Would you eat roadkill?

I’m always bleating on about food waste, and I’ve written before about rescuing food from skips. Waste not, want not.

One Norfolk man, a producer with the BBC, has taken this philosophy to its logical conclusion. He’s picking up, butchering, cooking and feeding his family dead animals from the side of the road. No, he’s not eating  dead rats or cats or dogs – it’s all deer, hare, rabbits, maybe the odd pigeon.

When I lived in Wicklow, a gorgeous dog Lobo came into my life. Part wolf, part sheepdog, and part trouble, Lobo was a vicious rabbit and grouse killing murderer who slaughtered his prey with capricious indifference, but had no interest in eating it. Not roadkill as such, but pathkill, with the dog playing the role of fast car.

Nature hates waste, so the hills were soon circled  by ravens feasting on the spoils. I often thought I should pick up the bodies and make a rabbit or pheasant stew, but I wouldn’t have had a clue had to dismember the animal. A helpful friend suggested recently – almost two years since I left Wicklow – that a local butcher would have done the job for me. Eh, thanks.

There’s a distinct roadkill cuisine in large parts of the Western world, including the US, UK, and Australia, but I haven’t heard much about it here.

Once again, it’s rabbit season. Would you consider cooking up a dead animal, whether killed by dog or car? Or do you prefer your dead animals to come in neat plastic packaging and with heads and limbs already removed?

Here’s a recipe for Hedgehog Carbonara from Arthur Hoyt’s Roadkill Recipe Book. Hoyt has eaten badger, weasel, cat, dog, rat, bat and more.

Hedgehog spaghetti carbonara (serves four)

500g spaghetti, 30ml olive oil, 250g lean hedgehog, 1 medium onion (chopped), 125ml water, 60ml dry white wine, 4 eggs, 60ml double cream, 100g grated parmesan cheese · chop hedgehog into small chunks

· Beat eggs and cream together in a bowl. Add half the parmesan cheese

· Put pasta in boiling water

· Put onions and hedgehog chunks in pan with olive oil on medium heat until onions are almost clear

· Add wine and reduce heat

· Drain pasta when cooked, combine it with egg, cream and cheese mix

· Add meat, onions and wine without draining fat and mix thoroughly

· Garnish with remaining parmesan. Serve immediately