Taken from "Wild Game--Care and Cooking" Extension publication B-987 and from a sheet in files of which the author is unknown. Most people prefer to put an opossum in a safely wired pen to feed and fatten for two or three weeks before eating them. Opossum is light in color, fine-grained and tender with generous fat deposits between the bands of muscle. Remove as much of the fat as possible before cooking to make the meat less greasy. After proper dressing, soak in salt water (3 tablespoons salt to gallon of water), soak overnight before cooking or freezing.

TO COOK: Place opossum in deep kettle, add enough water to cover well and cook well without sticking or scorching. Add l medium onion peeled and cut in half and l medium apple (not peeled and cut in half), salt to season according to size of opossum. (Add boiling water if it cooks out before tender). Cook on medium heat for a long as it takes to have meat tender when tested with fork stuck into it. When tender, remove onion and apple. Carefully place opossum in large baking pan, remove all layers of fat that you can. Then use 1 or 2 sticks of oleo, chipped over or rubbed on opossum. (This is not necessary, but could be used to season it). Pour some of the broth from "par boiling" (first cooking) around opossum in baking pan. Use lots of black pepper, sprinkle opossum lightly with flour to help brown, take spoon and put some broth lightly over flour (this is "basting").

Place in 350 degree F. oven and brown light brown or as brown as you wish - watch and continue to sprinkle top of opossum with broth (or oleo) when done and ready to eat. Opossum has to be real brown, but to keep from getting hard I usually brown it in oven to light brown on top, then with some broth in pan, put it on top of stove, cover and baste often and let it cook on low heat so it won't scorch on bottom. In fact, I cooked opossum like I did ducks, coons and pheasants. Removing that fat from opossums when cooked tender is different. No one takes time to cook wild game like I did. You might find some way to put it in a pressure cooker or crock pot, but I don't know that.

'POSSUM (Opossum)
(Army Cooking, l9l0 Style, from an old U.S. Army manual)

Clean and skin the 'possums, allowing them to hang in the open air for several hours, then place in refrigerator for at least 24 hours before cooking. Stuff with an ordinary bread stuffing (sage preferred). Set in a deep pan so that no part will project above the top; season well with pepper and salt, and pour about one inch of beef stock or canned beef bouillon into the pan. Fill the vacant spaces with peeled sweet potatoes, and sprinkle a little flour over the whole; cover with a crust, the same for a pot pie, omitting the fat, as the crust will be removed after baking and will not be served. Allow to bake slowly for about three hours. Remove crust and serve hot. The crust will absorb most of the fat from the opossum.

PREPARATION AND COOKING RACCOON
1 raccoon
12 small sweet potatoes
1 med. onion (sliced)
3 med. carrots
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
1 large bell pepper
1 bottle of barbecue sauce

Dress coon carefully so as not to leave any clinging hair. Remove scent glands, kernels under legs. Wrap coon in waxed paper or foil and chill thoroughly or freeze for several hours. Trim off all but a thin layer of fat and any discolored spots. Wash well in lukewarm water. Put into 3 qt. kettle, add water, salt, and pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to simmering, cover and cook until tender (1-2 hrs depending on age of animal). Debone. Place coon in foil lined baking pan. Add remaining ingredients to baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until sweet potatoes are done.