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Post by Admin on Nov 3, 2013 9:18:50 GMT -5
Squirrel and Dumplins'
Every fall, Daddy would break out his 12 Gauge shotgun and head for the woods. Jerry, Billy and I would tag along, enjoying the crisp fall mornings, and hoping to see a few squirrels. Of course, we were harshly warned to be quiet so we wouldn't scare the squirrels before Daddy had a chance to kill a few. We would find a hickory nut tree, and settle down waiting for the sound of the squirrels "cutting" the nuts off the tree. Daddy would take careful aim and bring down the squirrel, letting us kids run and pick up the bounty. We'd have to wander around the woods for a few hours until we managed to kill a "mess" of squirrels, about 4 or 5 squirrels. Then we'd head back to the house so Mama could make Daddy's favorite squirrel dish, Squirrel and Dumplins.
Skin the squirrels, clean out the insides, cut off the feet, front legs and head. Halve the carcass, rinse well put in a pot covered with lightly salted water and let stand overnight.
4-5 dressed squirrels, quartered and soaked overnight in lightly-salted water 3 quarts water 2 cups flour 1 cup whole milk 2 T Crisco shortening Salt and pepper to taste
Boil 3 quarts water in a large stew pot. Remove squirrels from the overnight soak and add to the boiling water. Let boil until tender, about an hour. Remove meat and bones from the pot and pick any remaining meat off the bones and set aside. Strain the broth with a fine mesh strainer and return the strained broth to the stew pot.
Mix flour, milk, shortening, salt and pepper until well blended. Add milk or flour to mixture if you need to adjust the dough consistency. Knead mixture into a ball then roll out onto a floured surface to desired thickness. Cut dumplings into your preferred shape and size. Bring the broth back to a boil. Add dumplings to broth and cook for 15 minutes. Add squirrel meat back to the pot and let simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, Makes about 12 servings.
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Post by sarge on Nov 3, 2013 17:26:54 GMT -5
I squirrel hunt a lot and have since I was a kid. I also like to eat squirrels and that squirrel and dumpling is a recipe I will have to try. If I have a mess of young squirrels I just fry them like you would chicken. For old squirrels I use the following method: Take a baking pan with lid, put about a half inch of water in it, add some whole potatoes and carrots. Salt and pepper the quartered squirrel pieces,roll them in flour and brown them good in a skillet of bacon grease if you have it, if not crisco will do. After the squirrels are browned good place them on top of the potatoes and carrots, cover with the lid and put in a pre heated 300 degree over for 3 hours. You have a whole meal in one pan. I usually make gravy out of the grease left in the frying pan. Good stuff.
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Recipes
Nov 3, 2013 17:54:59 GMT -5
Post by Admin on Nov 3, 2013 17:54:59 GMT -5
Rabbit or Goat Stew
During the war with rationing and money being scarce, Mama would have to be creative with her meals. I remember going up to Possum Trot (Formally Patterson, TN) to visit Uncle Dick Pate. While there, Dick would give us a goat to eat. Daddy would kill and skin the goat, and Mama would make his favorite barbecue
Barbecue sauce for goat or rabbit
1 c Dry red wine or Cider Vinegar 2 1/2 lb rabbit, alligator, venison, squirrel, or goat) 2 c Onion, chopped 1/2 c Olive oil 3 Cloves garlic, minced 1 lg Bell pepper, chopped 1 c Celery, chopped 2 c Green onions, chopped 1/2 c Parsley, chopped 2 cn (8 oz.) tomato sauce 1 lb Fresh tomatoes, seeded, peeled, chopped 2 T Worcestershire sauce 1/2 t Basil 2 Bay leaves 1/2 t Oregano 1/4 t Cayenne pepper, or to taste salt and black pepper to taste Tabasco, to taste
Marinate game in 1 cup of red wine at least two hours before using in sauce. Saute onions in oil until golden brown, stirring often. (Do not allow to burn.) Add bell pepper and celery and saute until tender. Add chopped tomatoes and tomato sauce as well as other seasonings. Simmer for 10 minutes then add mushrooms and drained game. Cook covered for 45 minutes, then add green onions, garlic and parsley and cook uncovered for 15 minutes
Great with cornbread
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Recipes
Nov 3, 2013 17:56:33 GMT -5
Post by Admin on Nov 3, 2013 17:56:33 GMT -5
I squirrel hunt a lot and have since I was a kid. I also like to eat squirrels and that squirrel and dumpling is a recipe I will have to try. If I have a mess of young squirrels I just fry them like you would chicken. For old squirrels I use the following method: Take a baking pan with lid, put about a half inch of water in it, add some whole potatoes and carrots. Salt and pepper the quartered squirrel pieces,roll them in flour and brown them good in a skillet of bacon grease if you have it, if not crisco will do. After the squirrels are browned good place them on top of the potatoes and carrots, cover with the lid and put in a pre heated 300 degree over for 3 hours. You have a whole meal in one pan. I usually make gravy out of the grease left in the frying pan. Good stuff. Sounds great. As a note to my recipe, be sure to pick out the buckshot.
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Post by sarge on Nov 3, 2013 21:23:09 GMT -5
Surely you aren't implying that I hunt squirrels with a shotgun? 22 rimfire only!!!!!
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Recipes
Nov 3, 2013 21:57:18 GMT -5
Post by Admin on Nov 3, 2013 21:57:18 GMT -5
Surely you aren't implying that I hunt squirrels with a shotgun? 22 rimfire only!!!!! Not you Sarge. I know we only hunt squirrel with a 22 rifle these days, but when I was a boy, hunting with my Dad it was during WWII and you couldn't buy rifle shells. We reloaded our own 12ga shells using black powder we could buy for farm use and caps and shot were available if you knew the right people I guess.
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Recipes
Nov 3, 2013 22:11:54 GMT -5
Post by sarge on Nov 3, 2013 22:11:54 GMT -5
Well, I must confess; In my younger years I bagged many squirrels with a 410 shotgun. A shotgun insures meat on the table and when I went squirrel hunting I was expected to bring home squirrels.
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Post by Admin on Nov 4, 2013 3:01:15 GMT -5
My brother wrote this story just before he passed away. It is so true and brings back memories of us brothers, hunting the fields around our family home.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHERE HAVE ALL THE RABBITS GONE
I went home today.
I turned off the highway onto the lane leading to the old home place. The gravel lane had been replaced with a five lane street. The cotton fields and cornfields that used to border the lane now grew houses and tall apartments.
One thought kept running through my mind was, “Where had all the rabbits gone?”
I had walked these fields, first behind my father and later on, on my own, hunting all kind of game.
How many young boys and girls, or for that matter, young men and women have never had this opportunity?
An excellent time to hunt is on a cold winter day after a light snow. As a young boy, I watched my dad take out his double-barreled shotgun, put on his hunting jacket, pockets filled with shells and space for game, and dream of the time it would fit me. Listening to my Dad, I had little time to daydream, as he pointed out tracks of different animals and their pattern of living. I learned the difference between those tracks, and even today, I look for tracks after any snowfall. Following him through the fields and along fencerows, I learned many things that only this type experience can teach. I was taught sportsmanship and fair play. I also learned safe practices with a firearm, and gained a respect for all guns. Later, when I carried the shotgun alone, I knew it wasn’t sporting to shoot the rabbit sitting in the cotton patch. I was surprised when I missed after giving the rabbit a running start. That was something my dad seldom did. So I learned how to shoot.
We killed game only for food. I found there was an art to cleaning and preparing game. I still remember walking into town to buy a loaf of “light bread” to go with my Mother’s famous rabbit bar-b-q.
How many of our young men and women have ever sat in the woods and listened to a squirrel cut a nut, or watched a deer enter a clearing early in the morning, or a group of wild turkeys feeding in an open area? Have you ever watched a dog point a covey of quail, or carefully approach a pond to see if ducks had overnighted there on their migration south. I remember using cord and hooks to make my trotline, then cutting a cornstalk from the garden to stick the hooks into so as not to get it tangled. Going down to a large fishing hole in the river, I would set and bait the lines. Then at dawn, returning to the river and with baited breath look at the tree limb jerk and wonder if more than one catfish had been caught. Imagine the pride a boy feels as he returns to the house with a big fish over his shoulder to show his mother and dad.
How many of our young men and women can skin and prepare a catfish, rabbit or squirrel? Pluck the pin feathers from a wild turkey, quail or dove? So much education lost.
I was a little sadden when I went home today.
============================================================================================================================================== Recipe for Buttermilk fried rabbit
I highly recommend you brine your rabbits before frying. A simple brine of 1/4 cup kosher salt to 4 cups water will do — the rabbit is going to get plenty of seasoning later. Submerge your bunny in this brine for up to 12 hours.
A good Mess of Rabbits is about 3 or 4 minimum for 2 People.
•3 or 4 cottontail rabbits, cleaned and quartered. •2 cups buttermilk •1 tablespoon paprika •1 tablespoon garlic powder •2 teaspoons cayenne •2 cups flour •1 teaspoon salt •2 cups vegetable oil
1.Mix the buttermilk with the all the spices except the teaspoon of salt and the flour. Coat the rabbit with the mixture and set in a covered container overnight, or at least 8 hours.
2.When you are ready to fry, pour the oil into a large pan — a big cast iron frying pan is ideal — and heat over medium-high heat. The general idea is you want the oil to come halfway up the side of the rabbit.
3.Meanwhile, take the rabbit out of the buttermilk and let it drain in a colander. Don’t shake off the buttermilk or anything, just leave it there.
4.Let the oil heat until it is about 325 degrees; this is the point where a sprinkle of flour will immediately sizzle. Do not let the oil smoke!
5.When the oil is hot, pour the flour and salt into a plastic bag and shake to combine. Put a few pieces of rabbit into the bag and shake to get it coated in flour.
6.Fry for 12-15 minutes. Fry gently — you want a steady sizzle, but nothing raging, and you definitely don’t want the rabbit to just sit in oil. You might need to adjust the heat a bit.
7.Turn the rabbit pieces and fry for another 10-12 minutes. The front quarters will get done first, followed by the hind quarters.
8.You will probably need to fry in batches, so just leave the rabbit pieces in the colander until you are ready to flour them up and fry them. Don’t let the floured pieces sit.
9.When the rabbit is good and fried, let them rest on a rack set over a paper towel to drain away any excess oil.
10.Serve immediately.
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Post by sarge on Nov 4, 2013 10:54:14 GMT -5
I can sure relate to your brother's story. Great recipe too.
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Recipes
Nov 4, 2013 11:27:02 GMT -5
Post by Admin on Nov 4, 2013 11:27:02 GMT -5
I can sure relate to your brother's story. Great recipe too. Thanks Sarge. Works great for squirrel as well. One note - we didn't use the belly flap (fat) but a lot of people love that part - almost like bacon. We also left the loin attached to the front quarter, although some people cut the loin (side meat between the front and back legs) out and cook separately. Your choice.
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