Xavier Legette's Raccoon Meal Gets Props From Celebrity Chef, It's 'Delicious'

Anyone who yucked Xavier Legette's yum needs to reconsider ... 'cause celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern tells TMZ Sports eating raccoon is actually quite delightful.

The host of "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern" (what a fitting title for a topic like this) weighed in on the Panthers receiver's shocking reveal this week ... when he disclosed on a podcast he enjoyed some trash panda on Thanksgiving.

Zimmern is siding all the way with the South Carolina native ... who claimed raccoons don't taste like chicken, but possess a very distinct flavor.

Zimmern -- a four-time winner of the James Beard Foundation Award -- believes no one should judge the 23-year-old's food preferences just because it's not found in grocery stores.

"People frown on folks like myself who regularly eat that animal, which is why I was so happy with what Xavier had posted," Zimmern said.

"Quite frankly, I can cook chicken, pork, beef, lamb and all the other traditional animals as many ways as anybody I know. However, it certainly makes my diet more interesting."

Zimmern added, "We have a lot of other things to worry about in this country. I say let people eat what they're gonna eat."

The 63-year-old chef also shared his raccoon recipe with us -- and it's nothin' like cookin' chicken.