I suppose this admission might get us into trouble, but, here goes. When I was a student at UF in 1968-69, my room mate and I were really poor. Rent, beer (and cheap beer at that)and a few other necessities were all we could afford. With motorcycles, we didn't spend much going out most afternoons to hunt for dinner. We had a simple rule: shoot it if it moves, and then eat it. On one occasion a Blue Heron was accidentally killed while trying for something else. Not into waste, we decided to take it home and eat it. We field dressed it, packed it out and went home. A little salt and pepper rubbed in, and some garlic salt for fun, and in the oven it went. Soon the house was filled with the stench, umm, yep, stench of roasting heron. Overwhelming. When it was nice and brown, we cut a few slices and tried it: inedibly horrible. Even for two hungry grad students. We ate the taters and something else, and fed the neighborhood cats the rest. Advice: never eat a Blue Heron. That probably explains why there are so many of them around. Or, maybe the old "you are what you eat" thing cut in.
Photo: http://www.light-and-shadow.org/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=Claudia-Petersons-Album&id=Blue_Heron_eating_Vole
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One of my students -- an avid hunter -- wrote his technical report on cooking Iowa game. (Translate: hunter = hunt official game animals in-season, and everything/anything else the rest of the year; game = anything that's not a domesticated animal.)
He reported that heron, egret, and crane are notably gamey, and benefit from being hung. Beyond that, the best practice is to either smoke the meat extensively, or use a slow double-cooking method (boil the bird first in a seasoned broth, then roast) to cut the pong and infuse the meat with a flavor that isn't heron.
I imagine that serving the bird with a large amount of cheap beer also helps.
Ask him if he ever cooked a Brandt goose. I'll post on that some day soon, too.
He was in my class three years ago, and has theoretically moved on to better things.
Those were the only "game" birds he discussed in his report; well, those and songbirds (waxwing gumbo, anyone?). Let's be clear: this wasn't a "How to Cook Game" (i.e., goose, duck, turkey, quail, pheasant) guide. This was a guide to "Cooking Things I've Shot". Big difference.
So it included otter, badger, mole, prairie dog, beaver, and raccoon. The basic recipe: rodents can be grilled, while everything else needs to be smoked heavily for best results. He also notes that skunk, while theoretically edible, is not worth the trouble.
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