TIL There Used To Be A Crow Meat Lovers Association

Back in the day, the governor of Oklahoma just loved eating crow meat, and because he was the governor of a whole state, he went ahead and founded the "Statehouse Crow Meat Lovers Association." There are two ways to look at this. On the one hand, live your truth! Chase your passion! Embrace your dream! Eat that crow, and spread the good word the other other other white meat!

On the other hand, that seems like an odd Association for a Statehouse, no?

Other things I learned: 1) Crow is apparently "mostly dark meat" and is described as "pleasantly gamy by most accounts." 2) They were once sometimes called "black partridges." 3) The crow-eating craze (there was a crow-eating craze) was sparked by one dude who just really, really hated f'ing crows, man.

Atlas Obscura's invaluable Gastro Obscura vertical, which today delights with a look at the mind of Dr. T. W. Stallings, "a former county health superintendent who was the first to promote eating crow." Their source is The Recipes Project, specifically a piece by writer Michael Walkden. Dig this:

In 1936, the residents of Tulsa, Oklahoma were seized with a craving for crow. Butchers sent children into the fields, offering $1.50 for every dozen crows they brought back for the chopping block. Nurses and dietitians suggested that crow-meat could become a staple food in hospitals. And Miss Maude Firth, a domestic science teacher, established a class in crow-cookery.

Tulsa's crow craze was due in no small part to the efforts of one Dr. T. W. Stallings, former county health superintendent and self-professed "crow hater."

Stallings was so dead set on killing and eating f'ing crows—both because they were a pest to farmers, and because fuck crows, that's why—that he hosted "crow banquets" at which he told diners they were feasting on quail in hopes of converting them to a life of crow consumption. His recipe involved plucking the birds, rubbing them with lard, cooking them with celery in a sealed cast-iron pan, and adding gravy ("lots of gravy," per Atlas Obscura).

He also believed they were rich in Vitamin B. Crows, man. Both pieces are excellent—give them a read.