The Roadkill Cook-Off

Every year at the end of September, the town of Marlinton, West Virginia celebrates their annual Autumn Harvest Festival. One of the main attractions of this event is the infamous Roadkill Cook-Off. Now I'm sure the first thing you are wondering is, "Wait, do they use real roadkill?" Well, it's a "don't ask don't tell" policy, but all of the food must at least be roadkill inspired. And just in case it actually was pulled from the side of the road, all of the meat is thoroughly inspected for gravel. We sampled possum, squirrel, deer, wild boar, groundhog, rabbit, and bear, and we were very surprised by how delicious some of these dishes were! The winner was a wild game meatloaf topped with groundhog gravy. If you ever find yourself with some extra roadkill lying around, here is the winning recipe:

Bear-Ron-A-Saur-Us with Groundhog Gravy

by the Ridge Stones

1/3 pound ground bumper bruised bear

1/3 pound ground rear-ended deer

½ pound ground wild hog sausage

2 pounds ground cow

2 boxes stovetop stuffing (prepared as directed on the box)

6 tablespoons minced garlic

6 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium sweet pepper, chopped

1 cup sliced mushrooms

Salt and pepper to taste

  • Mix all the meats together. Add onion, pepper, garlic, Worcestershire, and mushrooms.

  • Roll out the meat. Add stovetop stuffing to the middle and roll it up, or you can mix it into the meat and form into two small loaves, or one large loaf. Wrap in foil.

  • Bake in a baking dish in a smoker or on a grill for one hour, or in an oven at 350 degrees for one hour.

  • Smother in Groundhog Gravy. (See recipe below)

Groundhog Gravy

1 young and dumb groundhog

2 cans beef broth

2 tablespoons beef

1 packet gravy mix

2 cups water

1 cup milk

1 stick butter

Flour

Salt and pepper to taster

  • Place groundhog in a pot or large container and soak overnight in cold salt water and vinegar. This helps to remove the wild taste of the meat.

  • Put groundhog in a pressure canner at 10 pounds of pressure for 45 minutes. Add water to cover groundhog. Add salt and pepper. Cook until tender.

  • Remove groundhog and cool and debone meat. Add beef broth to pot, 2 cups water, milk, butter, salt and pepper, and enough flour to thicken.

  • Return the groundhog meat to the gravy and serve over Bear-Ron-A-Saur-Us.