Roasted Beaver Leg

Late last year I purchased two beaver legs, one smaller than the other. I grilled the smaller one on our outdoor grill as a test before we cooked the larger one for company. The larger one 

we cooked as part of a pre-Christmas family gathering 

that also included grilled leg of goat and infrared cooked lamb. 

We called this our Manx dinner (the Isle of Man is where the Cannons come from) in honor of the three-legged Manx flag. 

I found a recipe for roasted beaver which called for boiling the beaver for 10 minutes in a weak solution of soda and water (1 teaspoon of soda to 1 quart of water), 

then covering the beaver with bacon and onions 

and roasting until tender.  

In addition to the bacon and onions, I added a bunch of pre-boiled carrots and potatoes. 

The bacon infused some extra taste into the beaver and vegetables and the vegetables were a nice accompaniment 

for the other dishes of lamb and goat. Below, the roasted beaver before carving 

and then some of the carved pieces of beaver meat.

The table set with goat at the bottom left, beaver at the bottom right and lamb at top center.

My plate with a sampling of each meat and vegetables.

It was a fun combination. The goat was pretty well done and had been cooked in a lot of spice. The lamb was quite rare, with the typical lamb taste, and the beaver, although rare, had a tinge of a livery taste, but also a taste of dark turkey meat. It made for some fun conversation as we compared the meats and expressed preferences and differences. I dare say that this exact combination of meats at one meal has not been duplicated many times, if ever.