Living in the north woods, I have consider myself a connoisseur of beaver.
Beaver is not like eating turkey. So much depends on where the beaver came from and how it is prepared.
Wild caught, or free range beaver is better than beaver you paid for. The fresher the beaver the better. I will skip most of procuring the beaver part. I just want to re-emphasize it is important they fresh.
I think the best way to describe beaver is compare beaver to other things we eat. Beaver must be like a fine steak, there should be no blood left in it, like with steak, a drop of blood means it’s not prepared correctly. You rare steak eaters are just not civilized.
When preparing wild game one should make sure no hair is left on it, this includes beaver. Hair can ruin the taste, leaving a strong musky flavor.
I remember eating Chinese one night and I got a hair in my noodles, I almost choked on it and it ruined the rest of the meal. I never ate there again. Beaver fur is essentially hair, remove it early in the preparation.
Do not add artificial flavors to beaver. Never salt a beaver. If you do need to flavor it, just use a natural oil, like olive or sesame, or a wine. Do not use champagne it is expensive, and not needed. I find expensive champagne tends to make a wild caught before taste like one that was purchased.
Last of all is presentation and consumption of beaver. Make sure it looks good before eating. As with all foods remember “90% of the eating experience is presentation”.
Do not over cook, raw is better than well baked.
Well baked beaver is unpredictable.
Beaver have teeth and claws, be aware of them when preparing beaver, they can hurt you.
One last thing, make sure your beaver is not a male! While some people like the taste of a male, I don’t. I suppose it could be a matter of taste.
Those of you that grew up on a farm in the North would understand, it’s like eating an old boar, the meat is ruined just throw it away.
If when dining you find the beaver tastes like muskrat, you ruined it, just throw it away and catch another beaver.
I do not recommend beaver for thanksgiving when you have family around, too many people look down on eating beaver. Stick with turkey.
