07-16-2012, 01:11 PM
Maggot, print this out for Pete. 
![[Image: 120712110428-tree-possum-story-top.jpg]](http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120712110428-tree-possum-story-top.jpg)
Barbecue Digest: Cook the opossum, spare the bear,
I gotta say, I've had opossum, and it was delicious. You gotta parboil it first – let the grease rise to the top, but then you take it out and smoke it, basting it as you go in a part vinegar part tomato sauce, kind of like Piedmont of Western North Carolina style BBQ sauce. It might be OK with just a vinegar base like in Eastern North Carolina, but I haven't tried that.
It's a white meat, and tastes like chicken, but with a slight gamey flavor, a little like squirrel but more tender. I suggest folks try it – there's no great risk in over-hunting the possum population any time soon, and it survives reasonably well near human habitats, making it a pretty ideal food source. Don't kill a mom with babies though, if you can avoid it.
Barbecue Digest: Cook the opossum, spare the bear,
I gotta say, I've had opossum, and it was delicious. You gotta parboil it first – let the grease rise to the top, but then you take it out and smoke it, basting it as you go in a part vinegar part tomato sauce, kind of like Piedmont of Western North Carolina style BBQ sauce. It might be OK with just a vinegar base like in Eastern North Carolina, but I haven't tried that.
It's a white meat, and tastes like chicken, but with a slight gamey flavor, a little like squirrel but more tender. I suggest folks try it – there's no great risk in over-hunting the possum population any time soon, and it survives reasonably well near human habitats, making it a pretty ideal food source. Don't kill a mom with babies though, if you can avoid it.