Monday, February 2, 2009

It's What's For Dinner


Should he happen to see his shadow, things will not go well for the groundhog.

 
Searching for something good to do with groundhogs, I found this recipe on a Michigan outdoor website -they apparently got it from Herb. My commentary is in red to represent what I'll be seeing if that groundhog delivers the wrong result, because frankly, I don't think I can bear another 6 weeks of winter.

Waco Groundhog in Sour Cream

Recipe By: "Indian Cookin", compiled by Herb Walker, 1977

1 Groundhog, skinned & cleaned (who can I pay to do this deed?)
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
2 quarts water
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup bacon fat (apparently the fat in the groundhog is not enough)
3 small wild onions (currently buried under a foot of snow)
1/2 cup water
1 cup sour cream

Skin and clean the groundhog ( this may be my first problem). Wash and dry and put in an earthen crock (why do I have to dry it when it's going into liquid?). Cover with water and a half cup of vinegar and 1 T. of salt. Let stand in a cool place overnight (don't worry, nothing bad could come of this, right?).

 In the morning, remove from brine, wash and pat dry with a damp cloth (again with patting dry then immersing in water). In a large soup kettle combine 2 qt. of water and 2 T. of soda. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer meat for 15 minutes, removing the scum (mmmm, scum) as it rises to the surface. Drain and rinse the groundhog meat and cut into serving pieces.

 Combine the flour, salt and allspice and dredge the pieces of meat in the mixture. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Melt the bacon fat in a heavy iron frying pan until smoking (nice combo of smoking hot and bacon fat- I'll keep a lid nearby in case I start a kitchen fire). Brown meat on all sides. Transfer the browned meat into a greased 4 qt. casserole. Arrange sliced onions on top, add water, cover and bake in a preheated oven for 2 hours or until the meat is tender (must be tough if I have to brine, boil, fry, and then braise).

 Transfer the meat to a heated platter to keep warm. Put the casserole on top of the stove over medium heat and spoon in the sour cream stirring constantly (this is needed either because the groundhog and bacon don't add enough fat, or the flavor is dreadful and I must mask it-I'm just not sure). Do not let the sauce come to a boil. Put the meat back into the casserole and simmer for about 15 minutes. Delicious served with creamed dandelion leaves (now where will I find dandelions on February 2nd in Michigan?).

On second thought, maybe I should make reservations for dinner. After looking at this guy's freaky little fingers, I've come to the conclusion that this recipe has too much fat...

Photo Wiki Commons

17 comments:

laurie said...

and yet...and yet... somehow you know you will.

flydragon said...

Hahahaha
Maybe dukealicious can help you with the catching and skinning.
And the eating!! Yuck.

debra said...

Hmmmm--I wonder if a veggie version would work.

owiatw said...

Damn thing didn't even come out of his hole. Maybe our sis can go to Waco and send us the dandelions.

6 more weeks of SH_T

Brenda said...

I hear ya! Sick of this yucky stuff! Bring out the summer sun please!

Rudee said...

Debra-maybe a chocolate version would work. The little rat saw his shadow.

Rositta said...

Wiarton Willie has spoken, 6 more @#%$# weeks of winter...ciao

sandy said...

Wow, is this recipe for real?!? Loved your comments. I sure hope you get a warm up soon. I just shake my head when I see this cold weather all over the place. I cannot fathom it..not in my wildest dreams. Maybe an hour of it visiting the mountains...

Anonymous said...

Might as well eat roadkill.

Rudee said...

Sandy, it's a real recipe.

Amy, I agree. I'm sure there are plenty who'd like to run the varmints over, but they've all run back to their hidey-holes.

Jane said...

So glad I don't eat meat!

Unknown said...

Looks to me like it needs a little wine with the braising. Make that a lot of wine.

Winifred said...

Oh I can't believe you'd eat them!

Rudee said...

Yes Distracted! Maybe Dandelion Wine.

Why not eat them Winifred? He's pretty useless to me any other way! If he disappears, he wouldn't be around to forecast more winter weather. Maybe we can find a way to blame him for all the snow in London too.

debra said...

6 more weeks! figures.....

Betty F said...

I don't think I could eat a ground hog either; I'm sorry he saw his shadow

Rudee said...

Betty, maybe you could if he was wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform.