January 26, 2013 An Opossum Named Blessed Assurance

There is a little Opossum who comes to my kitchen door in the night to eat the leftover cat food.  If I am in the kitchen and the outside motion sensor light goes on, I can watch him (her) from the door window just inches under my nose.  This Opossum has alot  of white spots on his back and pays no attention to me whatsoever as he very slowly crunches the cat food. I have no idea why I named him (her) "Blessed Assurance".
Today Boofa raised up another little Opossum on the trail.  This Opossum was strangely difficult to run off
as he had something he was determined to eat.

Was it an Opossum or a possum?  It was an Opossum, from the Algonquin word for the critter. They live in North America.
Possums live in and are native to Australia.  They were named by Captain Cook's botanist who thought the little animals looked like Opossums.  The two animals are different, however.  Both are marsupials but are of different orders.  Opossums have bare tails and possums have bushy tails.

Many Opossums are out in the dark and get run over by cars.  I have a theory that driving distance can be calculated in terms of the number of Opossums lying dead on the road.  There is approximately one Opossum per 40 miles of road (this refers especially to back roads; the Interstates have fewer, perhaps, one every 100 miles).  So, a three Opossum trip is about 120 miles.  I am working on a theory that includes dead raccoons and dead deer as well.

Cooking an Opossum:

Catch an Opossum.  I have learned that a good way is to set out traps for feral cats.  You might get cats, but more likely you will get Opossums.  The next step is to get the Opossum out of the trap which may be tricky.
Here is how my cousin caught an Opossum:

" Corner the 'possum.  Attach a rope with a noose on a stick and loop around the creature's neck.  Pull tight
(do not kill the 'possum) and drag outside (if it is in your house) and release into the wild. 'Possum will appear stunned for a short time."

Recipe for Opossum Supreme

Cut off the head and feet and take out the internal organs and gut.  Scald the critter to take off the skin.
Chop into pieces.  Wash.  Place in glass container and cover with the following marinade:

1 med onion, sliced
4 whole cloves
4 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp mace
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup water
Marinate in refrigerator overnight, turning several times
Remove meat from marinade and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with flour.
Brown on all sides in butter in heavy skillet. Strain marinade and add to Opossum.  Cover and simmer about 45 minutes until tender.  Good with rice or hot grits.