Ingredients:
2 squirrels, cleaned and pieced out (I save the ribs for stock)
2 tsp sage
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp walnut oil or pork fat
1 cup chicken or small game stock
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
5 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup crushed walnuts
Corn starch or flour, for the gravy
- Mix together the sage and salt. Pat the squirrel dry and dust with the sage-salt mixture
- Mix the apple cider vinegar in with the stock.
- Get the walnut oil or pork fat heated in the bottom of a pressure cooker. After it is heated, sear the squirrel meat on each side, then remove the squirrel and deglaze the bottom of the cooker with the ACV-stock mixture. Make sure to thoroughly clean the bottom of any bits.
- If your pressure cooker has a raised rack, place this in the cooker. Return the squirrel to the top of the rack and add in the black peppercorns, bay leaf and crushed walnuts.
- Place the lid on the pressure cooker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions, cooking the mixture for about one hour.
- After an hour, remove the squirrel and the rack from the pressure cooker. Place the squirrel in an heated oven to keep warm. Turn your burner down so the remaining liquid does not bubble.
- Slowly whip corn starch (mix with water first to get a sludge if you are using corn starch) or flour into the gravy until thickened to your liking.
- I have eaten this with brown rice and grits. In either case, I eat the squirrel separate from the gravy, which I pour over the starch. I think the gravy goes best with brown rice!
About Nick Hendricks
Squirrel, deer and bear