Can you eat an otter?

In this brief article, we will answer the question, “Can you eat an otter”. We will further elaborate on the activities of otters, the taste, nutritional contents, and advantages of otters.

Can you eat an otter?

Yes, you can eat otters. There is no harm in eating otters. Otters are just delicious as they feed on the good stuff. In fact, otters were once an important food source for Native Americans. They usually enjoyed otter meat after slow-cooking in a broth.

What is an otter?

Otters are carnivores that live in ponds, streams, and wetlands. They have a dark brownish color on the upper parts and can look black, when wet. The muzzle and throat have a silver tinge, while the belly is pale brown. The underfur is covered in silky protective hairs, and the fur is shorter.

How to skin an otter?

Follow the steps below to skin an otter:

  1. One or both of the otter’s rear feet can be used to hang the otter.
  1. Underneath the feet, slit around each hind leg.
  1. Make cuts from the inside of each hind leg a little above the anus.
  2. A little above the anus, the two slits should meet.
  1. From the anus to the tip, cut the center of the bottom of the tail.
  1. Work the tail loose by removing the skin from the back of the hind legs.
  1. The tail should then be carefully skinned out.
  1. Cut the skin away from the body and work it down to the front legs. When freeing the legs, be very careful not to cut the skin. After the legs have been skinned,  Cut the skin immediately over the front feet.
  2. Carefully remove the pelt from all over the ears, eyes, and lips.

Stretch the skin on a board and clip it around the tail for drying. Keep the skin on the board until it is totally dry.

What is the best way of cooking otters?

Follow this recipe to enjoy tasty otter meat:

In contrast to most animals, the neck of otters yields the tastiest meat, along with the back, tenderloins, and limbs.

  • Remove all connective tissue from the meat before slicing it into thin slices and marinating it. (To make the marinade, mix 2 parts ranch dressing with 1 part dijon mustard.)
  • Allow meat to marinate overnight before draining the bulk of the marinade.
  • In a saucepan, melt the butter, then add the otter, curry powder as per your taste, and finely chopped rosemary.
  • Stir constantly over medium flame until the otter is totally cooked and tempting.
  • Serve with corn chips or on top of rice.
  • Then relax and enjoy your otter fest.

How to cook fried otter?

To cook yummy fried otter, follow the steps below:

Slice the otter into pieces, separate the head, and marinate with a variety of herbs, chopped carrots, onion, garlic, only a few bay leaves, salt, freshly crushed spices, and one cup of vinegar overnight. Then melt a bit of butter, throw a few chopped onions and carrots, top with the otter pieces, cover, and allow them to stew.

Flip the pieces after a few minutes, adding 1/8 cup red wine, a spoonful of good stock, and three to four pieces of white bread fried in butter, and continue to cook until the meat is cooked.

When it’s cooked, transfer it to a separate dish to degrease the sauce. Then strain it over the meat and squeeze in half a teaspoon of lemon juice. You’re ready to serve and enjoy!

What nutrients are present in otter meat?

Following are some of the nutrients which you can avail of by eating otters.

  • Protein
  • Minerals
  • Potassium
  • Selenium
  • Iron
  • Magnesium

What is the taste of otter meat?

As for the taste, otter meat has a fishy and musty taste. The color of otter meat is dark red. It is finely grained, moist, and tender. Some people claim that the taste of otters resembles the taste of roast pork.

What are the activities of otters during the day? 

A quite good amount of time is spent by otters grooming themselves. Otters rub their skin against grass to clean their fur. Otters also bite and scratch their skin against rocks to clean it. 

The fur of otters has two layers. One is a long topcoat that is composed of waterproof hairs and the other one is a dense undercoat. This dense undercoat traps air.

Conclusion

In this brief article, we have provided an answer to the question, “Can you eat an otter”. We have further elaborated on the activities of otters, the taste and nutritional contents of otters, along the best way of cooking otters.

References

https://nagonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Asian-Small-Clawed-Otter-Nutrition1
https://www.treehugger.com/fascinating-facts-about-otters-4869357
https://www.otter.org/public/AboutOtters_WhyAreOttersSoImportant.aspx
https://www.montanaoutdoor.com/2015/02/tantalize-your-tastebuds-with-a-river-otter-recipe/

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