A General Recipe for Preparing ‘Rodents’

 

  

If you’re a lousy shot, and hit the animal in the vitals, as long as you gut it fairly quickly, the damage will not spoil the meat…

 

Head-shots are clean…

 

This is a simple all-encompassing recipe for rodents – such as squirrels, guinea pigs, mice – even armadillos …

 

After gutting, and skinning the animal – flay the meat best you can in pieces – let the pieces of meat marinade in watered-down lime juice overnight in a covered container in the refrigerator – boil the carcass in water with a peeled onion and whatever other vegetables you have on hand, plus at least some salt, pepper, and thyme – if you’ve got other spices you favor, throw them in… after a few hours, sift this pot, and you have a ‘fond’ –

 

Next day, fry the pieces of meat in a pan with lots of butter – until the meat is tough…

 

(it won’t take long, because actually, the night before, the lime-juice cooked it) –

 

Next, place the strips of meat in the clarified fond, and boil it for maybe an hour – until the meat is tender… and there is just so much fond left…

 

Add some more butter, til it melts…

 

Then begin shaking in flour, little by little, stirring constantly – until it all begins to thicken…

 

This is a meat sauce made of squirrel (or whatever) – best served over rice or pasta or boiled potatoes or vegetable mix, but can be eaten as is…

 

Red wine can enter at some point during the process…

 

I usually decorate the bowl with a dollop of sour cream and a fresh green basil leaf…