“I ain’t eatin’ no raccoon!” you say. Trust me, you could cook your neighbor’s house cat with this recipe and no one would know the difference. After an hour in a pressure cooker, just about any critter turns into tender, fall-off-the-bone meat that can be shredded, topped with BBQ sauce, and turned into sandwiches.
I’ve used this same simple recipe on elk shanks and mule deer necks. Meat that is smothered in BBQ sauce is hard to distinguish from other meats. If you took care of it in the field and cooked it properly, it will merely be a vessel for the barbeque sauce. But, to make it the best possible, I recommend using a tougher, sinew and fat-laced cut that won’t dry out during the cooking process.
If you want to see us cook and eat this raccoon, make sure to check out MeatEater Season 10, Episode 5. It's available right now on Netflix.
Ingredients
- 1 raccoon
- 2 cups of BBQ sauce (make your own by following this MeatEater recipe)
- BBQ buns
- Toppings like coleslaw, sliced pickles, fried onions, etc.
Also works with
Special equipment
Preparation
- Cut the skinned raccoon into five parts: four legs and the saddle. Check out this video to see how Clay skins a raccoon.
- Lightly coat meat in cooking oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Sear meat in a hot skillet until evenly browned.
- Next, place the meat in a pressure cooker and cook for 1 hour at 10 pounds of pressure.
- After an hour, allow pressure to completely dissipate before removing the pressure cooker lid (following the instructions of your specific cooker).
- Pull meat off of bones and shred with two forks. Fingers also work.
- Heap shredded meat onto toasted bun, smother in your favorite BBQ sauce, and add any other toppings such as coleslaw or pickle slices.
