Never know when you might need live off squirrel meat...
Here is the family recipe for cooking tree rats (squirrels) . This is a Virginia Brunswick Stew (spicy made from squirrel), not a Georgia Brunswick Stew (bland made from chicken). I got it from my grandmother. Probably work for mice or rats too, but we have more squirrels than rats here so I don't think I'll need to substitute
Warning: made traditionally, this stew will grow hair on your chest! When I was young, I could not eat it yet, and I couldn't wait until I was old enough to be able to. But you can just put Cayenne Pepper to taste if you are faint of heart, LOL.
Here is the family recipe for cooking tree rats (squirrels) . This is a Virginia Brunswick Stew (spicy made from squirrel), not a Georgia Brunswick Stew (bland made from chicken). I got it from my grandmother. Probably work for mice or rats too, but we have more squirrels than rats here so I don't think I'll need to substitute
Warning: made traditionally, this stew will grow hair on your chest! When I was young, I could not eat it yet, and I couldn't wait until I was old enough to be able to. But you can just put Cayenne Pepper to taste if you are faint of heart, LOL.
Old World Brunswick Stew
1 Large Crockpot
5 Squirrels
2 Large Potatoes
3 Medium Onions (Yellow)
2 Cans Tomato Sauce
3 Tablespoons Mustard
1 Med Bottle Worchestershire Sauce
4 Lemons
1 Garlic
Salt
Cayenne Pepper
Butterbeans
English Peas
Corn
Put Squirrels in Crockpot and cover with water, stew all day on "Low."
Take a medium saucepan and dip off top of Broth from Crockpot and put in pan.
Peel and cut up potatoes and onions, then boil them in the broth on medium heat on the stove.
Take squirrels out of Crockpot and debone, pour out all but a cupful of broth.
Add Squirrel meat and squeeze the lemons into pot with meat. NO SEEDS!
Make sure all seeds are removed from lemons and put squeezed lemons into pot with potatoes.
Add tomatoes sauce to pot with meat, and turn crockpot on "high."
Peel garlic, chop it up and add to pot with potatoes.
Put mustard and whole bottle of Worchestershire sauce with meat.
Then add beans, peas, corn, etc. as desired. Cook potatoes etc. until potatoes and onions are totally stewed, remove lemons and pour contents into crockpot with meat.
Stir it all up and cook on high heat for three hours or until butterbeans, peas and corn are done.
Add cayenne pepper and salt to taste.
NOTES:
This recipe is Mississippi Delta fox squirrels, which are HUGE. You'll need at least 8 smaller squirrels like grey squirrels.
1 Garlic means ONE WHOLE GARLIC, not just one garlic clove.
Here are my modifications:
When the squirrels first start cooking, blood and fat form a scum on the surface. I skim this off which improves the flavor.
I only cook the squirrels until I can debone them. If you cook them until the meat is falling off the bone (as the recipe calls for) you get a lot of little bones like ribs that are nearly impossible to sort out.
I don't leave the lemons in the whole time, the lemon oil can be overpowering if you cook them completely. I think maybe the lemons she used were the thin skinned kind.
I add some more sources of heat, like tabasco, black pepper and white pepper.
I discovered that there is a secret ingredient not listed in the recipe. I found this out when I made a batch and it didn't quite taste right, so I called my grandmother and asked what was missing.
She said Ketchup!
I only add that if it tastes like something is missing, however, which is not very often.
1 Large Crockpot
5 Squirrels
2 Large Potatoes
3 Medium Onions (Yellow)
2 Cans Tomato Sauce
3 Tablespoons Mustard
1 Med Bottle Worchestershire Sauce
4 Lemons
1 Garlic
Salt
Cayenne Pepper
Butterbeans
English Peas
Corn
Put Squirrels in Crockpot and cover with water, stew all day on "Low."
Take a medium saucepan and dip off top of Broth from Crockpot and put in pan.
Peel and cut up potatoes and onions, then boil them in the broth on medium heat on the stove.
Take squirrels out of Crockpot and debone, pour out all but a cupful of broth.
Add Squirrel meat and squeeze the lemons into pot with meat. NO SEEDS!
Make sure all seeds are removed from lemons and put squeezed lemons into pot with potatoes.
Add tomatoes sauce to pot with meat, and turn crockpot on "high."
Peel garlic, chop it up and add to pot with potatoes.
Put mustard and whole bottle of Worchestershire sauce with meat.
Then add beans, peas, corn, etc. as desired. Cook potatoes etc. until potatoes and onions are totally stewed, remove lemons and pour contents into crockpot with meat.
Stir it all up and cook on high heat for three hours or until butterbeans, peas and corn are done.
Add cayenne pepper and salt to taste.
NOTES:
This recipe is Mississippi Delta fox squirrels, which are HUGE. You'll need at least 8 smaller squirrels like grey squirrels.
1 Garlic means ONE WHOLE GARLIC, not just one garlic clove.
Here are my modifications:
When the squirrels first start cooking, blood and fat form a scum on the surface. I skim this off which improves the flavor.
I only cook the squirrels until I can debone them. If you cook them until the meat is falling off the bone (as the recipe calls for) you get a lot of little bones like ribs that are nearly impossible to sort out.
I don't leave the lemons in the whole time, the lemon oil can be overpowering if you cook them completely. I think maybe the lemons she used were the thin skinned kind.
I add some more sources of heat, like tabasco, black pepper and white pepper.
I discovered that there is a secret ingredient not listed in the recipe. I found this out when I made a batch and it didn't quite taste right, so I called my grandmother and asked what was missing.
She said Ketchup!
I only add that if it tastes like something is missing, however, which is not very often.
