Yep, that's right...a thread about food..

[K Hale]

You noticed that, too.

Suspicions... I have them.

Not all meat is the same. Cats are our friends, they are not food.

 

[rhp6033]

Bragg was very unpopular in the AoT for quite a number of good reasons. Among them was his orders against firing weapons except upon orders, and he specifically outlawed hunting for food. With the AoT starving (even while attempting to beseige Rosecrans at Chattanooga), soldiers were especially bitter at being unable to send out hunting parties to bring in wild game.

Bragg's order wasn't because he wanted to conserve ammunition, he just wanted to keep gunfire to a minimum so that officers could hear the warning shots of a picket's rifle, or the sounds of an attack in progress by the enemy. A reasonable basis for the rule, but one which still didn't sit well with the empty bellies of the Confederate soldiers.

Given today's preoccupation with losing weight, I've often toyed with the idea of marketing "The Confederate Diet", a sure-fire way to lose those extra pounds. It requires the dieter to limit his consumption to a quarter-pound of salt pork and a hardtack bisquit every other day, along with an handful or two of peanuts, and an exercise program which requires the buyer to hike ten miles every day followed by digging a trench with a bayonette and tin cup in their back yard, then filling it in and doing it all over again the next day. Oh, and don't forget cutting wood for fires every day, etc. Buyers who follow the program for six months or so are guaranteed to be called "tawney" by their friends, just as Confederate soldiers were described by Union soldiers in the latter half of the war.

 

[bizzilizzit]

Rabbit tastes like chicken. Same for frog legs. And rattlesnake. Ditto for 'gator.
Now for the dumb question from a Northerner:
Did soldiers eat 'gator during the CW? North and South?

 

[Dave Hull]

I've never had rabbit. Does it really taste "almost like chicken"?

When I was at Ft Benning, the mess hall served fried rabbit Tuesdays and Thursdays and fried chicken Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
I used to have fun with the boys who had never had rabbit before. They would say, "wow this is really good fried chicken" I would then point out the bone structure to them and ask them if they ever saw chickens (the mess hall would cut them in half along the spine) which looked like that. They never believed me and would have to go ask the spoons what it was they were eating. They always seemed to get mad at me for pointing it out to them.

 

[Dave Hull]

Dear God, why do those look so much like cats?

I have many friends from the Valley in Virginia that commented on the delicious meals of roof rabbit (cat,) their mothers fixed for them during the depression.

 

[Dave Hull]

Lol! Sometimes cats are referred to as roof rabbits. :hmmm: One British admiral of the 18th century claimed nothing was better than properly prepared rats - often served them!

Rat and squirrel is good eatin

 

[diane]

Yes, a good squirrel dish is not bad. Even Lee liked squirrel soup thickened with peanuts! (At least that's what he thought his daughter should do with her rambunctious pet squirrel...)

 

[bama46]

I've never had rabbit. Does it really taste "almost like chicken"?

The problem with wild rabbit and i like it fried, is that it takes more energy to chew it than there is nutritional value in it or so I have been told... quail on the other hand...

 

[donna]

Just found this old thread. Thought be good to bump it for new members to read and for us older members to reread.

Has links to some great recipes.

 

[donna]

This should be moved to Food Forum. Hope someone can move it. Thanks.

 

[nitrofd]

Some interesting recipes posted, thanks donna

 

[Barrycdog]

I've never had rabbit. Does it really taste "almost like chicken"?

Tastes like cube steak to me. I have a story of when I ate road kill when I was younger. My parents backed over a rabbit and they decided waste not want not. My dad waited for us ( me my nieces and nephews) to get home. They had the rabbit prepared. We ate it and thought nothing of it until my dad told us what it was and the story about how pitiful the rabbit looked. My mom, who was raised during the depression, thought nothing of it.

 

[pamc153PA]

Tastes like cube steak to me. I have a story of when I ate road kill when I was younger. My parents backed over a rabbit and they decided waste not want not. My dad waited for us ( me my nieces and nephews) to get home. They had the rabbit prepared. We ate it and thought nothing of it until my dad told us what it was and the story about how pitiful the rabbit looked. My mom, who was raised during the depression, thought nothing of it.

Parents do the sneakiest things! I realized this when I became a parent to a kid who hates vegetables. I hid them in all sorts of things. Some he caught onto, some not. I won't mention which ones because I'm still sneaking them in!

 

[nitrofd]

The best rabbit I ever had was in historic Williamsburg along with a bowl of peanut soup....awesome

 

[pamc153PA]

The best rabbit I ever had was in historic Williamsburg along with a bowl of peanut soup....awesome

Hey, I was just there, at the Shields Tavern. No rabbit for me, though. My husband had the peanut soup, and loved it. Me, not so much--not big on peanuts.

 

[ErnieMac]

The first rabbit I ate was road kill. The car I was riding in did the killing so we picked it up, took it to camp where we cleaned it and cooked it over an open fire. Quite tasty and similar to chicken. I've seen rabbit sold in stores, but it's raised in China and I'm not doing that.

I like peanut soup as well.

 

[Billy Yank]

No one's mentioned turtle. Common tavern fare here in the Illinois Valley. I've had it deep fried and BBQ'd. Some snapping turtles get pretty big and can feed a family. (Watch your fingers!)

 

[donna]

The Peanut soup is good at the Shields Tavern. Have had it several of times.

 

[nitrofd]

No one's mentioned turtle. Common tavern fare here in the Illinois Valley. I've had it deep fried and BBQ'd. Some snapping turtles get pretty big and can feed a family. (Watch your fingers!)

We call that cooter soup, not turtle

 

[ErnieMac]

No one's mentioned turtle. Common tavern fare here in the Illinois Valley. I've had it deep fried and BBQ'd. Some snapping turtles get pretty big and can feed a family. (Watch your fingers!)

Best to avoid box turtles. They eat poisonous mushrooms. The toxins, which accumulate in the turtle's body, don't bother it, but will bother (or kill if level is high enough) you if you eat it.