Armadillo: A Recession Source of Protein

Writing about gators got me to thinking on armadillos as well. They are know as tasty little critters and are actually quite plentiful here in the Southern and Southwest part of America. Indeed, I hear that they have even swam the Mississippi River and can be found as road kill in Illinois.

Here is the proud first recorded armadillo road kill at the Illinois State Museum of Natural History.

Speaking of Road Kill, I am reminded that there are three rules that everyone should follow about road kill.

1. If you run over it you can eat it.

2. If you see it run over you can eat it.

3. If your neighbor, brother, or dog drags it in for you to eat, don't.

(Rule three is not active in Texas. One and two may not be either as far as I know)

Now don't put armadillo just in the road kill category, unless of course that's your preferred way of hunting. They can be acquired most like any other game animal except most States don't consider them game. Indeed, most States just don't consider them.

Now there are many reasonable recipes for the critter on the web. Here's a few below.

From the web site Cajun Cooking Recipes

BAKED OR BARBECUED ARMADILLO RECIPE

2 lbs. armadillo meat
1 stick oleo or butter
Lemon juice
Dash onion salt
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Lemon pepper to taste

Season with salt, pepper, lemon pepper, lemon juice, and rub with butter. Wrap in foil and bake at 325 degrees F. for approximately 45 minutes. Remove foil, add more butter and brown. For barbecued armadillo, baste with barbecue sauce over grill after removing foil.

Source: http://www.cajuncookingrecipes.com/wildgamerecipes

The Hunting Society web site from Texas adds: "Always Marinate Armadillo in Buttermilk for one day. This cleans the taste and tenderizes the meat... Then rinse and re-marinate it to add your favorite flavors."

That advice might reflect what Texas armadillos have to eat as opposed to those in Louisiana, more than anything else.

Although cook them with dried red chili peppers you won't taste the meat no how. Once in New Mexico at a "local color" eatery I had "meat" tamales. I assumed they were goat, until the next day when I noticed a pile of armadillo shells back of the building. But nobody was talking, so who knows if I really ate some.

A former friend of mine from Southwestern Oklahoma, where fresh armadillo is daily attainable, reminded me that anything cooked in butter, or wrapped in bacon, or dipped in pancake syrup before it is fried is good eating. So he does all three to armadillo chunks I hear. I would add one more thing to his suggestion, roll it in cornmeal before you deep or pan fry it.

Bone petite ya'll!