EATING CROW -- YOU MIGHT JUST LIKE IT

Missouri has a crow hunting season beginning November 1 and ending March 3. Until recently I had no idea why anyone would want to hunt a crow. They are a wary, difficult prey and for pity's sake they eat dead things on the road! Those two things would seem to make crows a non-game animal for sure. Surprisingly enough there is good reason to eat crow . . . contrary to what the old saying might infer, crow is worth eating!

John James Audubon, the early naturalist and bird watcher, was a big fan of cooking crows for meals. His journals not only make reference to seeing and sketching crows but also include recipes for making them a meal worth remembering. Like Audubon, early pioneers seldom turned down a crow meal, but somewhere along the way cooking and eating crow has become a thing of the past.

Perhaps it is because hunting a crow is harder than most people might think. Crow eyesight is keen and their wits are great. The brain in a crow is very large for its skull size, making it a clever bird. Crows are able to learn from their mistakes and those of other crows as well. Hunters need to go out in full camouflage, almost as if they were turkey hunting. Some hunters use owl decoys. Crows have a habit of mobbing birds of prey like owls and hawks. So using a decoy can lure them in close enough for a shot. A crow decoy and mouth call can be used to increase confidence for roosting.

A crow hunt gives another option to hunters looking for a game animal to challenge their skills during winter. With a little effort you might find crow hunting a pleasurable sport. Should you consider hunting crow, be sure to make use of what you harvest. Some folks consider crows a target and nothing more. Perhaps it is their concept of eating crow that causes them to shoot these birds and leave it for other scavengers. Regardless of their motive they are making a mistake for two reasons. First and most importantly, shooting an animal and not making use of it gives a poor image of hunting. Most hunters consider shooting an animal only to leave it lay unethical. They do not approve of it any more than non-hunters do.

The second reason this is a mistake is that these shooters are missing out on a great meat to add to their dinner plate. Who would think of shooting a quail without retrieving it? How about leaving a turkey or duck? The rules should be no different for crow. In fact, once you have tasted crow, you may consider them worthy of hunting AND cooking.

Are you at a loss for ways to cook crow? Perhaps one of the following recipes will help.

Here's a recipe for crow from the Pioneer Heritage Wild Game Cookbook by trapper Jack French. Campfire Crow: 2 crow breasts, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Boil the clean, skinned breasts in water for about five minutes. This is important because meat of older crows need to be tenderized a bit. Because it is difficult to tell old crows from young ones boil them all. Following that salt and pepper the breasts. Finally roast them on a spit or green stick over your campfire.

Conservation Agent Kevin Dixon suggests trying Crow Jerky Marinade: 1 Tablespoon liquid smoke, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup worcestershire sauce. Cut fillets into one-quarter inch strips and place in a glass dish pre-oiled with cooking oil spray.

Sprinkle seasoned salt onto the sprayed dish and sprinkle black pepper on the strips. Mix soy sauce, liquid smoke, and worcestershire sauce together for a marinade sauce. Cover the fillets with the marinade. Cover the dish and place in refrigerator for 24 hours, then drain marinade an place breasts in a dehydrator for 4-5 hours. The result is worth the effort and wait! A variation of that recipe makes Smoked Crow.

Instead of worcestershire sauce, use red wine to make the marinade. Rub salt pepper and garlic on the breasts and submerge in the marinade for 24 hours. Drain the marinade and wrap each breast in bacon. Place breasts in smoker for 2 hours at 250 degrees.

Fisheries supervisor Mark Haas thinks this Fried Crow recipe is a winner: Cut meat against the grain into 3/4" strips. Place in a dish, cover with milk and put in a refrigerator. Pour off milk after 12 hours and replace with fresh milk. Soak in milk in the 'fridge for another 12 hours. It won't hurt to soak meat longer than 24 hours. Roll pieces in flour seasoned to your taste. Mark likes garlic salt and pepper. Deep fry pieces until golden brown. Try to avoid overcooking or the meat will get tough. He says crow breasts done this way will leave the plate quickly . . . he guarantees.

I know it sounds goofy to tell others you intend to eat crow, but I think if you try it you will find it appealing. Eating crow is worth your effort and completes the hunt for such a clever species.

A.J. Hendershott is an education consultant with the Missouri Department of Conservation.