Annual Thanksgiving possum recipe

In an ever changing world, this blog respects tradition. Specifically, it respects its own traditions, which includes publishing a possum recipe on Thanksgiving.

(Note: I do not personally eat possums nor do I think you should, so this is for informational purposes only. But still...)

So here, for your dining and possum-eating pleasure, is a great website with not only possum recipes but also musings on the whole hillbilly/possum thing. Click here and enjoy!\

p.s. Since we are vacationing in Florida at this moment, be sure to add shrimp to each recipe.

Annual Thanksgiving Possum Recipe

It is a custom hallowed by time at this blog to feature a possum recipe each Thanksgiving for the dining pleasure of our Gentle Readers. In fact, said readers are welcome to El Cabrero's lifetime share of possum as my culinary tastes run in other directions.

This year, in recognition of the ever-hastening pace of modern life, I have decided instead to offer a simpler approach that may save a bit of time in the kitchen. Just open and warm up, unless you are one of those hardy souls that likes their possum cold.

Enjoy! And Happy Thanksgiving!

Arpad's aristeia

"Aristeia" is a great Greek word that often comes up when talking about heroic epics like the Iliad. It comes from the work aristos as in aristocrat and means the best. In the context of epic, it refers to a hero's best fight or most glorious day on the battlefield.

In the Iliad several characters had aristeias, including Diomedes, Patroclus, Hector and Achilles. A full scene begins with the hero strapping on his greeves or leg protection and his cuirass or upper body armor, grabbing his shield and sword and various accouterments of war and proceeding to open up a can on the enemy. Often, this can opening is preceded by a lengthy boast about the hero's lineage and deeds.

Arpad, our recently shaven Great Pyrenees (above) had his aristeia last night. Or really this morning.

Around 4 a.m., we were awakened by the unmistakable sound of chickens in distress. The Spousal Unit ran out with a flashlight and I followed with the 12 gauge. Arpad was already in the chicken house. The flashlight soon revealed that a possum had climbed the walls of the chicken coup to where they roost. It was not the best place for me to deploy my artillery.

Arpad only barked once for a change but tried his mightiest to climb the walls. He is a genial goof most of the time but is fiercely protective of the other animals on the farm.

I dislodged the possum from his perch with a hoe and Arpad swooped in like the angel of death. It was over in a flash. When it's my time to go, I hope I die as quickly as that possum.

He killed it a couple more times for good measure. If he had a chariot, he may well have dragged its body around Goat Rope Farm the way Achilles dragged Hector around Troy.

Sic semper possumus may well be his motto.

He's a good boy. I think of him as My Sweet Little Angel Baby From Jesus In Heaven. Possums, however, may have a different opinion.

Annual Thanksgiving possum recipe

It has become something of a holiday tradition at Goat Rope to feature a different possum recipe here each year at this beloved national holiday. We firmly believe that one can never have enough possum recipes, although we would probably demure if it came to actually eating one.

This one is from Cooks.com and is called Possum cream pie. It's the best possum recipe we've found so far, mainly because possum wasn't an actual ingredient.

For Old School hard core possum enthusiasts, we also include this recipe for possum or bandicoot soup even though we are not quite sure what a bandicoot is.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

One more possum story for the road

El Cabrero has recently sworn to stop blogging about possums, at least until the Annual Thanksgiving Possum Recipe edition. In fact, one reader suggested I move on to another topic, such as racoons.

However, a friend just sent me another compelling possum story which I feel obligated to share here. I am nonetheless pleased to say that the story also contains a reference to a raccoon. I'm hoping this will keep everyone happy.

Here's the possum/raccoon story:

When in college I had close encounter of the opossum variety. I was living in a really rundown house in Austin Texas, where one of my housemates was always complaining that a possum was stealing her cat's food. One cold  - well, moderately cool (this is Austin we're talking about) - winter night I went to sleep in my loft only to be awoken by a thump and a furiously scratchy/scrambling sound. A possum had crawled under a rotted eave apparently seeking a warm place to nap, and had fallen through a weak place in the sheet-rock of my ceiling.

I turned on a light and put on my pants. Then with a bit of wary maneuvering I approached Pogo with an emptied trashcan.

"Hiss!" said the possum.

"Hey, give me a break," said I. "I've got classes in the morning."

After what seemed to me to be an entirely unreasonable amount of marsupial teeth-baring and threatening (which probably seemed completely justified to the other party) I managed to get my uninvited guest trapped and moved to a table in the living-room. The next morning we called animal control, but all had to leave (since we did actually have classes) before they came. We left the door open and a note on the overturned trashcan prominently sitting on our livingroom table.

I don 't know exactly what happened to the possum, but the catfood stopped disappearing.

That house was in the city, but it was still regularly visited by animals, many of the more-than-two-legged type. I remember once going outside to put compost on our compost pile, only to find myself in a stare-off with an entirely unrepentant raccoon, who was sitting on the pile with a cantaloup peel in it's very human looking paw.

I could have sworn I heard the bandit say "what? You threw it out."

There you have it.

SOME FACTS ABOUT THE SAFETY NET here.


GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Regarding goats and accents

This blog was established six years ago to cover cutting edge economic justice issues.  While all that is no doubt important, it is hard to deny that many posts these days have been devoted to such things a possums and zombies.

What can I say?

In an effort to clear the palate, I now offer this item, which suggests that goats, just like humans, speak in accents depending on their locations and circumstances.

All of which leads me to wonder whether the twang in caprine accents increases as one moves south in El Cabrero's beloved state of West Virginia. Inquiring minds want to know.

IMPORTANT NOTICE.  I promised yesterday to avoid writing any more about possums. Tomorrow I may well break that promise.

ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE, here's a look at the war on science currently waged by climate change deniers.

A HOPEFUL SIGN? A bill to address prison overcrowding crossed a hurdle in the WV senate.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Speaking of possums

Yesterday's post about possums reminded me of a little adventure from back when the Spousal Unit and I served on our local volunteer fire department. It went like this...

One Monday night, we went to our usual meeting/training session at the fire house. We could tell right away something was wrong. A climate of fear pervaded the station.

"We're so glad you came, " some of the guys said.

They weren't talking to me. They were talking to the Spousal Unit, who was regarded as something of a critter whisperer.

It turned out there was a terrifying intruder in the station that day, a savage beast that struck fear into the hearts of stalwart men who would rush to burning buildings, hazmat spills, explosive car crashes and other dangerous situations.

A baby possum under a fire truck to be exact...

To make a long story short, she put on gloves, crawled under the truck, picked up the possum, took it out back to a field and gave it some dry cat food.

The boys were in awe. I never got that kind of respect. But then, I'm not a possum whisperer.

DEFICIT HYSTERIA DISORDER treated here.

MORE ON MINE SAFETY from Ken Ward's Coal Tattoo blog here.

URGENT TINY CHAMELEON UPDATE here.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Some kind of omen

Image by way of wikipedia.


The ancient Greeks and Romans, and other peoples as well, frequently sought for signs or omens in the flight of birds or actions of various animals.

If I leaned that way, I'd be searching for the message in this: early this morning the Spousal Unit and I saw something unusual while walking our boxer. First, there was a weird sound on the hill that reminded me of crows cawing. Then, in the early light, we saw three shapes moving which turned out to be possums. Two of them got into a pretty serious fight while one looked on (unless they were mating in a most unseemly and indecorous manner). Our best guess is that two males were fighting over a female.

It was quite a possum zoot suit riot. I've seen a few possums in my day, but never anything quite like this.

I wonder what the Romans would have made of it...

The only thing I know for sure is that those guys were lucky Arpad, our Great Pyrenees, sat this walk out. He has long since declared unconditional war on all such creatures and would have taken all three out in the blink of an eye.

MINE SAFETY. Here's my latest rant in the Gazette.

A DEAL has apparently been reached on extending unemployment insurance.

PLUTOCRACY VS. DEMOCRACY. The latter is the underdog.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED