Yes, you read that right. Squirrel. As you know, the husband and I adore the outdoors, especially the farm, and are major proponents for eating fresh, local, and as free from preservatives as possible. So when the husband found this recipe in Field and Stream magazine, he was determined for us to try it.
If you follow along on Instagram, you would have seen this teaser photo from our off day recently before we headed off for a day of hunting. I was super excited to wear my new Hunter boots (in hunter green of course) along with my new camo overalls – both of which where parts of my birthday presents this year! Y’all – I have been obsessing over these boots for a while to wear at the farm and in real life on rainy days & I could not recommend them highly enough. So. stinkin. comfortable. And kept my feet completely dry & warm out hunting & then turned around and were adorable with skinnies for church on Sunday. I’m convinced everyone needs a pair.
Also, I just have the most handsome husband there is and he is simply just wonderful all the way around and I am so thankful for all the fun and exciting new adventures we have been on together over the past few years! And not to mention, no shave November looks good on him. 🙂
Anyhow, back to the squirrels! Now before you get all “but they are so cute!” on me…they are feisty little demon critters in the wild. There is not a single thing “cute” about them. They are vicious, elusive, and conniving little creatures. I swear one of them jumped out of tree about 50 feet high, after being shot – twice – and tried to attack us before a third shot finally took him down. You can’t tell me there is anything adorable about a beady eyed fuzzy ball of fury lunging at your face. And if this doesn’t convince you enough, there certainly is something to be said about the satisfaction that comes from finding, killing, cleaning, and cooking your own meat from start to finish. That, and I totally felt like Katniss Everdeen, which is always a plus.
Now that there is no love lost for the wild squirrels, I bet you are gearing up to try this recipe out! The recipe would work well for rabbit, duck, or really even chicken for the less adventurous folks reading this as well, so don’t rule it out just quite yet. We tweaked the original recipe a bit as it called for juniper berries, and they were no where to be found (in any form) and I was pleasantly surprised with the way it turned out! If I hadn’t been involved in the entire process, I would have never known it was squirrel, I would have thought it was chicken or turkey. It was very tasty and I would certainly try it again!
Now what you’ve all been waiting for…the recipe itself!
Ingredients
- 4 squirrels (cleaned – only part I got a tad squeamish with)
- 2 bottles of Pinot Noir (or other dry, light-bodied red wine
)
- 1-2 tablespoons thyme
 (or 1 fresh sprig)
- 2-3 tablespoons rosemary
 (or 1-2 fresh sprigs – or use 1 tablespoon cracked juniper berries & 2 tablespoons rosemary)
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons black peppercorns (cracked)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 slices good-quality country (thick sliced) bacon (cut into 1-inch dice
)
- 1 cup pearl onions, peeled
- 2 cups forest mushrooms (shiitake, morel, chanterelle, oyster, or your favorite variety)
- 2 small carrots (diced)
- 1 large stalk celery (diced)
- 1-2 cloves garlic (smashed
)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions
- To prepare the meat:
- Remove the hind & forelegs from each squirrel with shears.
- Trim the ribs away from the saddle & discard ribs.
- Cut the saddle in half.
- In a large nonreactive bowl, combine half to 3/4 of the bottle of wine with the thyme, rosemary, 2 of the bay leaves, peppercorns, & brown sugar.
- Stir to dissolve the sugar, then add the squirrel pieces.
- You may need to add a bit more wine to make sure the pieces are all covered in liquid.
- Cover & refrigerate to marinate for 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Remove the squirrel pieces from the marinade & pat dry with paper towels.
- Discard the marinade.
- Season the pieces with salt and pepper & dredge in the flour, shaking off any excess.
- Transfer the floured pieces to a wire rack or plate.
- Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat (we used a cast iron one).
- Add the bacon, & cook until just crisp and golden brown.
- With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper towel–lined plate.
- Add the squirrel pieces (in batches if necessary) and brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side.
- Transfer to the plate with the bacon.
- Add the pearl onions and cook for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Then add the mushrooms, carrots, celery, garlic, and remaining bay leaves and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring.
- Add the remaining half bottle of wine (and possible go into second bottle if you used 3/4 of the first- again we want the meat & veggies here to be covered) and bring to a boil.
- Don’t forget to scrape the bottom of the pot to dislodge any tasty browned bits as well.
- Return the squirrel and bacon to the mixture, stir to incorporate, & place the pot in the oven, covered.
- Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the squirrel meat is tender (but not quite falling off the bone).
- Serve immediately (will serve 4-6) – goes well with a salad and the leftover wine!
Have you ever eaten squirrel? What did you think?
