Do Southerners really eat squirrel, deer, rabbit and the like?

Question

i was hearing on the radio last thanksgiving that people eat that stuff. Is it true? do you hunt it or do you buy it in a grocery store? Just curious this is not a joke.

I say its not a joke because you would be surprised at the people who don't believe that people eat such "wild" animals

Answer 1

I'm from South Louisiana and yes we do eat those things plus other wild game. My dad's philosophy is if it tastes good eat it! I've seen rabbit for sale in the grocery store. I've eaten lots of different things, squirrel, deer, rabbit, coon, duck, goose, nutria, turtle, crawfish, crabs, alligator, etc. If you ever get a chance to try any of it; do! You may like it!

Something I won't try, however, is squirrel head soup! My friends would go and hunt squirrel and their mom would cook this. She actually would put the little squirrel skulls in the pot!!

Answer 2

We substitute deer meat at our house for most of our red meat. My husband hunts every year, he only hunts what we eat. He does not kill and dump or kill and cut antlers. We take the meat to the processing plant and have it cut into roasts, ground meat, steaks, sausage. The only meat I buy in the store is chicken and occasionally some pork. We go to Louisiana or the Gulf and buy pounds (large quantities) of shrimp and craw-fish and we put that up in the freezer also. We have a garden every year and all our vegetables are from it. When Hank Williams Jr said a country boy can survive he meant it. Some people do eat squirrel and rabbit. I don't like either. Deer hunting is regulated in MS and we have an overpopulation. The only thing that my husband hunts that I don't like is wild boar. He hunts those with a friend because they are a nuisance and dangerous.
P.S. I would like to apologize on behalf of some of the smartass Southerner's who are answering you so rudely also, I believe Sam told you that deer in the South were smaller than a dog. I have a 165lb buck at the processing plant right now. My husband got him New Years day he was a perfect twelve point rack and he's bigger than any dog I've seen except maybe a bull mastiff or a great Dane.

Answer 3

Yes, we do. Deer meat or venison is very popular. Some people hunt their own deer while others eat farmed raised deer at restaurants. The taste of each is very different because of the differences in diet.
Rabbit meat is less popular, but still eaten. Again, some people hunt their own rabbit, while others eat farmed raised rabbit in restaurants. There is a very expensive restaurant in Arkansas that has won many awards that serves a tasty rabbit gumbo. Squirrel is probably eaten the least. I don't know of any farm-raised squirrel available. Most people hunt their own. When I was a kid, my grandfather ate squirrel meat often. I think it was a holdover from The Great Depression. Back then, any protein you could get was eaten. Keep in mind that chicken used to be more expensive that steak. Hoover said that if he was elected President he would make sure there was "a chicken in every pot."
I know it may sound gross and backward to many people, but it just depends on where you are raised as to your food exposure. DIfferent cultures eat different things.

Answer 4

Yes they do! They'll eat anything dead off the street, on the side of the street, clumped in dirt! They eat OK?

I always believed in the cliche: "You are what you eat!" Could this be the reason why Southeners are somewhat off the chain?

I lived in Virginia for almost 2 years and Texas almost 7 and girlfriend I was born and raised in the North. I was so glad to get back home to the point when I hit the NJ Turnpike and saw the sign that said "Welcome To New Jersey, me and my daughter both went into the first place of business which was the McDonald's restaurant in some hotel off the highway, went into the lobby and danced the longest jig until we were tired. I drove all the way from Austin, TX just to get my black @ss back North! Girlfriend trust me, Virginia and Texas is beautiful! But the people just move to a different beat from Northeners! I was not havin it any longer! I'm crackin up now telling you my story. I had lost so much weight in Texas because everything piece of food had a jalepeno in it! I went from a size 18 to a size 10. Who could eat in that temperature. And by me being a black woman that like to drink vodka, my black @ss would have melted in the pavement and no one would have seen anything of me but the white of my eyes! I'm am not lying! I'm home now! Thank you Jesus! Never again will I live South! I might go visit! But I'm hauling my @ss up out of there as soon as the visit is over! I LOVE NEW YORK!

Answer 5

I personally have never eaten deer or squirrel.

When I ate rabbit it was in CA with French people who eat rabbit very often.

Yes, people all over the US hunt, kill and eat deer.
I have no idea of the % of people who do it.

As for squirrel, it is done, but I think far less than the other two.

Answer 6

You can't buy it in the grocery store but yeah, lots of southerners eat deer and rabbit.

As far as the squirrel, my grandmother told me when they lived in the backwoods of Oklahoma all of her family ate squirrel, other than that I know of no one who does but I do know a few people who are open to eating just about any animal.

Answer 7

I'm not a southerner, but I eat rabbit and deer a few times a year. Squirrel is just wrong.

Answer 8

I live in the south and have eaten plenty of squirrel. Squirrel meat tastes alot like dark meat turkey more so than chicken. Makes a very good gravy. It's probably the least eaten of the animals listed, but it is good.

Answer 9

Some do,some don't. Alot of them hunt ,and some meat,like rabbit,can now be bought at some stores. Some northerners do it,too. And,as someone from the south,lol,some eat worse,lol. Frog legs,turtle,gator...list goes on and on.....For the record,I don't eat anything like that,rofl....I won't even eat cow liver,or chicken gizzards..lmao

Answer 10

I live in the South and I know a family who hunts bear once a year.
I did not try it but I know lots of people who do hunt for deer and stock up the freezer for the winter.