The Carolina Panthers doubled down on weapons for their quarterback, Bryce Young, by selecting wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan with the 8th overall pick, just a year after drafting Xavier Legette 32nd overall. While Legette, a South Carolina alum, turned heads during his rookie season, it wasn’t because of his performance on the field. Instead, it was his thick country accent and a shocking food confession that made headlines.
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During an appearance on the St. Brown Brothers Podcast, Legette was asked about his strangest food preferences — and his answer left everyone stunned. He proudly admitted to hunting, skinning, and eating raccoons. Not only that, but he considers raccoon meat a Thanksgiving specialty in his household. When asked what raccoon tastes like, Legette didn’t hesitate: “It’s got its own flavor,” he said with pride. He also revealed he has eaten squirrels, rabbits, and other wild game, too.
Naturally, this stirred curiosity among his Panthers teammates, so much so that Legette brought raccoon meat to the locker room around Thanksgiving. He carried it in a Tupperware container, offering tastes to anyone brave enough to try it. Even veteran wideout Adam Thielen gave it a shot. But Bryce Young? The Panthers’ QB flat-out refused. “I’ve got some self-respect,” he joked when asked why he wouldn’t try it.
Legette, undeterred, has been on a mission to sell the idea of eating raccoons to everyone around him. He even discussed the topic with celebrity chef Guy Fieri, known for his adventurous cooking style. When Legette asked if he’d be down to cook raccoons together, Fieri didn’t flinch. He seemed genuinely excited by the idea and echoed Legette’s belief: “If you hunt something, you ought to eat it.”
Still, when it came to sharing the actual recipe, Legette stayed tight-lipped. “That’s a South Carolina secret,” he told Fieri with a grin. However, he did give a basic breakdown of the process he follows after a successful hunt, though the real flavor, it seems, lies in the mystery.
“So when we put out, we got a little secret. I can’t give it to everybody. I can’t give you the secret now because there’s some down at the bottom, South Carolina kind of cooking. But I can tell you how we do it. We put it in a pressure cooker, let the meat fall off the bone, and put it in the oven. Then we’re gonna chop it up first. I’ll tell we put some cracked peppers on it. Let that marinade in them. It’s good eating.”
Legette eventually gave a basic rundown of his raccoon-cooking process. So, if you ever find yourself down in Mullins, South Carolina, and you’re feeling curious—or adventurous, you might just get the chance to try some yourself.
And hey, if you’re really up for the experience, you can go full Xavier Legette: hunt the raccoon, skin it, cook it, and eat it. So next time you spot a raccoon near your home, maybe don’t see it as a nuisance — see it as dinner.
