We usually think of worms as being a summer critter, coming out after a rain and baking to a crisp on roads and sidewalks, but there are winter varieties too, and they are delicious.
Summer worms are horrible and I wouldn’t recommend eating them. As you might expect, they taste like dirt.
Winter worms are a different story. They have a delicate flavor often described as a blend of oyster, snail and salamander.
I alway go worm gathering at dawn when they are still groggy and easy to sneak up on. You can use fresh ones or even ones that have been smashed by a passing car. They keep their flavor. I always bring a scraper when I go gathering.
You can find them on almost any back road. Avoid winter worms you find in the suburbs, They’re loaded with lawn chemicals. City worms aren’t bad, though. They have a nice urban flavor but it’s hard to collect very many. Worm gathering is very popular in most cities and they are being over harvested.
We have plenty of winter worms where I live and on a good day I can harvest a nice basket full of the pink morsels and enjoy them for breakfast with some creamed herring and French toast. They are also great pickled and smeared with peanut butter on a saltine.
