This is a question from a dumb Aussie, I assume you have marmots in Nth America, but rarely hear them mentioned. Are they the same as ground hogs or woodchucks?

Do you eat them? When I was in Mongolia we often bought grilled marmots from kids on the roadside - they tasted like chicken (I know we say everything tastes like chicken - even snake and crocodile). They were cooked by cutting off the head and pulling the guts out and replacing with hot rocks from the fire and then wiring the neck up. The outside was either cooked over the flames or, in more progressive areas, with a petrol powered blowtorch. The neck was unwired and the accummulated juices served as soup then the marmot, skin and all, was cut into horizontal sections and eaten. I much preferred to skin mine and dissect the muscle off the bone, just as you would a chicken.

Marmots were harvested either with single shot Russian .22s or wire snares. Early in spring, there were road blocks on the way into the capital where they searched your vehicle for marmots as they were afraid of plague outbreaks.

thanks for any info.

mike

Mike, I think all marmots are dumb. They pose for us here in the US in alfalpha patches across the land. One variety is "Golden", most are just chuncky after they get together with ballistic tips. I think they are the same as woodchucks but may be mistaken about that.

Your recipe reminds me of Tsu Shu Cat(the other white meat) but I'm not familiar with the soup part of it.

Dan

Pres., TYHC

www.BlowTorch.HappyMeal

we've got several type of marmots here, mostly living in mountain type or tundra type areas. Yes they get the S--T blown out of them too. Had a friend that would get madder than hell at us for shooting woodchucks with a swift. He'd hunt them and pop them in the head with a 22 for table fare. Swore they were really good eating. Don't know - haven't run out of swift ammo yet

Old timers (of which I am one) here in New England often potroast young woodchucks. They are indeed good eating if you get a young one.
If he is a little grey in the whiskers, you have to follow certain cooking instructions: first put the chuck into a pot along with a rock about the size of a grapefruit. Fill with water to just cover the chuck. Boil until the rock is tender, then eat it because the chuck is still tough!
Since they are just a large rodent and eat only sweet grass etc. they should be, and are, as good as squirrel or rabbit. Of course, if they have been turned into a head, tail and red mist by a hiper-powered varminter, they are a bit difficult to eat.

The groundhog or woodchuck is a marmot. We have a few types, the eastern one is scientifically called Marmota Monax.Often shot as pests they can be eaten though I don't.

Thought about eating a fat marmot, or rockchuck one day as I watched one fill his belly with water from the creek. He then went up on a rock to warm himself in the spring sun. He was level to me and facing directly my way. Looked like he might be fat enough to be edible until the 130 Hornady hollowpoint from my 30-06 entered his face and exited his butt. The pink spray and fresh water gush were amazing. Largest piece I could find was his hind foot. Not enough to cook. Maybe next time I will use a .22 LR so I can try eating one.

I eat young of the year all the time, great eating. 22 lr in the head
The older ones are great yote bait after being introduced to a 50 gr Nosler 22 cal Balistic tip at 3400 fps

I was invited to a bbq social one eve,,wound up being my neighbors at the time,,,I was at the local bar at the time of invite,,,and it pretty much was extended to the rest of the gang and more or less cleaned out the bar,,,The bbq,,,, was a red meatlike substance in a crock pot,and a loaf of white bread,intended to feed 30 or so people. I tryed a bit of it and it tasted kind of funky,,so I asked one of the hosts what exactly were they serving? The reply was 2 chucks a couple of squirrels and whatever had meat on it after being shot that morning after thier "hunting/killing spree"through the woods that morning I did meet my wife for the first time there,,,all's good,,,Clay

Clay,

Only in Maryland, would anybody call stuff in a crockpot, BBQ

Hog Killer

It really depends on how much you've had to drink,,,I make a good one on the weekends from beef scraps,and,left overs from the week,,,,mostly red vinegar and hots,,perk most of the vinegar out of it.These guys probably dumped a bottle of kraft and the meat into the pot and,,,,wala!!!!! Pit beef is the bomb though,,Bon appetit,,,Clay

The Civitans Club over in a lil city down the river have an annual Wild Critter Dinner.
There is a lot of everything there.You name it.
Don't ask , just eat.
Yum Yum.

Hey, Poletax,
We got one of those in Bradford VT every year. It's somewhat famous, even getting a mention in Playboy once. I suspect that was because beaver was on the menu. (It's very good, incidentally.)
It was there that I had one of my "conversations" with a woman who was a rabid anti-hunter ... (what's the opposite of advocate?) She sat across the table from me wearing a fox collar, eating moose, and castigated me for being a hunter.?!