Wilderness Survival: Make A Big Meal From Small Game
Eating small game can help you survive in the wild. We've got the nutrition facts on commonly overlooked critters you can eat.
Tim MacWelch May 05, 2023
You don't need to shoot a deer, moose or an elk to come up with some meat for the stew pot. Many hunting cultures have gotten along just fine with game animals. And if you're not convinced, let me tell you that rabbits and squirrels taste very good. I would rather have them on my plate than any other meat, wild or farmed. These serving size creatures may be all you ever need.
Rabbit
Various species of rabbit filled a niche for many Native American populations as the day to day meat. Its lean meat is tender and flavorful. An 85 gram serving of cooked rabbit has 147 calories; 28 grams of protein, 3 grams of fat and 23% of your daily allowance of iron.
Squirrel
The acrobatic grey squirrel is my favorite game meat on this list, and the most chicken flavored of the bunch. 85 grams of squirrel provides 147 calories, 26 grams of protein, 4 grams of fat, 32% of your daily allowance of iron and 14% of your riboflavin.
Opossum
These small, shy creatures are one of the most overlooked wild game meats. When eating a natural wild diet, the meat can taste like pork. However, the opossum often gets a bad reputation for flavor by living on garbage and taking on a poor flavor when living close to civilization. An 85-gram leg of opossum has 188 calories, 26 grams of protein, 9 grams of fat, 22% of your iron and 18% of riboflavin.
Raccoon
These bandit-masked creatures can be found pretty much everywhere, and they can eat just about anything. Their adaptable diet always keeps them in food, and probably has a role to play in their high levels of nutrients. 85 grams of raccoon meat contains 217 calories, 25 grams of protein, 12 grams of fat, 34% of your daily allowance of iron, 26% of riboflavin, 33% of thiamin and 118% of B 12.
These tips, and many more survival tips, are in MacWelch's books: Prepare For Anything the Hunting & Gathering Survival Manual How To Survive Anything the Ultimate Winter Survival Handbook and How To Survive Off The Grid
Follow him on Twitter @timmachwelch