Ingredients
- 4 squirrels, cleaned and quartered, plus rib cage and loin
- 1 lemon, cut in half
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 sprig bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 3 teaspoon strips bacon, diced
- 1 teaspoon medium-sized onion, chopped
- 6 teaspoon garlic cloves
- 1 cup beer
- 3 cup crushed tomatoes
- 2 cup red potatoes, skin on, which have been cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 cup okra that has been cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup canned chickpeas
- 1 cup corn, fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup shelled and minced acorns
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
Preparation
Baking Directions:
Young squirrel is good simply quartered and fried.
Old squirrel is good stewed.
When in doubt, it is safest to braise or brew or stew a squirrel.
Sometimes, for flavor and for whimsy, I like to add acorns to this recipe.
Native Americans used to eat acorns, usually by grinding them and then boiling them.
They are sometimes bitter because of their tannins, but this can be improved by grinding them under cold water.
Acorns from the white oak, the chestnut oak, the swamp white oak, and the Garry oak are all ideal.
To prepare Squirrel Brunswick Stew with Acorns:1. Place the squirrel parts in a pot and cover with water.
Add the lemon halves, rosemary, bay leaf, cayenne, and about a tablespoon of sea salt and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer.
Cook until the meat is tender, about 1 hour, skimming the foam from the surface as it forms.
Once the meat is tender, turn off the heat and let the liquid cool.
2.In a separate pot, render the bacon.
Ad the onion and garlic and cook until softened.
Deglaze the pot with the beer, scraping up the brown bits at the bottom of the pot with a spatula.
Add the tomatoes, potatoes, okra, chickpeas, corn, and acorns and stir.
3.Add 2 cups of the squirrel cooking liquid and stir in.
Add the squirrel and Worcestershire sauce and simmer for 1 hour.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
With this stew, as with most, it is best to let it sit for several hours before serving.
Also try with this preparation: rabbit, dove, turkey, upland game birds
