Coon Tail Dee-Light

In the efforts of FULL disclosure, I'm a vegetarian and have been for at least 15 years. Consequently, discussions concerning the consumption of any meat or meat byproduct tend to turn my stomach. That said, the following article that I read today from the Kansas City Star, turns my stomach in more somersaults than I previously thought possible.

Raccoon: It's what's for dinner
By LEE HILL KAVANAUGH
The Kansas City Star

He rolls into the parking lot of Leon’s Thriftway in an old, maroon Impala with a trunk full of frozen meat.

Raccoon — the other dark meat.

In five minutes, Montrose, Mo., trapper Larry Brownsberger is sold out in the lot at 39th Street and Kensington Avenue. Word has gotten around about how clean his frozen raccoon carcasses are. How nicely they’re tucked up in their brown butcher paper. How they almost look like a trussed turkey … or something.

His loyal customers beam as they leave, thinking about the meal they’ll soon be eating.

That is, as soon as the meat is thawed. Then brined. Soaked overnight. Parboiled for two hours. Slow-roasted or smoked or barbecued to perfection.

Raccoon, which made the first edition of The Joy of Cooking in 1931, is labor-intensive but well worth the time, aficionados say.

“Good things come to those who wait,” says A. Reed, 86, who has been eating raccoon since she was a girl.

“This right here,” she says, holding up a couple of brown packages tied with burlap string, “this is a great value. And really good eatin’. Best-kept secret around.”

Raccoons go for $3 to $7 — each, not per pound — and will feed about five adults. Four, if they’re really hungry. Those who dine on raccoon meat sound the same refrain: It’s good eatin’...

I suppose we'll all know when grilled raccoon goes mainstream when it becomes the featured secret ingredient on Iron Chef America.

I can't wait. Yum. Yum.