Yeah, yeah..."Parboiling" is a Survival skill {removing poisons and other things from food}

From Wiki

Parboiling (or leaching) is the partial boiling of food as the first step in the cooking process.

The word is often used when referring to parboiled rice. Parboiling can also be used for removing poisonous or foul-tasting substances from foodstuffs, such as removing gyromitrin from false morels. The technique may also be used to soften vegetables before roasting them.

Also useful in killing any harmful parasites germs and viruses common to many ground dwelling rodents...
Besides lots of wild foods out there simply taste nasty unless you do something to make it more palatable

Parboiling is a precooking method that requires no skill or special tool's other than a boiling pot of water...you drop your eatables in the water and leave them there until they are softened but not fully cooked... Parboiling differs from blanching in that one does not cool the items using cold water or ice after removing... you go straight from the boiling water right to the grill or stockpot and finish your meal...

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there are some survival critters you never want to eat unless you Parboil fist Now I can honestly say I've never eaten a rat but I have often enjoyed a good groundhog stew... it helps to parboil then flake off the meat with a fork then add it to your stockpot....

Rat And Mouse Recipe

Mice aren't that bad. Especially not with chile's and tortillas! It's all how you look at them. When the big crash hits, you're going to drool for any extra mice running around your house.

RECIPE FOR "Enchiladas El Mouse-o EN EL HOUSE-O"

6 corn tortillas 6 mice parboiled, stripped, boned, chopped, seasoned. 2-3 large red dried chiles soaked in water 5 min. l choped green onion, cilantro for decorating. oil/onions. salt pepper to taste,

Make regular enchilada sauce by grinding the soaked chiles in the pot liquor, and straining well to separate the chile skin from the chile's red meat. Then, fry onions, throw sauce in for l minute. Set aside.

Heat tortillas on a greased skillet, drop into sauce until covered, pull out, then fill the sopping wet tortilla with about 2 tbsps. mouseburger, roll. Set rolls in a dish, line all six up. Pour remaining sauce on top. Decorate with any old cheese, l chopped green onion. Bake l5 min at 350.

SHEPHERD's PIE

Not every shepherd can dice a lamb every time his belly rumbles. So many have learned to make do with DICED FIELD MICE.

Take 4 potatoes, boil, mash, season, add cream, mash some more, line 8" pieshell with them.

Boil six medium sized mice. Rats are ok if you know what they've been eating. No Buick upholstery or graveyards.

If the rodents are the right size, you should have a cup of rat meat (depending if you've cleaned the carcasses well enough.) Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, add l cup blanched, chopped almonds, l cup cracker crumbs, l egg, (reserve l tsp for topping) making a burger. OPTIONAL: bell pepper, onions, cilantro, parsley, thyme, oregano, l can creamed corn, l can of those crunchy chinese things, water chestnuts, chopped olives, a dash of catsup or tomato sauce.

Fill the pie. Cover with more potatoes. Use egg/cream to wipe down pie so it toasts brownish in oven.

Remember, a rabbit is just a big rodent. The taste of the flesh is identical. Ask any concentration camp visitor.

TIP: when cooking rodents, pre-soaking up to 5 hours helps take away that pesky rodent flavor. AND the longer you cook it, with the other ingredients, the better the meat tastes.

Groundhogs, Woodchucks are also quite tasty but again Parboil them before before procedding with the following recipes

Oriental Groundhog

Recipe By: Hunters Information Service

Amount Measure Ingredient Preparation Method
1 Ground hog
2 quarts Water
1/4 cup Salt
1/2 cup Soy sauce
2 cloves Garlic whole
1 Naga Jolokia pepper whole
1/4 Onion
2 tablespoon Uncle Steve's Mild Chile powder
1/4 bunch Parsley whole
4 Beef bouillon cubes
1/4 teaspoon Freshly-ground white pepper
1 cup Beef or chicken broth
Teriyaki glaze

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cut meat into serving pieces and soak in 1 quart water and salt
for 3 hours. Transfer meat to 1 quart clear water and soak 4
hours. Drain and dry meat. Place meat in a baking pan with beef
broth, soy sauce, garlic cloves, Naga Jolokia pepper, onion, Mild Chile powder,
parsley, bouillon cubes and white pepper. Cover and bake at 350
degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Baste frequently. Brush with
teriyaki glaze while cooking.

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Waco Groundhog in Sour Cream

Recipe By: "Indian Cookin'", compiled by Herb Walker, 1977

Amount Measure Ingredient Preparation Method
1 Groundhog, skinned & cleaned
1/2 cup Vinegar
1 tablespoon Salt
2 quarts Water
2 teaspoons Soda
1/2 cup Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Allspice
1/2 cup Bacon fat
3 small Wild onions
1/2 cup Water
1 cup Sour cream

Skin and clean the groundhog. Wash and dry and put in an earthen
crock. Cover with water and a half cup of vinegar and 1 T. of salt.
Let stand in a cool place overnight. In the morning, remove from
brine, wash and pat dry with a damp cloth. In a large soup kettle
combine 2 qt. of water and 2 T. of soda. Bring to a boil, lower the
heat and simmer for 15 minutes, removing the scum as it rises to the
surface. Drain and rinse the groundhog meat and cut into serving
pieces. Combinethe flour, salt and allspice and dredge the pieces of
meat in the mixture. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Melt the bacon
fat in a heavy iron frying pan until smoking. jBrown meat on all
sides. Transfer the browned meat into a greased 4 qt. casserole.
Arrange sliced onions on top, add water, cover and bake in a
preheated oven for 2 hours or until the meat is tender. Transfer the
meat to a heated platter to keep warm. Put the casserole on top of
the stove over medium heat and spoon in the sour cream stirring
constantly. Do not let the sauce come to a boil. Put the meat back
into the casserole and simmer for about 15 minutes. Delicious served
with creamed dandelion leaves.

One last note on Parboiling...
there are other types of wild game where it is not this huge requirement to parboil first, but it sure does help the flavor...

Coots and Merganser ducks can have a really strong gamey flavor... for many too strong...
normally I like to marinade them over night... but if you cant wait... Parboiling helps to deaden the wildness...

for more wild game recipes I suggest you check out This Link

S&F for you. Thank for all the survival posts you put up. You never now when you might need them one day. Keep 'em coming !

Do you suggest parboiling after skinning the rodent, or before?

I have heard of people thoroughly washing pelts prior to skinning to remove loose hair etc. that might stick to the meat.

If I plan to grill the meat do I really need to Parboil?

reply to post by emaildogs


I skin the pelt first... then rinse the meat in running water.... then I parboil...
Turtles you really want to soak in water overnight then lots of running water rinsing...

now these is one of those fast and lose rules... if your pray is infested with mites and fleas... yeah Parboil... if not you can go straight to the grill but make sure you turn often... undercooked meat can really make you sick, or worse..

why would i eat the mice or other rodents if i have all those ingrediants handy ?

I would survive solely on the ingrediants listed above ...

no need to eat nasty little critters .

also if i have all those ingrediants i would barter them with someone who has real food ...

keep ur mice

reply to post by DaddyBare


You have some great ideas and recipes for shtf.
I hope to G-d that I never get that hungry where
I find myself drooling over mice and rats.