Southern cooking is known for a lot of delicious and fattening foods. However, they also have a number of odd dishes as well. Though these dishes have lost some of their popularity now that Americans do not rely on hunting for their food, there are still many people who prepare and eat southern cooking that may be odd to the rest of us.

Squirrels may not come to mind when thinking about southern cooking, but there are still a number of individuals who prepare meals with squirrel as the main ingredient. In fact, there are a number of recipes for preparing squirrel. However, you will have to hunt your own since there are not many grocery stores that stock up on small furry animals.

Though calf fries, and rocky mountain oysters sound very normal, you may want to take a closer look at these southern cooking ingredients. They are actually different terms for cow testicles peeled and fried similar to chicken fried steak. In fact, you wouldn't be able to tell at first sight what these dishes actually were. You would only be able to tell after biting down on the extremely chewy morsels that they weren't what you had anticipated.

Gators may remind you of Louisiana, but they probably don't make your stomach growl. Yet, gator is common southern cooking ingredient around these parts. In addition to adding gator to gumbos and other area dishes, you can even find gator jerky for sale.

Opossums may not be as cute as squirrels but many individuals consider them just as tasty. Opossums can be served in dishes very similar to squirrel dishes. These animals will also have to be hunted for lack of retailers, but some southern cooks would say it was worth it. This is truly southern cooking like we never would have imagined.