The head chef of the Lindeneck restaurant in the German city of Weimar, Stefan Haase, about two years ago saw a raccoon while fishing and became curious about its taste. After trying it himself, he decided to offer it to others, writes Deutsche Welle.
Since the chef's friend is a hunter, Stefan asked him to give him one of the shot raccoons. Haase, who is a vegetarian himself in everyday life, grilled the animal and, according to him, was very satisfied with the result.
After this, the chef decided to add raccoon meat to the restaurant's menu. For about a year now, visitors to Lindeneck have been offered, in particular, raccoon meat in the form of hams and burgers. The ham is well suited for stewing, while the chef recommends grilling the back, neck, and shoulders or using them for goulash. In his opinion, spicy seasonings should be added to the meat, and dumplings or boiled potatoes served as a side dish.
The unusual offer attracts tourists to Weimar from other regions of Germany. Last year, the restaurant processed more than 400 kilograms of raccoon meat. In addition, the head chef conducts master classes where interested individuals are taught how to cook this meat.
Haase states that he acquires raccoon meat only from an acquaintance hunter. Before reaching the kitchen, the carcass must undergo a trichinellosis test — a dangerous parasitic disease. It must be specially delivered to the veterinary service, observing all requirements, and then picked up from there. Only with a positive test result is the meat allowed to be used for food.
According to data from the Ecological Hunting Society, hunters in the state of Thuringia, where Weimar is located, now harvest approximately 28 times more raccoons than in 2000. Raccoons are hunted approximately eight times more often than hares.
The society believes that popularizing raccoon dishes and culinary master classes could transform raccoons from a problem for hunting estates into a sought-after food product.
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