Sherried Squirrel Or Rabbit Recipes

SHERRIED SQUIRREL (OR RABBIT)

Steps:

• Combine brine ingredients with meat in a large bowl.
• Cover and let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
• Drain and discard liquid.
• Pat meat dry and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Place flour, salt and pepper in a plastic zipper bag.
• Add meat and shake to coat.
• Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat.
• Increase heat to medium-high and brown squirrel pieces on all sides.
• Place meat and pan drippings in a 3-quart baking dish and add mushrooms.
• Combine sauce ingredients and pour over meat and mushrooms.
• Cover and bake until tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

SQUIRREL (OR RABBIT) BOG

Steps:

• 1. Sprinkle squirrel pieces with salt and place in Dutch oven with enough cold water to cover completely.
• 2. Add onion, celery and pepper.
• 3. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer until squirrel is tender and readily seperates from the bones.
• 4. Remove squirrel, saving broth.
• 5. Let squirrel cool, remove meat from bones.
• 6. Measure broth back into pot. (It is not necessary to drain onion and celery.)
• 7. Add water if necessary to make 4 cups liquid.
• 8. Return squirrel to pot.
• 9. Cut smoked sausage into 1/4-inch slices.
• 10. Add to pot along with rice; stir.
• 11. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
• 12. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or until most of broth is absorbed into rice or until rice grains are fluffy and tender.

SMOKED RABBIT

Steps:

• Place the rabbit pieces in a non-reactive bowl.
• Mix rest of ingredients and pour over rabbit pieces.
• Marinate in refrigerator at least 12 hours, turning occasionally.
• Remove from marinade and pat dry.
• Cold smoke in smoker at 75-85 degrees for about 2 hours.
• Hot smoke for several more hours until meat is thoroughly cooked. Or place on a cookie sheet and roast at 225 degrees until done, brushing occasionally with vegetable oil to prevent drying out.
• Cool and store in refrigerator wrapped in paper for up to 2 weeks.
• Serve thinly sliced on crackers as an appetizer.

CREAMED SQUIRREL OR RABBIT

Steps:

• 1. Cut meat in pieces, put in buttermilk , overnight.
• 2. Remove from buttermilk, dredge in flour sat and pepper.
• 3. Melt fat in skillet, add meat and brown, add 1 cup water, diced onion, and bay leaf, simmer till done add more water if needed while cooking.
• 4. When done remove meat from pan add 1/2 and 1/2 and flour to pan drippings bring this to a boil, add meat simmer for a few minutes serve.

SWEET BAKED SQUIRREL

Steps:

• Place the washed, cut-up squirrel pieces in a medium-sized bowl.
• In another bowl, blend the sorghum molasses and the cider. Pour this over the squirrel pieces, cover, and allow to marinate for 18-24 hours in the refrigerator. Turn the pieces several times during the marinating process.
• After the marination process is complete, gently dab off excess marinade from the squirrel meat with damp paper towels and roll them in the flour to which the salt has also been added. Set these pieces aside on a piece of wax paper or parchment for 30 minutes.
• Pre-heat the oven to 275-degrees F.
• In a large skillet, heat the oil and brown up the squirrel pieces. Set aside on a plate when browned.
• In a small roaster or Dutch oven, pour in the chicken broth and add in the butter, the mushrooms and the minced onion mushrooms. Place a small rack or oven-proof bowl in the roaster pan so that it will elevate the squirrel pieces above the liquid. Then place the squirrel pieces on the rack or bowl and cover with a lid or aluminum foil.
• Bake for 90 minutes in the pre-heated oven (275-degrees F.) and then check the squirrel for tenderness. If it's not fork tender, bake it for 30-45 more minutes.
• When the squirrel is plated up, set aside, pour any bowl drippings into the liquid that's in the roaster pan and make (squirrel-based) "red-eye gravy" from the drippings. Take the mushrooms out first, make the gravy, and then add them back in, or, just baste the squirrel on the plates with some of the drippings and the mushrooms. Either way is good.
• NOTE! It is no longer adviseable to eat the squirrel brains as they have now been associated with a form of mad cow disease called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. While ADEQUATE cooking eliminates the problem, it's still not worth the risk until more is known about the problem: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9500E0D91231F93AA1575BC0A961958260.

BASIC FRIED RABBIT OR SQUIRREL

Steps:

• Remove legs from body of dressed rabbit or squirrel.
• Split the body down the back through the breast.
• Cut each half in two crosswise.
• Dip meat pieces in melted butter.
• Roll pieces into crushed corn flakes coating all around.
• Brown meat in hot oil on each side.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 1 hour.
• Note: Some people like to soak the meat in salted water a few hours before cooking.
• If so cover the body with water in a pot and add 3 Tablespoons of salt.
• Then drain, rinse, and pat the body dry before cooking.
• I often do this especially if the animal appears to be old.