Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 2, 1994 TAG: 9402020079
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MELISSA DEVAUGHN
DATELINE: PRICES FORK LENGTH: Medium
With groundhog grease all over her chin . . .
In come grandma hopping on a cane,
I'm gonna have that groundhog brains . . .
Groundhog stewed and groundhog fried,
It's the best old groundhog ever I tried . . .
- Bluegrass standard
William Orange agrees with Jim Parkhurst, extension wildlife specialist at Virginia Tech, who says groundhogs are an integral part of the food chain.
His food chain, that is.
Orange, 65, a retired lumber-truck driver who has lived in Montgomery County all his life, says there is nothing better than groundhog meat.
"When I was growing up back in the Depression, people didn't have the money to raise [beef]," Orange said. "So we got used to eating game. Groundhogs are one of the cleanest animals we've got," because they eat only lush vegetation.
Groundhog meat does not taste like chicken.
"The only way to describe how it tastes is to eat it," he said. It is a coarse, dark meat, but not quite as dark as a raccoon. Groundhogs have a lot of fat, if you kill them in the fall, but the meat is not greasy.
From his new doublewide trailer in Prices Fork, Orange shared some of the recipes that have gained him fame among his friends.
"If you tell them it's groundhog meat, they won't touch it," he said. "But if you don't, they'll eat pounds of it, saying `This is the best meatloaf I've ever had.'"
Before preparing a groundhog, Orange said, you must parboil the animal with four medium onions, salt and pepper for at least an hour (remembering to remove entrails as you would with a turkey). This gets out the "ground taste," something Orange likens to picking up a handful of river mud and taking a deep whiff of it.\
Groundhog Meatloaf 1 parboiled groundhog 4 teaspoons pepper 4 tablespoons salt 3/4-cup chopped bell pepper 1/2-cup chopped onion 1 can condensed milk 3 eggs 2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce 1 can Bunker Hill hot dog chili 1 bag Pepperidge Farms seasoned bread crumbs
Wash the meat off a parboiled groundhog. Put it in a meat grinder, then mix with bell peppers, chopped onions, bread crumbs and condensed milk. Add the eggs, one can of tomato sauce, pepper, salt and hot dog chili. Cook at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Shape into loaves, pour second can of tomato sauce over the loaves, and cook an additional 30 minutes.
Yield: With a big groundhog, three loaf pans.\
Fried Groundhog This is a simple recipe, requiring a parboiled groundhog, flour, salt and pepper to taste, and a bit of oil.
Slice the meat off the bone. Wash the meat. Dip it in flour, add salt and pepper and fry the groundhog just as you would chicken or pork chops. Other spices may be added to taste.\
Groundhog Roast After parboiling a groundhog, place in a roast pan and cook on medium heat for about 3 1/2 hours (stick a fork in the meat and twist to see if it's done). Then add carrots, potatoes and onions to taste, seasoning with salt, pepper or other seasonings. Cook an additional hour or until the vegetables are done.
Orange also suggests sugar curing, and barbecuing the groundhog with the "Shake and Bake like you use on chickens," but he hasn't tried either recipe.
"I can't convince people it's good meat," Orange said, "because they don't like the wild taste" (not the same as ground taste, but more of a gamey flavor).
To remove the wild taste, soak the groundhog overnight in 2 1/2 gallons of water with two tablespoons of baking soda and three to four tablespoons of vinegar.
After that, "you can't tell it from any other meat," he said.
by CNB