If nothing else, reality television and books about military tales have helped us learn that you can eat almost anything on the planet.

Whether it is palatable, nutritional or will make you sick — or dead — are the questions to answer. In some parts of the world you can dine on grasshoppers, which are packed with protein. The capybara is farmed in South America; its cousin, the nutria, is edible but a lot of diners think "huge marsh rat!" when they hear the name. The Asian carp, aka "jumping carp," is a scourge on Kentucky Lake but is phenomenal when fried (possibly better than catfish).

What about crows?

We eat crow when we make some strong procamation and then have to scuttle away, tail tucked, dining on the shame and humility. As youths we were taught about "4 and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie" but the birds began singing when the pie was opened (a bit freaky to teach children, eh?) before the king. If we're going to eat crow, why not the raven? It's larger and would offer more on the breast, no?

Yes, you can eat crow.

The meat is dark. You could pluck the bird and roast it whole in a bag with vegetables, similar to a chicken or turkey. That's one of the easiest ways to make any bird. I do this often, adding low-salt chicken stock and fresh herbs along with carrots, onions, potatoes and parsnips. Or you could breast out the crow to brine and sautee, as noted British chef and butcher Scott Rea shows in this video. Rea's vids are sometimes long but great, as he shows in detail how to prepare and why he does it that way, and then prepares the dish.