Do you eat coots?

[Texas Star]

Most of you have probably seen the duck-like birds called coots.

I've never hunted them. Are they legal game birds? Are they good to eat? I've heard not.

 

[s&wchad]

Yes, they're legal game birds with a generous bag limit (15/day in Michigan).
Yes, they have a reputation as poor table fare.
Yes, I've eaten them.

Breast them out, remove the skin, marinate in teriyaki sauce and fry them in butter. They're not great, but they're not that bad either. The meat isn't as firm as wild duck breast and it's not very thick. IIRC, they don't have a breast plate like other fowl. They have a flat bone structure that makes them a bit more difficult to clean.

They don't fly very well and tend to dive when spooked. I have no idea how they're able to migrate south for the winter, but they do.

 

[EQGuy]

I have. If they are shot in the rice fields they can be pretty tasty. They have a large meaty breast.I have not shot or eaten then in a very long time. Here in California you are allowed to shoot 25 Coots per day with a possession limit of 50. The way you clean them is grab them by the hind legs and stand on their wings and pull. The breast comes off the rest of the body with the wings attached. One time I made a batch of Coot sausage. It was pretty repulsive but our old tom cat loved it. It made his farts soo stinky that my wife made me throw it out. Not very many people will shoot coots or eat them. It is kind of like eating Carp which I have never tried.

 

[islamoradamark]

sounds like a good survival food see lots of them in florida

 

[bhayles]

Most of you have probably seen the duck-like birds called coots.

I've never hunted them. Are they legal game birds? Are they good to eat? I've heard not.

I've never seen a Coot around here, but we do like to take newcomers to rural Georgia living on Snipe hunts...

 

[deadin]

You do have to watch out for the Old Coots, they can get pretty gamey.
(There seems to be a lot of them on this forum........)

 

[Marshwheeling]

I once shot a couple of coots, and felt honor-bound to eat them. On the advice of my mentor, I breasted them out, soaked the breasts in salt water for a couple of hours, sauteed them in butter, and ate them with salt and pepper. Not ambrosia, but they weren't bad. If one of our party hadn't bagged a couple of mallards, dinner would have been pretty grim.

This was a weekend of drinking "moose milk" (bourbon in milk) and reciting lewd variations on Duckstalgia, a corny poem that was printed on a card and tacked to the wall of the hunting cabin.

It has been quite a few years and I haven't been hunting since, but if i do ever go again I probably won't be shooting any more coots.

 

[Texas Star]

Seems that you can eat them if you have to and it helps if they've been feeding on rice.

Got it. Thanks.

Wonder what'd happen if you poured mushroom soup on them and broiled them in the oven?

But that cat's flatulence issue may be a warning.

Changing directions, have you eaten woodcock? Snipe? (Yes, real snipe, not some corny joke.)

 

[yeti]

Are they legal game birds? Yes, and generally with good bag limits. They are actually not ducks, though! They are associated with the rail family.

Are they good to eat? No.
You need to be very hungry, IMHO.

 

[Malpasowildlifer]

people eat coots? no way!

 

[bhayles]

You do have to watch out for the Old Coots, they can get pretty gamey.
(There seems to be a lot of them on this forum........)

Yeah...one of these guys posts here. Not gonna say which one...

Cantankerous Old Coots

 

[feralmerril]

Depends on how hungry you are. To tell the truth I never was big on any ducks. I know there are tricks to cooking them. They dont call them fowl for nothing!

 

[fat tom]

Only time we eat coots down here is if we run out of mudfish or 'possum.
f.t.

 

[MY15-22]

We call them Pooldo down here. We breast them and cook them in a Gumbo.

 

[shouldazagged]

You do have to watch out for the Old Coots, they can get pretty gamey.
(There seems to be a lot of them on this forum........)

Damn, you beat me to it.

 

[Pop's2]

They rank right up there with eating muskrat; and yes I have tried muskrat as per the recipe in Herter's "Bull Cook" .

 

[Rangerpat]

I haven't eaten coots since I was a college student; now, good duck breast meat wrapped with bacon, cooked on a campfire grill... now you're talking good food.

 

[Texas Star]

I surmise that we have a consensus...

 

[NE450No2]

I have not eaten Coot, but I would Like to try them.

Most people you talk to do not even like Duck.
My wife and I love eating Duck.

I cut the breast out boneless. Then I remove the legs and thighs.
I also always save the heart, liver and gizzards.

When I cook them, I put the meat in a bag with seasoned flour, shake them up, and fry them in olive oil. The wife eats the breast, I eat the legs and thighs, and the heart liver and gizzards.

It is one of our most favorite meals. Sadly I have not killed any ducks in a couple of years.

However, tonight we are eating oven cooked Wild Pig, that I shot last deer season, with locally grown cream peas, both seasoned with our home grown onions that I picked today...

For dessert, there is vanilla ice cream, and just picked wild blackberries by the wife...

Later [for me] there is Laphroaig Scotch...

 

[rwsmith]

OH!!!!!

You're talking about BIRDS!!!!