doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Chachalaca

Stanley is that a foe tin you be shoot'n in that photO ?

Ps....

Hey bub I wouldn't be talking about ground sluceing when you told us your grandpappy shot into coveys of quail sitting on the ground.

You have sluceing bred into yOu.

Doves might border on inedible the way a lot of people fix them, but they are a feast if properly prepared. Doves might be my favorite meal; it's certainly top 5. But my enjoyment of them goes back to when I was growing up in the 60s, and I understand that most people today are just not gonna get it. My mother always rationed the store bought meat; I could have 2 pieces of chicken and that was it. The only time I could eat as much as I wanted was when we had fish or game, and doves weren't rationed unless we just hadn't shot enough.

We always plucked doves, and left the legs attached, and then fried them. My wife was out of town a few weeks ago, so I cooked myself 8 of what I killed the previous Saturday. I got them nice and dry and seasoned with salt, pepper, and some chicken seasoning, then ran them through a mix of egg, oil, and milk. Then they got coated with flour and dropped into 350 degree cooking oil breast down for about 8 minutes. Then I flipped them on their back for about 5 minutes and they were perfectly brown and no hint of grease.

I ate them with rice and peas. You gotta start by removing the legs and eating all the meat off them. Then break the wings off and eat them, saving the breast for last. Then it's time for #2 and so on. Took about an hour to eat them all, but I don't ever feel stuffed because there is a lot of work involved. It's sort of like eating blue crabs in that you burn more calories than you get. Eating quail is more efficient. They can be cooked the same way as the doves and it only takes 4 of them to make a meal.

Need a good western on TV while you eat this meal, and it's best to eat alone. Can't talk and enjoy this correctly.

It's not for everyone.

I don't know anything about a Chachalaca, but I wouldn't care to hunt them if they aren't edible. I wouldn't try to fool myself into believing that hunting is a cost efficient means of acquiring food, but eating the kill has to be part of it.

Chachalaca meat is like turkey meat; it is perfectly edible and pretty good if you know how to cook it!

Best,

Jose

We keep coming back to that old country recipe for Rooks, Cormorant, Capercaillie etc.

1. Skin or pluck
2. Wrap in clean muslin
3. Bury in moist soil
4. Forget where you buried it.

Parabola,as a fellow Merciian that reminds me of the recipe for galahs in East Australia. Put a gallon of water in a pot, bring to the boil, throw in three rocks and plucked galahs, boil for two days, throw out the galahs, eat the rocks

I recommend: (1) No Country For Old Men (2) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (3) Rio Bravo with Dos Equis cold -bottle or glass, your call. RWTF

Say whO.....

The Chachalaca country (habitat) is primarily in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, few hours South and easterly from the country in the Jones, old men movie, which was staged in the "Big Bend" country of far West Texas.
Two pretty diverse regions..... The Lower "Valley", running south east from Maverick County to the Gulf is a different vegetation, commonly called the Brasada, (brush country) is the dense scrub described elsewhere in this post.
Shortly after graduation from Texas Tech in '72, I took a position running a ranch operation down there for a well off older cousin who lived in Houston. This place entailed multiple large tracts on both sides of the Border. Ranching and Hunting operation .

The bird was locally referred to as "a Meskin Pheasant". Just incidental to Blue (scaled) quail hunts. I shot quite a few of them... Ran a lot, not anything particularly challenging on the wing in my opinion.
Stringy breast meat , much like a native Rio Grande Gobbler living in native feed (no deer corn). Other than counting coup on one to add to your list of harvested species, I don't know any reason to go on a Chachalaca Hunt.

I wouldn't really have cared if it was worse than old shoe, I would have eaten one or two if I could have bagged them for the experience and the picture. It really is a rare upland game bird for as far and wide the US extends.

Where's CZ. He said it wasn't for him, but the game classified, huntable exotics out in Hawaii are every bit as estabished as Ringnecks in the plains states. I bagged a few Francolin out in Hawaii, tasted just fine to me, but some day I'll go back for the trophy pictures of Kalij and other exotic pheasant and maybe quail/grouse.

Craig,
I believe CZ is on Kodiak island as we speak.
Karl