With the slowing economy, rising food prices, and the push for locally produced foods, a growing number of suburbanites are entertaining the once unthinkable: roadkill as Sunday roast.
Food writer and cookbook magnate Chichester Snimball recently wrote about the merits of cooking with roadside remnants. “Short of shooting wood pigeons in your own family compound, this is about as local as it gets…. Plus, it’s character building. You may not have post-World War II rationing stories to pass on to the next generation, but your children can at least say they were forced to eat a rancid woodchuck or two.”
At least two Wapatusset restaurants are offering fresh roadkill on the menu, and a local catering company plans to feature a variety of local species at the Wine and Cheese fundraiser for GROL (Greyote Rescue and Outreach League) in October.
Local voices
We chatted with folks at last week’s Farmer’s Market about the trend. Here’s what they had to say:
“I’m cutting down on my carbon footprint and my grocery bill at the same time.”
“At Whole Paycheck you pay a fortune for free-range, grass-fed, ethically-treated meat. Roadkill is all of the above. Well, maybe not the ethically-treated bit, but it’s usually a very quick death.”
“My wife says I’m cheap, but I prefer to think of it as old Yankee ingenuity.”
“That is heinous… Does it come in breaded patties?”
Send us your stories
Have you experimented with roadkill recipes? Any tips on foraging for fresh specimens? Send your stories to Food Editor, Tiny Mind Gazette, or leave in the Comments field below.
-- reported by Crime, Food and Education editor Agent SS