starling, anybody?

[jonny.177.22]

almost 5 hours earlier i had shot a starling (my first!) i had thought of eating it but some stuff put me off, but then i decided that i would try it. i only took the breasts out of precaution, using a thin knife to cut the breast from the bone. i took one, and put in italiano, the other with nothing but salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a little red wine. i broiled it for 8 minutes, managing to dry it out badly. i took a bite and....tasted....beef! with a bloodier taste and a marrow like aftertaste. well, its been five hours and im fine. i will keep you posted on my condition in the next 3 days

[JonnyReb]

 LOL well thats the funniest thing i've read today..   You sir, are a helluva man..    This is why i don't kill anything 

[jonny.177.22]

whats so funny?

[longislandhunter]

I eat starling all the time and have been enjoying them for many years now.  I breast out all the starlings I shoot as you did but the key is not to over cook them.  The breasts cook very quickly so you have to watch what you're doing, but if you cook them correctly, so the meat is still a bit rare and juicy inside, you will find the meat and the taste extremely good.  My favorite way to prepare them is to quickly fry them in some oil with a little butter added for browning effect.  Try them again and be careful not to over cook and I think you'll have a different opinion of them. 

Jeff

[jonny.177.22]

well, cut up and de-breasted the two other starlings today.
i let them marinate in italiano for an hour, then dipped them in flour and salt and pepper and fried for two minutes

friggen good! still tasted like beef though, and 5 breast were not enough, i have 10 (6 birds)

[longislandhunter]

See, I told ya    

The key is to cook them real quick so the meat is still juicy inside.   I usually save up the breasts until I around 2 dozen... that usually is enough for a decent lunch for me along with a slice or two of toasted garlic bread

The meat does have a slight beef taste to it, but that's one of the things I like about it.

Now I'm hungry......

Jeff

[jonny.177.22]

how to clean a starling:
first, shoot a starling! (if you have optics, try a head shot. if not, shoot them in the chest with a .177 caliber air rifle, pointed pellets do well with out damaging the breast, the worst damage would be a small hole though the breast.)
take the bird and pluck all the feathers of the chest area, then slit the skin below the breast and put your thumb below the skin and pull hard, but slowly so you dont rip it. then use the knife to cut thinly and carefully along the breast bone, seperating the breast from the bone. discard the rest of the bird. here, you can either deep fry the breast, marinate it in italiano, or broil it, recipes for starling are a little rare, so bear with me while i figure out new way to cook the breasts.

[longislandhunter]

They're also really delicious if you take the breasts, fry them very quickly to brown them  and then simply pop them into a pot of spaghetti sauce (jar sauce is fine). Cover the pot, put the heat on a low simmer setting and just let the breasts slowly cook in the sauce for a couple of hours.  When finished enjoy the breasts and sauce with your favorite pasta........ absolutely delicious 

Jeff

 

[jonny.177.22]

They're also really delicious if you take the breasts, fry them very quickly to brown them  and then simply pop them into a pot of spaghetti sauce (jar sauce is fine). Cover the pot, put the heat on a low simmer setting and just let the breasts slowly cook in the sauce for a couple of hours.  When finished enjoy the breasts and sauce with your favorite pasta........ absolutely delicious 

Jeff

 

hehe... starling spaghetti! imagine how mean it would be if you tricked your family into eating starling!

mmm.. spaghetti
starling spaghetti.
mmm... starling spag.. Wait, What the f***?!!! *bathroom visit*
hehehe...

[Jaymo]

I figure we can survive times of food shortages by eating things other people won't. Starlings, pigeons, crows, possums, raccoons, sparrows, beavers, ground hogs, muskrat, nutria, etc. Perhaps make sausage from them. Maybe even a few feral cats and dogs(only if starving).

You think I'm kidding, don't you? I'm not.
I say we all start raising rabbits, chickens, goats, and emu.

[JakePtehSniper]

Emus scare me. They have devil eyes.

[Jaymo]

I tried to get some starlings last weekend, but they wouldn't stop moving. They were more squirrely than squirrels.

[thekid]

 
hehe... starling spaghetti! imagine how mean it would be if you tricked your family into eating starling!

mmm.. spaghetti
starling spaghetti.
mmm... starling spag.. Wait, What the f***?!!! *bathroom visit*
hehehe...



Now thats funny.rob

[Algansk]

WOW! I dont know if I ever wuldve tried it (cleaning to cook a Starling), but the meat actually looks very flavorful and it is actually making me hungry.

Good for you man, well played! 

Alan

[Dead nuts dog]

Yummy n' da tummy

[sawtoothscream]

hmmm.  im going to give this a shot and see how it taste.  should be able to drop one or 2 over the weekend

[HUNter95]

I just shot a black bird about 2 hours ago and have the breast meat in the fridge waiting to be accompanied by some more meat!! Tastes great and shouldn't go wasted imo

[lizzie]

almost 5 hours earlier i had shot a starling (my first!) i had thought of eating it but some stuff put me off, but then i decided that i would try it. i only took the breasts out of precaution, using a thin knife to cut the breast from the bone. i took one, and put in italiano, the other with nothing but salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a little red wine. i broiled it for 8 minutes, managing to dry it out badly. i took a bite and....tasted....beef! with a bloodier taste and a marrow like aftertaste. well, its been five hours and im fine. i will keep you posted on my condition in the next 3 days

I've seriously considered giving it a try, but for now, I've depleted the starling population on my place, lol. I gave the first starling I ever shot to my taxidermist friend to do a mount for me. I think he put it in his freezer and forgot about it.

[lizzie]

Hmmmm- I've been thinking (I realize that could be dangerous:D)

Maybe someone needs to compile a sparrow and starling recipe book. It might sell to the serious bluebird and purple martin landlords who try to control the populations, but feel bad about letting them go to waste.

[lizzie]

I eat starling all the time and have been enjoying them for many years now.  I breast out all the starlings I shoot as you did but the key is not to over cook them.  The breasts cook very quickly so you have to watch what you're doing, but if you cook them correctly, so the meat is still a bit rare and juicy inside, you will find the meat and the taste extremely good.  My favorite way to prepare them is to quickly fry them in some oil with a little butter added for browning effect.  Try them again and be careful not to over cook and I think you'll have a different opinion of them. 

Jeff

You could probably use them for a stir-fry, sort of chinese style.

You guys are giving me some ideas.