Coot shootin'

[GOcougsHunter]

Anybody here seriously coot hunt?  If so, do you have any recipe for them?  I've inadvertantly shot a few over the years (and as I tell my son)  I eat what I shoot.  But, the coot isn't the best tasting bird. 

I've also wondered, if people took Coot hunting a bit more seriously, would the reduction in coot numbers increase the number/carrying capacity of puddlers and bigger divers?

[Fletch]

do people really hunt coot? 

[jackelope]

do people really hunt coot? 

I agree. i always heard they taste like crap and were more of a pest than anything.
choclab??

[Choclab]

A good coot recipe is to boil the coot in a pot with a leather shoe.....throw away the coot and eat the shoe.... ..I wouldn't eat a mud hen....ever. Coots are fun to shoot on really slow days. They stick around even after being shot at. They do how ever make decent confidence birds. In the late part of the season you usually see a ton of coots with mallards and geese. At the end of the season when the birds get real skiddish I put out a few coot dekes and it seems to work fairly well. I really don't know any hunters who target coots. If anything, save the coots you shoot and freeze them. Use them for training the dog later on.

[SequimHunter01]

If anything, save the coots you shoot and freeze them. Use them for training the dog later on.

Yeah, or you can use the frozen meat for crab bait!  Trust me, it works!!!

[boneaddict]

I shot a couple for taxidermy reasons, but never used them. 

[winchesterSX2]

you cant make those damn birds taste good. They are just crap birds that are fun to kill because they are there

[nyhunter]

I know what your saying. The first year i had my dog i got the bright idea to get as many birds under him as possible including coot. This one day me and my buddy Jim shot a bunch and it was great i got to work the rookie and tune his skills all day on these dumb birds in a creep boat. then came the cleaning and the eating. I have to agree there is no good way to cook them. What we did was mixed them in with the rest of the goose meat when we made sausage.

[DougG]

Get some Lawrey's Caribean Marinade, Soak the coots, (breast in strips) overnight Next put about 1" oil in deep pan heat till HOT. Dip the coot into the marinade again and drop into the hot oil. Cook till done. Suck the cooked marinade off the coot meat and toss the meat....or you might make sausage out of it....It is pretty bad....Me and a buddy both limited out on them on a slow day. 25 each. I will NEVER do that again.

[arrowflinger]

I have been known to shoot a couple on a slow day. Gives the dog a chance to have some fun, but only one or two. Then home to clean. Breast them, cook them up and then add into the dogs dish.............she'll eat them and doesn't complain, what a great huntin buddy.

[nyhunter]

Nothin like some new dog chow, good idea

[ICEMAN]

I smoked one in my brand new smoker when I was 13yrs old. As I recall, the word that came out of my mouth when tasting my creation was "Beeyuuuccckkk" followed by splat on the deck.

I may have to try again, just to see if my memory is fading...