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Posted by: admin	Wednesday, October 17, 2007
I have to laugh, the "Cumbrian grey squirrel tasting", recently shown on C4 as part of the Wild Gourmet series (click here for my post on it!) seems to have really caught on. The Grauniad ran a piece and so did the Daily Mail entitled -"Top Lakeland restaurant serves up Peking duck-style squirrel pancakes" and today I got a call from the Westmoreland Gazette who are writing a story for this Thursdays paper on it. They contacted me because I was one of the "locals" converted to the joys of eating grey squirrel, yeah, right...well that's what the plummy voiced Thomasina said anyway, so it must be true. To make sure that I cooked squirrel in the right way, I was sent a book by my American friend (referred to as Sue in my previous post) called "Uncle Russ Chittenden's Good Ole Boys Wild Game Cookbook". Or otherwise referred to as "How to cook Possum and other Varmints good!" Within the book are a lot of "good recipes", including several for squirrel. My favourite one has to be "Squirrel Fricassee" and I have to say I'm almost tempted! but you could try "Fried squirrel cakes" or "Old Baldy's Brunswick stew", old baldy presumably being the squirrel, or maybe the creator of the recipe. It seems that Brunswick stew always requires squirrel, i think I need to google that one! Make sure you only use grey squirrels, not these beautiful reds! Just in case the mood catches you, or if you find you are in possession of a couple of greys and want to do something nice with them, below is a recipe or two. - Good luck. Squirrel Fricassee 2 Squirrels, cut into serving sized pieces. 1 Cup flour 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 8 slices of fat bacon, chopped fine 1 medium onion, chopped fine 4 tsp lemon juice 2 large apples, cored, diced 3 cups of chicken broth or consomme Roll the meat in the flour, salt and pepper mixture. In a large, heavy, skillet slowly fry the bacon. Remove bacon and set aside. Turn up the heat and bronw the meat in the bacon fat. Sprinkle with chopped onion and lemon juice. Return the bacon to the skillet, add the apple and the chicken broth. Cover and simmer for 2-2 1/2 hours over a low heat. Serve hot in a casserole with pan juices poured over. Served with whipped potatoes, spiced carrots and corn pudding. Fried Squirrel cakes 3 squirrels 1 onion, chopped fine 1 tbsp tomato ketchup 1 cup mashed potatoes 3 tbsp bread crumbs some bacon grease. Parboil the squirrels in salt water for 15-20 minutes. Remove the meat from the bones and grind coarsely. Combine the meat with the onion, ketchup, potatoes and bread crumbs. Shape into cakes about 1/2 inch thick. Fry in bacon grease until well browned. So go on have a go, do your bit for the red. - Martin

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Re: A few squirrel recipes for you....

By admin on Thursday, October 18, 2007

I've googled Brunswick stew and here's what I got.

According to one story, Brunswick stew was named for Brunswick County, Virginia, where in 1828 Dr. Creed Haskins of the Virginia state legislature asked for a special squirrel stew from "Uncle Jimmy" Matthews to feed people attending a political rally. Brunswick, Georgia residents claim their stew is the original. It's just as likely the stew - at least a very similar version - was created much earlier. With the original ingredients of game (usually squirrel) and corn, and long simmering over an open fire, it's typical of early native dishes.

Brunswick stew is now most commonly made with chicken, or a combination of several meats, which might include rabbit, beef, and pork. Onions, corn, and tomatoes are usually included, and many recipes call for lima beans, peas, and/or okra.

Re: A few squirrel recipes for you....	By chefnick on Friday, October 19, 2007
a couple of weeks ago we did the lancashire life lunch at lucys cookery school, one of the writers called Ray, was doing the after lunch talk, he told us that a few years ago he did an interview with an american cook called linda, she was telling him how they cook and eat squirrels all the time, he asked her what it tasted like and she replied, " a lot like racoon "

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