[thechat] Grey Squirrel Cull in UK

Roger Austin raustin3 at nc.rr.com
Tue Jan 24 18:20:38 CST 2006


Vegetarians and vegans can ignore this message.

Bob Davis wrote:
> I learned how to dress and quarter a deer last year. It's not too  
> complex - and, if you're the curious type - it's pretty cool. You  
> really get to see how an animal works. What they eat, what types of  
> injuries they sustain, what kind of condition they're in.

  My Dad gets a couple of deer each year from various extended
family members who are hunters. Hell, you can go out each morning
and check out the sides of the roads for all you can eat around
here. It seems that without wolves, bambi's population has exploded
faster than human beings.
  There is a (not so) old family story about the deer Dad hung up
on a nail in the back and it attacked him. It seems the nail
wasn't all that well attached to the joist. You can imagine what
happens next as Dad is laying out prone with a deer on top of
him.
  One of his best recipes is barbeque he makes with a green ham
and equal parts venison in a slow cooker. Venison is very lean so
it needs the fat from the green ham to make a good barbeque. I
need to get the other ingredients sometime. (Note to TheChat:
Barbeque in North Carolina is only used as a noun.)

> I've never tasted squirrel. I'd love to get a chance to get some  
> rabbits though. They're yummy!

  You can purchase rabbit in the store here in North Carolina, but
they are not the same tasting animal as the wild rabbit that you
hunt. It is in the frozen meat section in some of the fancy
megamarts. The farm raised rabbits taste a lot like chicken.
I can't imagine why I would pay a lot for store bought rabbit
when chicken is so cheap. It may be though that there are some
recipes that bring out a different taste.

  Squirrel (at least grey squirrel) is very lean and has a gamey
taste. It is very tough since they are all muscle so long brazing
is needed. I would post the methods for cleaning, but the chat may
not be the best place. Be sure to pick out the lead if you use a
shotgun. There is nothing worse than chomping down on steel shot
unexpectedly.

Recipe: clean and quarter four grey squirrels.
  Make a dredge of flour, salt and pepper, and Old Bay if you got it
in a paper bag. Coat meat with dredge by dumping it into the bag and
shaking it. If using a kid to shake the bag, make sure that they
close it first.
  Shake off the meat and fry it in a frying pan until browned. Remove
meat. Sweat some chopped onions or shallots in the grease. Make a
brown roux from flour, drippings and butter in the pan. Add the meat
back in the pan. Add some milk or cream and simmer the whole mess
about 30-45 minutes or until tender and the gravy has set. Season
with salt and pepper to taste.
  While the squirrel is cooking, fix a batch of home made biscuits
because you are going to need them.
  You can do the same thing with rabbit or chicken. Chicken livers
and gizzards can also be done this way with excellent results.
  Enjoy, Roger
-- 
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