Question on Coot...

D. Moreau

D. Moreau

Active member
Last year my cousin and I were hunting a spot with about 100 coot moving back and forth in front of us. They came within range multiple times but we didn't take any shots as we were waiting for some teal and mallards.

Anybody have any experience with coot? Are they edible? Or at least - will they taste fine mixed in with early goose sausage?

Thanks!
 
I've breasted out a couple to satisfy my curiosity and I thought they taste pretty good.
 
They smell of one on the hoof can be quite bad and I find this puts me off more than the flavor. Once cleaned and cooked I have found them to be good enough. I do not see many here in CT.
 
We also cook up the liver & the gizzards & make gravy out of them.
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Don't know what happened to my response but as has been said after this the gizzards are huge and would make a bigger meal then the breast.
They do taste better then many duck that I have eaten.

Tim
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We have thousands of them down here. Coots, or poule d'eau as the locals and folks from Louisianna call them, used to be harvested in large numbers. They were southern-fried, put in Gumbo and cooked just about anyway a Cajun would cook a wild bird.
I like them, they are vegetarians, eating mostly submerged grass and seeds, some inverts. They are easy to hit when decoying, which is a bonus. They do have an odor when you clean them but that does not transfer to the meat. Try them.
A limit of coots:
[inline PileOCoots2.jpg ]

Bull Drake :)

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View attachment PileOCoots2.jpg
 
I like coot....they have big gizzards, but I don't like gizzards....

but they go well with eggs and bacon and toast in the morning...very yummy

Dani
 
Wounded coots are pissed off birds, they fight back. The will draw blood with that pointed little chicken beak if you arent careful!!!
 
I will definitely harvest as many as reasonable even though most everyone in duck camp thinks "I've lost it". The breast meat is smaller than that of a teal and cook up "real good".

The gizzards are huge. Quartered and simmered for a long time in barbeque sauce makes for a great meal. In fact the gizzard is so large, I once heard this description of a coots body......it's nothing but a flying container for the gizzard.
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If we didn't have coots our duck hunting would be a 1,000x easier. Hard to compete with thousands upon thousands of coots, if our group puts a out a big spread for divers there's normally a gross of coot decoys out along with the diver deeks. But they do mike mighty fine tacos and fajitas.
 
I shot a coot while teal hunting the other day. Everyone told me that they HEARD they taste terrible... So I put some teal and coot breast fried quickly in fat in the same pan, did a taste test, and was surprised to find that coot is milder than teal. A bit like tofu of the bird world if you asked me.

If I saw some big ones, I would probably shoot them in the future.
 
I'm just waiting for the real experts to pipe up...

The COOT COMMANDER:

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The COOT SHOOTER:

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or CAPT COOT:

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for they are The Masters...
 
Yup, and notice where they parked the sculler. It's their reserved spot. There's a message there. :)

RVZ
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Rod,
As I recall....you shot that picture for us. I think you did that on purpose. ;)
Let's be sure to get some sculling in this season.
Lou
 
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