Category Archives: Recipes

Recipes for the cook. Everything from home, garden and wild game cooking

Squirrel Recipes, Wild Game Recipes

Marinated Squirrel

Marinated Squirrel

Marinated Squirrel the marinade is soy sauce based. Marinade the squirrel, 8 hours is enough. Before you start cooking make sure to pat the squirrel dry.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup of white wine – what you would drink
2 cloves of garlic – crushed
4 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1/4 lb. of butter
4 squirrels

Equipment:

Extra large food plastic storage bag with zipper lock
Grill
Barbeque grill basket
Sauce pan to heat marinade
Brush to use when basting with butter during grilling

Directions:

Making the marinade – Combine the soy sauce, white wine, crushed garlic cloves, brown sugar and lemon juice in a sauce pan and heat to a boil then turn off heat let ingredients cool. Once cool pour into plastic storage bag and add the 4 squirrels. Add enough cold water to cover the squirrels. Zip up and put in the refrigerator for 8 hours.

Take the squirrels out of the marinade and wash them off in cold water then dry. Liberally salt and pepper the squirrels. Crack their backs and lay them out butterflied in a grilling basket. Cook using a barbecue on medium high heat – baste the squirrels with the butter. Turn frequently. Cook until medium brown.

This goes well with grilled mixed vegetables.

Squirrel Recipes, Wild Game Recipes

Squirrel Pot Pie

Ingredients:

6 Squirrels cleaned & quartered
1 cup of Stock – read below on how to make
1 onion peeled and quartered
1 cup of milk
3 celery stalks cut in half
1/8 cup of dry red wine – what you would drink
1 bay leaf
4 tablespoons of butter
1 lb. of carrots chopped
1 lb. potatoes chunked
4 tablespoons of browned flour
1 large pie crust

Equipment:

1 large pot – to make the stock
1 large casserole dish
1 Medium sauce pan – to make the sauce

Directions:

Making the stock – In the large pot add the 6 squirrels, onion, celery and bay leaf and add just enough water to cover all. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer covered for 2 hours. After 2 hours check the meat – if you can remove it from the bone it is ready. Remove the meat and place in a colander to drain. Strain the remaining stock to remove all pieces of meat, fat and the vegetables.

Pull all squirrel meat from the bones and put to side.

Making the sauce – Melt the butter in the sauce pan then slowly stir in the browned flour making sure not to leave any lumps. Add 1 cup of the stock and the milk and wine. Salt and pepper to taste.

Making the pot pie – Place the meat, carrots and potatoes in the casserole and pour the sauce over them. Place the pie crust over the ingredients and securely fasten to the rim of the casserole dish. Poke holes in the crust with a fork so that during cooking steam can escape. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 425 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes or until the crust is good and golden brown

Cook up some wild rice for a side dish

Squirrel Recipes, Wild Game Recipes

Brunswick Stew

Ingredients:
2 1/2 lbs. squirrel cut into pieces
2 1/2 lbs. Pork – cut into stew sized chunks
1/4 cup of shortening
1 small onion chopped
2 cups skinless stewed tomatoes cut into large pieces
3 cups lima beans
1 cup of water
1 chili pepper – chopped and seeded
2 cloves
3 cups of corn – drained
2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 cup of unseasoned breadcrumbs

Equipment:

Large sauce pan with cover

Directions:

Heat shortening in sauce pan, brown the meat on all sides. Remove meat and place on paper towel to drain. In the sauce pan add onions and sauté until translucent (I personally like the onions browned). Take the onions out. Drain shortening from sauce pan and add the 1 cup of water, scrap all meat bits then add tomatoes, lima beans, chili pepper, onions, meat and cloves. Cover and simmer until meat is good and tender. At this point add the 3 cups of corn and any water if needed and simmer for another 15 minutes. Add Worcestershire sauce and take a taste – add salt and pepper if necessary.

The whole process should take between 3 – 4 hours.

Squirrel Recipes, Wild Game Recipes

Marcel’s Squirrel Stew

Ingredients:

2 squirrels cut into sections
1/4 lb. of apple-wood smoked bacon
3/4 lb. pork loin cut up into stew sized cubes
1/2 cup of flour
1/4 cup of browned flour
1 bay leaf
4 red potatoes diced
3 large carrots chunked (so it will not disintegrate during cook time)
4 cups stewed tomatoes
1 large sweet onion sliced a little on the thick side
1 large yellow pepper chopped
1 tablespoon of Paprika
1 Knoor’s vegetable bouillon cube
2 tablespoons of crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper

Equipment:

Large Pot with cover

Directions:

Dice the apple-wood bacon and fry in the pot on medium heat. Once the bacon is cooked to taste, I like it just before it becomes hard, remove the bacon and put to the side. Mix the flour, paprika, a dash of salt and pepper together. Dredge the squirrel and pork loin pieces in the mixture and place in the bacon fat. Cook until all sides are browned.

Once the meat is browned, add enough water to cover the meat. Add the bay leaf, vegetable bouillon cube and crushed red pepper. Cover and cook on a low heat for 2 – 3 hours or until the meats are tender. Add the diced carrots and cook for 20 minutes then add potatoes, stewed tomatoes, yellow pepper and onion. Cook until tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add back the bacon.

Take the browned flour and mix with cold water to make a paste you will thicken the stew with. Add the paste to the stew a little at a time. Thicken to taste.

Serve with a crusty bread and butter. A cold pale ale goes well with this dish.

Shellfish Recipes

New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 celery cut lengthwise into 4 sections each then sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock
Meat of 24 steamed clams and 10 ounces of the liquor from steaming (see steamed clams recipe)
or
2 (10-ounce) cans chopped clams in juice
1 cup heavy cream
2 bay leaves
1 pound of potatoes cut into 1/2- inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Equipment:

6 QT stove top sauce pot

Cooking Directions:

Heat the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and saute until softened, mixing often. Stir in the flour, mix to break up any lumps. Add the chicken stock, steamed clam liquor (or the juice from 2 cans of chopped clam), cream, bay leaves, and potatoes and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook 20 minutes, stirring often, until the potatoes are nice and tender. Once the potatoes are tender, add clams and season to taste with salt and pepper and serve. If using canned clams, cook until clams are just firm – about 2 minutes.

Shellfish Recipes

Steamed Clams

Ingredients:

4 dozen little neck clams
2 cups of dry white wine
1/2 cup minced shallots
4 medium garlic cloves – minced
1 bay leaf
¼ finely chopped parsley
2 tbls unsalted butter

Equipment:

8 Qt stove top pot with cover

Cooking Directions

Cooking the Clams

Combine the wine, shallots, garlic and bay leaf in the pot and slowly bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 3 minutes to blend the flavors. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Add the clams and cover. Check every few minutes, when the clams open they are done. Remove the clams – if you do not they may over-cook. Un-opened clams should be discarded.

Making the Dipping Sauce

Take the liquid the clams cooked in and divide in two equal portions. Place one portion back into the pot over a low heat. Add two tablespoons of unsalted butter and the parsley. Stir until the butter is melted. This is one of the best dipping sauces I have had with clams

The remaining liquid should be saved for making soups and clam sauce.

Tip: The live clams can be placed in a shallow pan with enough water to cover. Sprinkle a handful of cornmeal over them and let stand a few hours or overnight. They will absorb the cornmeal into their systems and it will clean out any sand as well as help in whitening the clam meat.