Hey, Jimmy Carter ate opossum when he was little, and he became President and won the Nobel Peace Prize! This and the next recipe are from "American Food" by Evan Jones.
1 opossum, about 2 1/2 lb., skinned and cleaned
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Flour
1/2 C water
4 medium-sized sweet potatoes
2 T. sugar
Preheat oven to 350 F. Wipe opossum with a damp cloth and trim and discard excess fat. Mix salt with pepper and rub thoroughly into opossum, inside and out. Sprinkle inside and out with flour. Put opossum on its back in a roasting pan with a tight-fitting lid. Pour in water, cover, and roast in oven for about 50 minutes. Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise and surround opossum [note: I am laughing hysterically as I type this] with them. If water has evaporated, add enough to cover bottom of pan. Cover and return to oven for about 25 minutes more. Remove cover and sprinkle sweet potatoes with about 1/4 teaspoon salt and the sugar. Continue roasting until meat and potatoes become crisp on the surface. Makes 3 to 4 servings.
SQUIRRELS IN A CLAY POT
If your local A&P has run out of squirrel this week, just come to my porch and bring your shotgun. There is enough for all!
1 t. ground savory
1 t. dried marjoram
1 t. dried thyme
1 T. coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 squirrels (about 1 lb. each), cut into 8 to 10 pieces each
2 large onions, chopped
3 oz. country ham with some fat, cut into strips
1 T. sweet butter
1/3 C. red wine
Preheat oven to 450 F. Crush herbs together along with coarse salt and add about 8 turns of pepper grinder, then rub pieces of squirrel thoroughly with mixture. [Ewww!] Place onion in the bottom of a pre-soaked 4-quart clay pot, put squirrel pieces on top, and then strew ham strips over. Dot with butter and cover with the clay top. Bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Remove and add wine, then bake, covered, for a final 20 minutes. Makes 3 to 4 servings.
SQUIRREL SUPREME
My squirrel is empty without you, babe...
2 small Squirrels
Seasoned salt
2 sl Salt pork, rendered
1 lg Can Pineapple chunks
1 Lemon (use juice only)
1/2 t Nutmeg
Juice from Pineapple
2 c Chicken stock
1 md Onion
Dredge the cut up squirrels with the seasoned flour. Brown meat well in pork renderings. Set aside, saute onion and nutmeg in pan juices. Add stock and fruit juices and bring to boil. Put meat back in pan and simmer covered for two hours. Add Pineapple chuncks to pan, cover again and cook another 1/2 hour. Serve in a covered casserole with juices poured over.
MOOSE RUMP ROAST
This is starting to get ridiculous. I wonder how large a moose rump really is?
6 lb Moose rump roast
4 T Worcestershire sauce
Vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
1 lg Onion, sliced
1 t.Garlic powder
1/2 c Red wine
1 c Water
Trim off all excess fat and rub roast all over with vegetable oil. Sprinkle on salt, pepper and garlic powder. Slice onion and lay in bottom of roasting pan. Pour two tablespoons of worcestershire over onions. Place roast on onion slices. Pour rest of worcestershire sauce over roast. Add wine and water. Seal roasting pan with aluminum foil and bake at 325 degrees for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, adding water as necessary to keep moist. When roast is done, remove from pan. To make gravy, add 2 cups water to contents of roasting pan. Bring to boil and scrape bottom of pan. Mix 3 tsps corn starch with 1/2 cup water and pour into pan, stirring constantly, until gravy is bubbling. Salt and pepper to taste.
BANANA WORM BREAD
From the Entomology Department at Iowa State University. Someone's tax dollars went toward the creation of this recipe.
1/2 C shortening
3/4 C sugar
2 bananas, mashed
2 C flour
1 t soda
1 t salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2 eggs
1/4 cup dry-roasted army worms
Mix together all ingredients. Bake in greased loaf pan at 350 degrees for about 1 hour.
IGUANA STEW
"I wish I was in, Tijuana, eating barbecued iguana"
1 Iguana
1 lg Onion
2 Cloves Garlic
3 Tomatoes
2 Green Peppers
4 t Achiote Oil
1 pn Pepper
Salt -- To Taste
Make the achiote oil by frying the achiote slowly until the oil is red. Kill the iguana by cutting off its head. Open the belly lengthwise and remove all the entrails. [I didn't write this, folks.] Cook in salted water until the meat is tender (take care not to let it get too soft). Peel and cut in portions. Season with all the above ingredients and cook with about 1 cup water, until almost dry.
FRENCH FRIED SKUNK
I really, really, really hope this is a joke. It is, isn't it?
2 Skunks, skinned and cleaned
1 T Salt
Water to cover
2 c Bear fat or lard
2 Egg yolks, beaten
3 c Milk or cream
1 1/2 c Flour
1/2 ts Salt
2 tb Baking powder
Clean and wash the skunks, making sure that the scent glands are removed. Cut up into small serving pieces. Put a soup kettle on the stove and add the meat. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and boil until the meat is tender, about 40 minues. Remove all the scum that rises to the surface. Make a batter by mixing together the egg yolks, milk, flour, salt and baking ppowder. Mix real good [I didn't write this, folks] until the batter is about like cake batter. Heat the bear fat or lard in a deep fryer to about 360 degrees. Dip the pieces of skunk in the batter and then fry them in the deep fryer until golden brown. Drain well and serve.
INDIAN [sic] BAKED RACCOON
These next two recipes were found on the First Nations Recipe Index, where you can find many yummy recipes from the Native American traditions. I don't think this is one of them.
Remove skin and inner parts of raccoon, singe over fire and wash. Then parboil for 1 hour. Place in roaster in about 3" of hot water. Add 1 carrot, apple, and onion. Bake until tender.
CATTAILS ON THE COB
Owners of Manx cats are exempt from making this recipe!
Young cattail spikes
Water
Butter
This is simple.Gather green cattail spikes of early spring. Clean off in cold water. Place in a pot and cover with water, boil for 10 to 15 minutes. When done, drain and serve with butter. Eat like corn on the cob.
