Curious if anyone out there has cooked and eaten a Woodchuck/Ground Hog? If so what was your opinion and how did you prepare it??
Eating Woodchuck/Ground Hog???
- Thread starter MunkKiller
- Start date
This first thing that came to mind when I read your post was this song performed by Doc Watson who is my all time favorite guitar picker and folk song / bluegrass singer.
The second thing was a story told by my old friend's grandfather, that probably happened near the turn of the century. He was out checking the fences or something like that, on his ranch in the Cache Valley of Utah, when he noticed a small band from the local Shoshone(?) tribe camping on his property. He rode into camp and chatted a while. They invited him to eat dinner with them which he gratefully accepted. A delicious stew was served filled with some kind of savory and tender meat, potatoes etc. He commented as to how tasty it was and asked if they wouldn't mind sharing what kind of meat was in it. They told him the name for the animal in their native tongue which he did not recognize. As they were trying to explain the animal to him, a sharp whistle was heard from a nearby basalt flow. They all pointed at a large rock (Also a Marmot species like the Groundhog / Woodchuck) sitting on a boulder and making the whistling sound they had all heard. Several of them repeated the animal's name in their tongue while pointing at it, making a positive ID for the man. I don't recall if he tried rock chuck stew ever again, but the story stands that he thought it was outstanding.
The second thing was a story told by my old friend's grandfather, that probably happened near the turn of the century. He was out checking the fences or something like that, on his ranch in the Cache Valley of Utah, when he noticed a small band from the local Shoshone(?) tribe camping on his property. He rode into camp and chatted a while. They invited him to eat dinner with them which he gratefully accepted. A delicious stew was served filled with some kind of savory and tender meat, potatoes etc. He commented as to how tasty it was and asked if they wouldn't mind sharing what kind of meat was in it. They told him the name for the animal in their native tongue which he did not recognize. As they were trying to explain the animal to him, a sharp whistle was heard from a nearby basalt flow. They all pointed at a large rock (Also a Marmot species like the Groundhog / Woodchuck) sitting on a boulder and making the whistling sound they had all heard. Several of them repeated the animal's name in their tongue while pointing at it, making a positive ID for the man. I don't recall if he tried rock chuck stew ever again, but the story stands that he thought it was outstanding.
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Lol ya I've actually heard the same kind of story from my father but it was during the great depression..
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“Here come Sal with a snicker and a grin, with grounghog gravy on her chin.”
LOLOLOLOLOL, oh my I can’t breath!
LOLOLOLOLOL, oh my I can’t breath!
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Unless I haven’t had anything to eat for a month, I wouldn’t eat any ground dwelling rodents.
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I heard a long time ago that there’s some kind of glands in them that you absolutely want to avoid. I would eat a gas station hot dog at two o’clock in the morning that was put on the hot dog roller at noon before I ate ground hog. 
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We don't have groundhogs where I live in central California but if you travel up to the high sierras above about 8000 feet (about two hours away) you will find rockchucks which are very similar. We have eaten a couple after hunting them. Mostly just to say we did it. We were pretty concerned about staying healthy so we cooked the crap out of them. That probably contributed to the bad taste
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Kenny
.Kenny
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I have had them, I just boiled them in spices and fried them. They are not bad eating except for the one thing that I find unpleasant is their joints are unusually large for the size of the legs and it takes a lot of gnawing to eat them.
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groundhog recipes can be found in home cookbooks. it's nothing new, just not common today. if you can eat a rabbit, you can eat a groundhog as they eat the same things. the taste of an animal will come from the food it eats. oh, and no I haven't eaten one yet lol but I had the same question last year. of course, now that I know I can eat them, I haven't seen one, go figure lol.
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It’s like my dad used to say about some grilled food he hated. He said place the meat on a cedar board that was soaked in water for an hour, put the board with meat on it on the grill, cook to desired doneness, take out of grill, throw away the meat and eat the board. 
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My dad had a friend we shot rockchucks with. He was from North Carolina. Later in the season when the young were out and active he would wait for the end of the day and shoot a mess of young ones for eating. I never tried it.
Years later I had a friend who bought a new home with some acres. The pasture was over run with chucks and `the situation dictated archery gear. I shot several young ones and decided to try eating them. That was until I rolled them over and looked at them. Shove down the hole and cover it up.
Ain’t no way, no how I could clean one let alone eat it.
Years later I had a friend who bought a new home with some acres. The pasture was over run with chucks and `the situation dictated archery gear. I shot several young ones and decided to try eating them. That was until I rolled them over and looked at them. Shove down the hole and cover it up.
Ain’t no way, no how I could clean one let alone eat it.
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Thanks guys I have researched about them, they are perfectly good to eat and carry no diseases harmful to humans. Just a matter of proper preparation, so many ppl now adays see something living in the ground and immediately say( YUCK IM NOT EATING THAT ).... I've always been an exotic eater I will try ANYTHING once, never had Groundhog/Woodchuck but always heard they are good to eat. Think im going to BBQ this guy up 3-2-1 style and make a pulled chuck sandwich out of him. As for the Glands mentioned above I was careful to get them all out when I skinned him. If he is good and tasty might have to supplement my diet with a few now and then 
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The farm hands on my ground squirrel permission told me that ground squirrel tastes a lot like pork. These little guys eat pecans and alfalfa all day, I don't see how they can be bad? I'm just not quite ready to do it myself yet.
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Ate one many years ago and I remember it tasted/ smelled like grass. Not bad, just different. Recently started shooting them on our gun/ hunting club property and I just leave them for the foxes. They are always gone the next day.
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I've found the young small.ground hogs aren't bad. Older bigger hogs are a different story.. Cook low and slow or pressure cook and then smoke or finish cooking as you perfer.
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Musk glands in the armpits most likely if like other critters in the squirrel family. Cut those out and they'll smell better cooking and taste better. They sound like they're fatter and meatier than tree squirrels. I have never tried cooking one.
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Slow cooker and whatever spices or Lipton onion mix, carrots and potatoes . Cook until meat is tender . Makes a great meal!
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first time camping as a kid , we cooked over a campfire of cedar , lesson learned ! it ALL tasted like cedar tree .It’s like my dad used to say about some grilled food he hated. He said place the meat on a cedar board that was soaked in water for an hour, put the board with meat on it on the grill, cook to desired doneness, take out of grill, throw away the meat and eat the board.
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Killed and ate a lot of groundhogs summer of 77. You got a crock pot them to get them tender enough If they're the old ones. Young ones ones are tasty. Yes you need to remove the glands. Marinate them overnight in orange juice with ginger. That's fine meal. Also cook up nice in a pressure cooker.
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Let us know how it turned out, and if you'd eat them again.Thanks guys I have researched about them, they are perfectly good to eat and carry no diseases harmful to humans. Just a matter of proper preparation, so many ppl now adays see something living in the ground and immediately say( YUCK IM NOT EATING THAT ).... I've always been an exotic eater I will try ANYTHING once, never had Groundhog/Woodchuck but always heard they are good to eat. Think im going to BBQ this guy up 3-2-1 style and make a pulled chuck sandwich out of him. As for the Glands mentioned above I was careful to get them all out when I skinned him. If he is good and tasty might have to supplement my diet with a few now and then
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