when it cools, if you reheat it, the smell disappears again. It smells like dry fish. Be sure to add crushed dill seed to the marinade (buy at a pharmacy, it will last for several years, it costs a penny). I butcher one rat for about three minutes :-) this is if the skin is not needed, but I don’t need it. A lot of subcutaneous meat remains on the skin. Then it will interfere with the dressing. The spring rat turned out to be tastier, although in theory it should have smelled stronger. They say it depends on the body of water. In the winter the year before last, our water level dropped significantly, so I regretted not hunting as much. In the past there were very few rats. I set up a reserve for them :-) I hope this year there will be a lot of water.

Frol Frol 03/12/2013 - 13:56

The NVG image intensifier-1 showed a complete ram on the rat, the parallax is too far away, it needs to be about 5 meters away. The light from the bushes and grass greatly interferes. Be afraid of the lantern!!! Hunting 15 minutes before sunset and 15 before sunrise. At night it’s probably better to use a laser target and hit from the waist at a short distance, as a rule you can see it with your eyes, but you can’t see it through the sights. Or an open sight. The full moon helps out, it is clearly visible on the silver path from the moon. You can get into the tower up to 30m, but don’t have time to dive; at half a mile and beyond, you hear the noise of a shmul and manage to dive. You need to aim at the water between the protruding tower and the butt a little closer to the head, then during the dive just at the ridge-lungs-liver, then after 5 minutes it will float up, if it doesn’t get caught somewhere, it will definitely float up in the morning. Be sure to check the hunting area for any drafts. Swims fast, you can't catch him jogging along the shore :-) It's good to have a drum. After the first miss, it immediately pops up to find out who it is here oh.el :-) as a rule, he swims to the meeting to look, quickly hit with the second one, aiming for the back of the head, he will dive and you will get exactly where you need to be. It can sit quietly in the water a few meters away, sometimes at 1-2-3, when you look in the other direction and watch you. Stsuko is a cunning beast. But he loves the same route and schedule. So tomorrow at the same time he will be sailing in the same place.

Frol Frol 03/12/2013 - 14:09

Do not feed the woman to the muskrat!!! I warn you!!! I've already fallen for this. Everyone snorts at the beginning, but if they try it, they'll get sick of it. For some reason, women really like rat meat. Inexplicably. If it seems to me that this time it was not cooked very well, then they don’t care! They eat both cheeks. It’s good that they can’t eat much at once. The meat is very filling. One hind leg is usually enough for one woman to overeat, if with a side dish.

SERGEEVIC 12.03.2013 - 14:14

Maybe the hole was uninhabited!? The muskrat usually swims up to the hole/hut underwater, so you might simply not notice it. Try to sit on its nests/gnaws, but only on fresh ones; it will definitely come. You can also sit not far from the place where she floats in the “00” office - she should also pass - but just first let her do this thing, and shoot the flood.

😀
The fact of the matter is that on the morning of the previous day I saw a muskrat near this hole. I’m really curious about this: if I don’t have a propeller with me, I’ll trample a black grouse, a hazel grouse will land on my head, or a muskrat will come out at the most inopportune time. And tomorrow at the same time in the same place no, no
😀
But what they say is true: the muskrat does not shed, and you can beat it all year round? (I know this is contrary to the official deadlines, just interesting)

kombat0302 03/12/2013 - 16:17

SERGEEVIC
Is it true what they say that muskrats do not shed and can be killed all year round? (I know this is contrary to the official deadlines, just interesting)

Bryakhnya, summer and winter fur coats are different. In summer it’s kind of thin, but in late autumn there’s a dense and warm underfur under the awns. It’s just that muskrats, like beavers and nutria, pay a lot of attention to their fur coat, so it always looks neat. 😊

ARUBA-NAME 03/12/2013 - 17:16

RDX
I ate muskrat, the meat was delicious

I agree wholeheartedly!) Delicious, sweetish, juicy meat) The smell, no matter how you cut it, is still musky from legonets) The skins are cool, I took them off with a stocking, put them on a bottle, rubbed them with salt, then took them to dressing)

RDX 12.03.2013 - 17:57

Delicious, sweetish, juicy meat

Wow, but I still don’t understand why it’s a little sweet

So they put sugar instead of salt!

😊 Is this at birth? 😊 I cooked it myself, it’s still a bit sweet

airbolf 715 03/13/2013 - 09:52

kombat0302
but in Siberia or the Orenburg region they don’t smell!

Definitely.! ---- In Siberia, it is still customary to cook and eat muskrat, hot and cold, and everything is done as usual in the field, just like fish. Households mainly fought over hot smoking of muskrats, heh!

ARUBA-NAME 03/13/2013 - 10:39

airbolf 715
In Siberia, it is still customary to cook and eat muskrat using hot and cold smoking

I would like to try it!)))

airbolf 715 03/13/2013 - 10:48

ARUBA-NAME
I would like to try it!)))

SERGEEVIC 03/13/2013 - 12:31

This will surprise you! I have one myself - I mostly travel in the car, and it’s hot in there.
Nowadays, more and more people are running around in knitted ones... They don’t look like anything, they can’t be compared with a muskrat, but they are mobile. But in the cold weather outside, knitted fur will not replace!!!

Agree. In our -40 winter, you can’t really wear knitted clothes

and also rice and buckwheat with smoked muskrat. It turns out great. It tastes and smells like smoked sausage. They even made Olivier with HK muskrat (it crackled behind the ears)!

airbolf 715, why did I immediately start drooling as soon as I imagined it? 😀 😀 😀

SERGEEVIC 03/13/2013 - 12:46

Bryakhnya, summer and winter fur coats are different. In summer it’s kind of thin, but in late autumn there’s a dense and warm underfur under the awns. It’s just that muskrats, like beavers and nutria, pay a lot of attention to their fur coat, so it always looks neat.

I’ve read a lot about Hansa, now I’m sitting waiting for autumn. Thanks for the info on the fur coat.

Fil55 03/13/2013 - 13:38

SERGEEVIC
I'm sitting now waiting for autumn

So hunting for it only opens in the fall, like beaver and other fur-bearing animals.

SERGEEVIC 13.03.2013 - 14:17

So hunting for it only opens in the fall, like for beaver and other fur-bearing animals.

I was falsely informed by local hunters that there is muskrat hunting all year round. They said that you can beat it in the summer, they say the skin is still the same because it does not shed. Well, I sat in that hole in the summer. And then he thought about it - well, it shouldn’t be like this, that there won’t be a hunting deadline. Even from a moral point of view, it shouldn’t be. Thanks kombat0302 - dispelled the myth.

Seva13 03/14/2013 - 10:42

I often met a muskrat during the day while fishing. He carries grass and shells. In the fall, in a small quarry, I met many crayfish without necks on the muskrat's feeding table, apparently she was stocking up on fat for the winter. Having read the old topic about the muskrat, I was inspired to try it out. In the fall before that, we swam directly on the floats , and more than one since the spring. It looks like some kind of pestilence. I haven’t seen it for a couple of years. And not on the same body of water. At that time I had an overclocked murka. Now I bought a QB-78 in 5.5 for the sake of the beaver, so I’m afraid that they won’t disappeared 😊 . A neighbor at the dacha says a muskrat is swimming in the oxbow, I’ll look for it in the fall. During underwater hunting, I often saw muskrat feeding tables consisting of pearl barley shells. The diameter and height were about a meter, or even more. I saw one swimming underwater with a shell in teeth (freshwater mussels). Not particularly shy if you don’t make noise or make sudden movements. You stand on the shore, she will swim past, come ashore and take care of her fur, comb herself.

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I want to say right away with authority:
- Nutria, this is not a rat! Nutria is a relative of the porcupine. Here's a muskrat - a rat! More precisely - a musk rat!
Just don’t treat these “rats” with prejudice. Rat is different from rat! After all, people eat such disgusting things as rabbit and hare meat? Are eating!
And nutria and muskrat are much tastier! IN North America The muskrat is even called the "water rabbit." And from a culinary point of view, the muskrat is very popular there.
Nutria has absolutely fat-free, soft, tender and juicy meat without any unpleasant odors. And it contains absolutely no cholesterol. Truly a dietary product!
Muskrat's meat is fattier than nutria's, although it is tougher, but just as juicy, and also contains no cholesterol.
The only problem is that not everyone knows how to cook them!
Here we go!

Cooking nutria.

Cooking nutria is very simple. There are many ways and recipes for its preparation. Probably the same as chicken.
I personally prefer stewed nutria.
First we prepare the carcass.
The head, tail and tips of the paws are removed from the carcass. All this has no culinary value. We cut the carcass into portions, rinse well and marinate for 5-6 hours either in marinade (1), or in garlic sauce (2), or in kvass grounds (3).
There are no special methods or recommendations for preparing stewed nutria. Can be prepared like “Chicken Tabaka” by frying in a special frying pan(4). I prefer stewed nutria. I extinguish it in two ways:
- in sour cream - I make a mixture of 1 glass of refined sunflower oil. 1 cup of homemade sour cream, 1 tablespoon of ground tammerik and 3 cups of water; I stew nutria in this mixture;
- in kvass - in 1 liter of okroshka kvass (5) I stir 4 tablespoons with the top of “Russian Mustard”, add 1 tablespoon with the top of ground tammerik, 1 tablespoon with the top of crushed garlic; I stew nutria in this mixture.

Cooking muskrat.

I usually cook muskrat according to the same recipe as cat meat(6):

1. Preliminary preparation of the muskrat for culinary processing.
The preparation of muskrat begins by freeing the carcass from interior and subcutaneous fat. Muskrat fat has no culinary value. Although, this is a matter of taste. Some people also like it “with lard”. All the fat of a muskrat is deposited in the subcutaneous and internal layers. It comes off easily and without a trace. It must be removed along with the film. To make it easier to remove fat, you can first rub the carcass with coarse rock salt and leave it for a couple of hours. After removing fat and fat film, rinse the carcass well in running water.
After removing the fat, the muskrat carcass needs to be beaten and marinated.
To beat, place the carcass on a large and thick (preferably oak) cutting board with the back side up. Beating the carcass with a wooden mallet along the back, we spread it on the cutting board. In this spread-out form, the carcass will be marinated and stewed.

2. Marinating muskrat.
To prepare the marinade, for every 1 kilogram of net weight of the cat carcass, take 100 milliliters of boiled, cooled water; 50 milliliters of unrefined sunflower oil; 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice; 100 grams of freshly crushed garlic; half a coffee spoon without the top of ground ginger and ground nutmeg; a quarter of a coffee spoon without the top of bay leaf ground into powder; five dry clove buds and three black, white and pink peppercorns, ground into powder. Salt - to taste. The mixture is well beaten in a blender into a homogeneous mass. The marinade is ready.
Take a metal enamel baking sheet, lay out the entire surface of the baking sheet with thinly sliced ​​onion rings (white or yellow; purple or red onions should not be transferred). Place the muskrat carcass on the onion with the back side up and pour marinade over it. Cover the top of the carcass with a smaller baking sheet. But such that it would completely cover the entire carcass. We put oppression on top: a couple of bricks. You need to marinate the carcass for as many hours as the kilogram of net weight in the carcass, plus one hour.

3. Final culinary processing of muskrat meat.
As soon as the muskrat is thoroughly marinated, we release the carcass from under oppression. Remove the onion and the marinade remaining in the pan. Cover the surface of the baking sheet with cabbage leaves (you should not experiment with grape leaves - this will not improve the taste). Fill the surface of the cabbage leaves with about a centimeter layer of 10% cream. Place the muskrat carcass on the cabbage, back up. Pour a centimeter layer of 10% cream on top. On top we completely cover the entire surface of the carcass with cabbage leaves. Cover everything on top with a smaller baking sheet. Place pressure on a baking sheet and into the oven.
The muskrat is stewed, depending on its weight, for one and a half to two hours at a temperature of 110-120 degrees.

It is served both hot and cold. Before serving, divide into portions. Any side dish. Any sauce.
Bon appetit!
===========================================================================================
1 - See article "Garlic sauce"
2 - See the article “Special marinade for game”.
3 - See the article "Family recipe for kvass"
4 - This frying pan has a lid that is pressed to the frying pan with a screw clamp.
5 - See the article "Family recipe for kvass", sections 1 and 2.
6 - See the article “Cat Dishes”.