Great Sacandaga Beaver Recipes

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Fried Beaver

Ingredients:

• 1 small beaver (20 lbs.), cleaned and skinned, cut into serving pieces, strips or cubes
• 6 slices bacon
• 1 tsp. seasoning salt

Remove fat from beaver and soak overnight in cold water. Drain. Cook in small amount of water until tender, then fry with bacon and seasoning salt.

Variation: substitute hickory-smoked seasoning salt for plain seasoning salt.

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Beaver Tail
Hold over open flame until rough skin blisters. Remove from heat. When cool, peel off skin. Roast over coals or simmer until tender.

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Beaver Stew

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lbs 1 inch cubes beaver
• Bacon grease
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 medium onions
• 1/2 lb carrots
• 6 medium potatoes
• 2 stalks celery

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a closable bag or 2 quart closable plastic container and shake until mixed. Add beaver and shake until well coated.
Dice onions. Melt enough bacon grease in the bottom of a fry pan to saute onions and beaver. Saute onions and floured beaver in bacon grease, adding more grease as needed.

Place sauted cubes and onions in a 4 quart pot with enough water to cover. Add water to fry pan to remove the remainder of the bacon grease and flour. Add this pan gravy to your stew.

Slice carrots and dice celery. Add carrots and celery to your stew and simmer until beaver is somewhat tender (about 30 minutes). Taste broth and add salt or pepper to taste. Cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes and add enough water to just cover the meat and vegetables. Simmer until potatoes are done (about 30 minutes).

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Country Style Beaver

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lbs beaver steaks 1/2 inch thick
• Bacon grease
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 medium onions
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can or 1/2 lb mushrooms

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a closable bag or 2 quart closable plastic container and shake until mixed. Add beaver and shake until well coated. Save remaining flour. Dice onions. Melt enough bacon grease in the bottom of a fry pan to sauté onions and beaver. Sauté onions and floured beaver in bacon grease, adding more grease as needed Place beaver aside.

Combine soup and mushrooms in frying pan. Dissolve 2 to 3 heaping tbsp of seasoned flour in 2 cups cold water. Add to soup mix and simmer 5 minutes. Add beaver and onions to mix and simmer covered for 30 minutes.

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Beaver Tail Beans

Ingredients:

• 1 Beaver tail
• 1 Onion, chopped
• Salt & Pepper
• Pot of beans

Blister tail over fire until skin loosens (or dip into boiling water for a couple minutes). Pull of skin. Cut up meat and boil with a pot of beans. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add chopped onions to enhance flavor. Beaver tail is also good roasted over a campfire or in the oven.
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Roasted Beaver

Ingredients:

• 1 small or medium size beaver, cleaned and skinned
• Baking soda
• Sliced onions
• Bacon

Remove all surface fat. Cover meat with a weak solution of soda and water (1 tsp soda to 1 qt water). Boil 10 minutes and drain. Cover beaver with bacon and onions and roast until tender. This will taste like roast goose and will fool anybody.

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Roast Beaver

Ingredients:

• 1 md Beaver, about 8 lbs\
• 1/2 c Vinegar
• 1 tb Salt
• 2 ts Soda
• 1 md Onion; sliced
• 4 Strips bacon or salt pork
• 1/2 ts Salt
• 1/4 ts Pepper

Wash beaver thoroughly with salt water then let soak overnight in enough cold water to cover. Add 1/2 cup vinegar and 1 tb salt to the water.
The next day, remove the beaver from the brine, wash and cover with a solution of 2 ts soda to 2 quarts water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

Drain, then place beaver in roasting pan. Cover with sliced onions and bacon; season with salt and pepper. Place lid on roaster and bake at 375 until tender. Serve with a tart jelly.

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Beaver Information

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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