A story my great aunt told me.

[Ant]

Today, my great aunt told me a story about her mum when her mum was young.

Her mum had some friends who where gypsies, and one night, during her friends birthday she went to their camp for the party. They had meat, cooked on a fire which was wrapped in mud to protect it from the flames. When She returned home, she said that the meat was the nicest chicken or rabbit she had ever had...her dad said, gypsies dont eat chicken or rabbit. When her friend came to visit, her dad asked 'what meat did you have at your party?'
The friend replied... 'Hedgehog'...:p

My great aunts mum was sick for a week and never had dinner at the gypsies camp again.:o

[MariaD]

Yum... hedgehog!

[David]

Not sure if this is related; I heard that the spikes stick into the mud and break off with the mud if you bake them in it. Maybe this had something to do with it?(I can't imagine where I'd hear about cooking hedgehogs!?)

[Ant]

Not sure if this is related; I heard that the spikes stick into the mud and break off with the mud if you bake them in it. Maybe this had something to do with it?(I can't imagine where I'd hear about cooking hedgehogs!?)

Maybe your related to somone who knew my great aunts mum :D... She said exactly what you have just said about the spines.

[David]

Not sure if I should be proud or worried that I'd heard that!

[MariaD]

I've heard that too - you wrap the hedgehog in mud and put in the embers of a fire.

[David]

wow - must be common knowledge!

[Digby]

About 25 years ago I worked with young people who for various reasons, missed out on education. One day, a lad from a traditional Romany family turned up and started telling us that they had eaten Hedgehog for dinner on the previous day. I was mortified that they should have to resort to eating wild-life and wondering what I could do to get them eating properly. The lad was equally shocked. He carefully explained to me that it was a delicacy and something they usually only do on special occasions!

The stories about baking in clay are correct as far as I know - the skin and spins drop of when it has finished baking, leaving all the yummy meat exposed.

I would not personally endorse such a meal - not least because I think that hedgehogs are delightful when they are alive (the eat all the slugs in my garden).

[wandering_fox]

I believe, though I haven't tried it and can't remember where I heard it, that you can also do this (baking in clay trick) with rabbit, rather than skinning it. I think it takes a fair while to cook though.