Great for pest control too, but I am not eating squirrel.
Don't know what your missing Bro....
Squirrel Stew with Paprika and Greens
There are a lot of ways you can play with this dish. You can use rabbit or chicken instead of squirrel, you can red wine instead of white wine, red vinegar instead of cider, kielbasa instead of smoked Portuguese sausages, collards instead of wild greens etc, etc. Have fun with it.
The only trick to this stew, if it can even be called a trick, is to build the flavors bit by bit. Not everything needs as long to cook as, say, squirrel legs. Follow my instructions on when you put in each ingredient and you’ll be fine.
Oh, and as you might guess, this stew reheats really well so you can make it for lunches during the week.
Serves 6 to 8.
Prep Time: 20 minutes, mostly for jointing the squirrels
Cook Time: 2 hours, maybe more if they are old squirrels
3 squirrels, cut into serving pieces
Salt
Flour for dusting
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cups sliced onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 heaping teaspoon dried savory or oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 heaping tablespoon paprika
2 to 3 cups of whole, peeled tomatoes, torn into large pieces
1 pound smoked sausage, such as kielbasa or linguica, sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 pound greens (kale, chard, collards, wild greens, etc)
black pepper to taste
__________
Salt the squirrel pieces well and then dust in flour. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy, lidded pot over medium-high heat. Brown the squirrels in batches, being sure to not overcrowd the pot. Move the browned pieces to a plate or cutting board while you cook the rest.
When the squirrels have been nicely browned, remove them all from the pot and add the onion. Saute the onion until it just begins to brown on the edges, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the tomato paste, mix well and cook this for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often.
Pour in the white wine, vinegar and about 1 quart of water. Add the savory, red pepper flakes and paprika, then the torn-up tomatoes, then the squirrel. Mix well and bring to a simmer. Add salt to taste and cook gently until the squirrel wants to fall off the bone, about 90 minutes. Fish out all the squirrel pieces and pull them off the bone — this makes the stew a lot easier to eat. Return them to the pot.
Add the smoked sausage and the greens and cook until the greens are done, about 10 minutes (If you are using collards, they need more than 10 minutes to cook so adjust accordingly). Add salt, black pepper, chile and vinegar to taste and serve with crusty bread.
Or maybe more to your taste...
Hmong Squirrel Stew
Cook Time: 90 minutes to 2 hours
2 squirrels, cut into serving pieces
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk of lemongrass, minced (white part only)
3 to 5 red chiles, chopped
1 tablespoon minced galangal (optional)
2 tablespoon minced ginger, peeled
1 quart chicken stock
6 lime leaves, or 1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce or soy sauce
1 pound bok choy or chard, chopped
1/4 pound snow peas
1 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns (optional)
Salt
GARNISH
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup chopped mint
__________
Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot such as a Dutch oven. Pat the squirrel pieces dry and brown them over medium-high heat in the oil. Remove them as they brown and set aside.
Add the garlic, lemongrass, galangal, ginger and chiles and stir-fry over high heat for 90 seconds.
Return the squirrel to the pot and add the chicken stock, lime leaves and fish sauce. You want the broth to cover everything by about an inch. If it does not, add some water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the meat wants to fall off the bone, between 1 hour and 2 hours. Remove the meat and shred it off the bones. Return it to the pot.
Add the bok choy and the snow peas and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Add salt to taste and the ground Sichuan pepper.
You can serve it as-is in bowls, or over some steamed rice in a bowl. Garnish with the cilantro, green onions and mint.
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