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I probably have had to eat more types of animals,bugs and plants than most. I will give my opinions and how I did it.
Plants, learn the wild ones and seasons to get them in your area. Next, if on the move I ate grasses,chew well, leaves,mostly just off bushes with very small leaves chew well,sometimes I would pull up a plant to see if it had a bulb or root. It is best to do this where it cannot be detected easily. So not in plain sight. Pull or gather a new plant your going to eat and pack it with you. Just eat a small amount, and wait two or three hours. If you not sick then eat the rest. Alot can be made into teas and then the plantstock is alittle easier to eat. As always look for fruits,nuts, etc.
Insects. I'd stay away from any spider except the tarantualas they are big and good. You'll hear the word enviroment alot here. That and what they eat is what will make or break the taste mostly.Catapillars and worms are always a good bet can be eaten raw most of the time. Hard skeletoned insects I usually tried to get the legs and head off. Eat raw or roasted. Soft shelled like termits,larval staged insects eat raw or cooked. If you have the time to watch where you get them, watch the enviroment. Try to study books on this there are still lots of poisonous ones. As a general rule on anything, I first stop it with a stick or something and mash down lightly. I first watch it, does it try to sting my stick with the tail end? If so I cut the tip off and then the head and just eat the main body. Yes I have got sick once sick enough to almost die. But I lived.
Birds, you can eat most of them. From hummingbirds to american eagles. I think it's best to stick with the ones that live mainly on seeds,nuts and plants. On some breasts are the easiest to get to and worth the trouble. The birds that live on bugs is my second choice. It seems they sometimes do take on the taste of the bugs they eat. Third choice is the birds that eat meat. Now these will taste the worst(ones that eat fish are worst) but still edible, just not my first choice. Roasted if you can. Eat raw if you have to.
Animals. Now here it is alittle different. Think about what these eat, and where they live. If they live in a swamp or by a river mainly to find their food they will have a taste. Next is animals that eat specialty foods Koala bear-eucalyptis(?) taste beleive me, bad. Plant eaters first, fruit and nut eaters second, and again meat eaters third choice.
Now for fish, they seem to have their own taste right. Most will just absorb the surroundings but watch them. The bottom feeders will always have more contanamints in them. Unless their poisonous a fish is a fish.
Reptiles, well what can I say here, most will not taste that good but most are edible, be very wary of what it is. And where the poision areas are on them, if they have them. Snakes are a pretty good bet and fairly easy to catch, just hard to find-sometimes. I used these as just something to eat until I found food.If in doubt at to being a viper, I cut the heads off about 4 inches behind it. Take care in the preparation of these guys (reptiles). They have mighty bad bactiria and critters living on and in them. I have been told humans arent that bad to eat. I dunno, I was never to that extreme.
Now for the eating. Always clean your find, then clean your hands and knife as soon as you can. Fire ash was always my choice to end my hand washing with. Try to cook anything, there are many worms,microbes,bactiria, etc. Living in live things and you don't want them in you. If you cant cook it and do have the time. Cut it into thin strips and put on rocks or on metal to let the sun cook it, to at least dry it out. IF this is as good as it gets. Be vary wary of anything you are in doubt of eating. If after you eat it, say you start getting stomache cramps or ache. Unless you haven't eaten in a few days or longer, as your body isn't used to food. Make your self throw up ASAP. It will maybe save you life and you just get alittle sick,ha,ha..
Unless I was starving and needed everything in that animal,bird,reptile, I never ate the liver,kidneys. This is where the toxins will be concetrated of what ever the critter ate. Also you can get some real nasty deseases off the livers. I have got by a few more clicks with just eating the stomaches of animals I've eaten. I find it poke the heart inside,and maybe what I don't eat in it. I cut it as far away on each end. Asaphagus on one end and intestine on the other, I then tie the ends together and make a sling out of it. I cook it when I need it. It might not sound to tastey and I won't lie to you on that. But it will keep you alive, roast it. Pick through it and eat it.
Learn the ways of the critters that live in your area and where to get them you'll have easier times to food. If your on the run or in new territory, you'll have to learn the new ones.
Like us anything alive needs three things to survive. Food,water,shelter. Learn where these are and you'll find food.
Unless they have been bothered or hunted. Most birds,animals are creatures of habit and do the same routine. Just watch them and be there again tomorrow before that time. They will be somewhere close.
Cooking. I liked to make a fire and either have what I was eating off to the side on sticks or flat rocks turned toward the fire,just don't let your food slide off. Take your hand and move it toward the fire. When you get where it just starts to really burn the back of it. That is the length away you will want to set your food to cook. Different burning fuel burns at different tempratures and you have to find out where to set the food as to cook it as fast as possible with out burning it. Turn the food often and keep it out of the smoke as much as possible. You can slit the meat and put in various plants and herbs you might find, it may help the taste alot if needed.
Hope this didn't get long and windy but I did have my 2 cents to add to the pot. Hope it makes a difference some day.
Anybody got stuff to add go for it. I will always be happy to learn something I didn't know yesterday, and I mean anything.
Last week I learned how to comb out a Llama's coat for the hair and I ain't even got one! I liked the humming sound it made.
Plants, learn the wild ones and seasons to get them in your area. Next, if on the move I ate grasses,chew well, leaves,mostly just off bushes with very small leaves chew well,sometimes I would pull up a plant to see if it had a bulb or root. It is best to do this where it cannot be detected easily. So not in plain sight. Pull or gather a new plant your going to eat and pack it with you. Just eat a small amount, and wait two or three hours. If you not sick then eat the rest. Alot can be made into teas and then the plantstock is alittle easier to eat. As always look for fruits,nuts, etc.
Insects. I'd stay away from any spider except the tarantualas they are big and good. You'll hear the word enviroment alot here. That and what they eat is what will make or break the taste mostly.Catapillars and worms are always a good bet can be eaten raw most of the time. Hard skeletoned insects I usually tried to get the legs and head off. Eat raw or roasted. Soft shelled like termits,larval staged insects eat raw or cooked. If you have the time to watch where you get them, watch the enviroment. Try to study books on this there are still lots of poisonous ones. As a general rule on anything, I first stop it with a stick or something and mash down lightly. I first watch it, does it try to sting my stick with the tail end? If so I cut the tip off and then the head and just eat the main body. Yes I have got sick once sick enough to almost die. But I lived.
Birds, you can eat most of them. From hummingbirds to american eagles. I think it's best to stick with the ones that live mainly on seeds,nuts and plants. On some breasts are the easiest to get to and worth the trouble. The birds that live on bugs is my second choice. It seems they sometimes do take on the taste of the bugs they eat. Third choice is the birds that eat meat. Now these will taste the worst(ones that eat fish are worst) but still edible, just not my first choice. Roasted if you can. Eat raw if you have to.
Animals. Now here it is alittle different. Think about what these eat, and where they live. If they live in a swamp or by a river mainly to find their food they will have a taste. Next is animals that eat specialty foods Koala bear-eucalyptis(?) taste beleive me, bad. Plant eaters first, fruit and nut eaters second, and again meat eaters third choice.
Now for fish, they seem to have their own taste right. Most will just absorb the surroundings but watch them. The bottom feeders will always have more contanamints in them. Unless their poisonous a fish is a fish.
Reptiles, well what can I say here, most will not taste that good but most are edible, be very wary of what it is. And where the poision areas are on them, if they have them. Snakes are a pretty good bet and fairly easy to catch, just hard to find-sometimes. I used these as just something to eat until I found food.If in doubt at to being a viper, I cut the heads off about 4 inches behind it. Take care in the preparation of these guys (reptiles). They have mighty bad bactiria and critters living on and in them. I have been told humans arent that bad to eat. I dunno, I was never to that extreme.
Now for the eating. Always clean your find, then clean your hands and knife as soon as you can. Fire ash was always my choice to end my hand washing with. Try to cook anything, there are many worms,microbes,bactiria, etc. Living in live things and you don't want them in you. If you cant cook it and do have the time. Cut it into thin strips and put on rocks or on metal to let the sun cook it, to at least dry it out. IF this is as good as it gets. Be vary wary of anything you are in doubt of eating. If after you eat it, say you start getting stomache cramps or ache. Unless you haven't eaten in a few days or longer, as your body isn't used to food. Make your self throw up ASAP. It will maybe save you life and you just get alittle sick,ha,ha..
Unless I was starving and needed everything in that animal,bird,reptile, I never ate the liver,kidneys. This is where the toxins will be concetrated of what ever the critter ate. Also you can get some real nasty deseases off the livers. I have got by a few more clicks with just eating the stomaches of animals I've eaten. I find it poke the heart inside,and maybe what I don't eat in it. I cut it as far away on each end. Asaphagus on one end and intestine on the other, I then tie the ends together and make a sling out of it. I cook it when I need it. It might not sound to tastey and I won't lie to you on that. But it will keep you alive, roast it. Pick through it and eat it.
Learn the ways of the critters that live in your area and where to get them you'll have easier times to food. If your on the run or in new territory, you'll have to learn the new ones.
Like us anything alive needs three things to survive. Food,water,shelter. Learn where these are and you'll find food.
Unless they have been bothered or hunted. Most birds,animals are creatures of habit and do the same routine. Just watch them and be there again tomorrow before that time. They will be somewhere close.
Cooking. I liked to make a fire and either have what I was eating off to the side on sticks or flat rocks turned toward the fire,just don't let your food slide off. Take your hand and move it toward the fire. When you get where it just starts to really burn the back of it. That is the length away you will want to set your food to cook. Different burning fuel burns at different tempratures and you have to find out where to set the food as to cook it as fast as possible with out burning it. Turn the food often and keep it out of the smoke as much as possible. You can slit the meat and put in various plants and herbs you might find, it may help the taste alot if needed.
Hope this didn't get long and windy but I did have my 2 cents to add to the pot. Hope it makes a difference some day.
Anybody got stuff to add go for it. I will always be happy to learn something I didn't know yesterday, and I mean anything.
Last week I learned how to comb out a Llama's coat for the hair and I ain't even got one! I liked the humming sound it made.
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