Unable to
find a chicken dish I ate years ago; I looked through an old cookbook. I mean
really old. This tome existed in the 60’s, but recipes dated before that era.
I found instructions
for “Squirrel Stew.” Yep, you read that
correctly. Squirrel, as in the backyard variety. I doubt city people in the 60’s
created this questionable cuisine, but I know people in the early 1900’s did.
In fact, people
ate this common source of protein during the Great Depression.
My dad’s siblings
ate it regularly. As a sergeant in the USA Army, he earned medals as a
sharpshooter and netted a reputation for his marksmanship. He may have gained
this skill by providing food for the family table.
His mom, my
grandmother, was an accomplished cook and could make anything taste gourmet.
As a wee
child, I recall eating a piece of fried squirrel she had prepared. My dad enjoyed it,
but then he liked dark, fatty, meat.
The housewives
of yesteryear possessed numerous abilities with food preparation. Can you
imagine dressing a squirrel to fry, bake or roast?
Yuk. Me
either.
I didn’t see
my grandmother prepare the delicacy, for which I’m grateful.
I prefer selecting protein in a shrink-wrapped package at the grocery store. I don’t find squirrel as an option there, and I hope I never need it as a future staple. However, squirrels abound in plentiful supply in our backyard.
I suppose,
if need be, my hubby could provide a dressed squirrel, and I would fry it, but
if I had to dress the thing, we’d go hungry.
Yep!
Some among
us (about 1.8 million Americans according to the Internet) enjoy squirrel. They
appreciate the taste and nutritional benefit of this “new” food. A few compare
it to the taste of rabbit.
How many of
you eat rabbits these days? Do you want to try it or squirrel? If you don’t
have squirrel, you can substitute rabbit in the following recipe.
Here’s a way
people cooked it years ago. I’m sure today’s measurements are updated. This
recipe calls for quarts, but a lot of people are canning foods again, so quarts
may be in their pantry.
Squirrel
Stew
Ingredients
3
plump dressed squirrels
Seasoned
flour
Salt
and pepper
6
onions sliced thin
3
cups of water
6
tomatoes, peeled and diced
3
red peppers, seeded and chopped
Pinch
of thyme
1
qt of lima beans
Kernels
from 6 ears of corn
1
qt of okra
1
Tbsp chopped parsley
Butter
Directions
Cut
meat into serving pieces. Dip into flour and seasonings. Brown in fat with
onions. Transfer to a casserole dish. Add water, tomatoes, peppers, and thyme.
Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add lima beans, corn, okra, and parsley. Cook
until tender. If desired, thicken with flour and butter kneaded to a paste.
If you try this, let me know how you like it.
While it simmers on the stove, read on of my books.
