SQUIRREL TAMALES

The dinner pictured above shows squirrel tamales wrapped in corn husks served with refried beans and rice, topped with cheese, green hot sauce and home made salsa---all garnished with the same olives and parsely used in the preparation of the tamale filling sauce.


You may remember me saying Charley in Georgia has some health issues, one of which is high blood pressure. So salt is definitely an enemy. In addition, he needs to stay away from all preservatives. So a lot of foods that are seen as safe for many people are verboten to Charley. Hence, he is on a quest to find the perfect food to improve his condition and restore and protect his health. And this led him to develop a great recipe for squirrel tamales!

Why squirrel, you ask? Well---

1. Squirrel is a free-range, "organic" animal. There's no manufactured feed like "Squirrel Chow" that they are forced to eat. Hence, the preservatives and chemicals used in most pet foods are not on the squirrel's menu, and by extension, in Charley's system.

2. Squirrels are not fed antibiotics, steroids and other chemicals in order to keep them at their fattest for human consumption. Too, the males are not castrated at an early age to make sure they are the right size for human consumption (as even are unlucky feral pigs). In fact, they are true vegetarians, not scavengers, living on a diet of expensive gourmet nuts.


3. Squirrels are plentiful and are seen as a nuisance animal, so nobody misses them. Truth is, as far as about 20 years back, they were actually the most sought after by hunters of game. As the rural family and sporting hunter numbers have dwindled, venison (bambi) has moved into the number one spot. Er, so should I say in honor of the squirrel, this once primal food source of a growing nation, the missing ingredient that kindled Brunswick Stew lives free, conjuring up images of Rocket J. Squirrel rather than Mr. MC Squirrel, except perhaps, in parts of Georgia. BAM!

4. The price is right.

Charley says you can't believe how great a squirrel cooking in his kitchen smells. You just have to be there and sniff to appreciate it!

Without further adieu, here's Charley's recipe:

SQUIRREL TAMALES (Recipe by Charley Ferrall)

Base Ingredients

_ 12-16 cleaned and trimmed Squirrels (2 - 3 pounds); heads & tails removed
_ water sufficient to cover for boil, steam, or pressure cook
_ 3 cups squirrel broth (retained from processing) -- can be diluted with water if necessary
_ 1 cup shortening of choice or as prescribed by masa harina supplier
_ NO salt regardless of who says so
_ 3 cups masa harina

Sauce Ingredients

_ 1 1/2 large onion
_ 2`large minced garlic cloves
_ 3 cups shredded celery
_ 3 cups shredded carrots
_ 2 cups shredded sweet green peppers
_ 2 cups chopped zucchini
_ 1 quart of tomatoes plain; can be whole crushed or chopped
_ (2 qts if juiced, no saved pulp)
_ 3 tsp sugar
_ 3 sprigs of parsley - chopped

_ small can of black olives or olives of choice (optional)
_ fresh basil chopped (optional)

_ 2 cups of chopped fresh okra (uncooked)
_ 2/3 cup raisins

Optional spices and flavors

_ 2 bay leaves
_ chilies
_ chili powders (mucho)
_ cumin
_ oregano
_ coriander
_ pinch of curry (careful)

Serving Ingredients

_ salsa
_ sour cream
_ shredded cheeses
_ hot sauce


Preparation:

Elect a manner in which to cook the squirrels that you are comfortable with. Preferred is pressure steaming where the squirrels are not cooked directly in water but with steam directly above the water. This makes the best broth. Alternately, the squirrels can be treated in the same manner as just boiling chicken. Longer low cooking times here give the best results. When squirrels are cooked, remove them from the heat, water and or steam and let cool. Set broth aside and let cool for later use.

When squirrels are cool to touch, debone them. All that should remain are fleshy pieces of meat. Expect that there will be almost no fat; because there is so little, the convention is to remove it. The texture of the meat will be dry and some of it tough. (This is the stage where standard cooking techniques can be used to prepare them for taco dishes and the like). Using just a moistening amount of broth to dampen the squirrel meat, place the pieces in a food grinder and chop it to a size very similar to a thick hamburger grind. Cover ground meat when finished and set in a refrigerator.

In a separate pan, add the key ingredients for the tamale sauce --- except for the raisins and okra. Saute in very little oil until components are cooking and water is building up. At his point, the chef can add ingredients from the optional seasonings to taste. Blend the sauce but do not thicken with starches or flours. When an almost separated sauce is reached, add okra and raisins and simmer for another ten minutes or until sauce thickens. Allow to cool.

Follow supplier directions for preparing masa harina but use the squirrel broth in the blending process. If directions say to use salt, use the absolute minimum amount you can get by with. Probably 1/3 of that requested. Overall the dish will be salt balanced at a later stage. If the low salt does not set with the cook at this point, we suggest one tablespoon of ground rosemary be added to the sauce mix already set aside and described in the previous section. Set the masa corn mixture aside for cooling when done.

To the tamale sauce pan, fold in the chopped squirrel meat and stir it thoroughly. Give the sauce enough time to marinate the meat before judging if the filling now needs anything. Common candidates are sugar to cut acid, basil, oregano and (very carefully) curry. Use chili powder and cumin to taste.

All efforts have now been reduced to two elements: 1. the corn mixture for tamales, and 2. the filling. Using whatever choice of tamale wrap is available, spread one large spoon of corn mixture on a wrap surface; then spoon a stream of filling over it. Next, roll the tamale wrap around itself till it forms what will look like a tube. Seal the ends and place in pot for cooking. For reference, there are many top quality web sites that visually show how to actually roll the tamale and what to use.

To be table ready, tamales have to be steamed in a pot where they do not touch the boiling water. The process takes about an hour for this recipe which makes about 40 -50 tamales. As the tamales cool down, they can be served immediately. Sour cream, hot sauces, cheeses and/or salsas can make each plate served individual.

ENJOY!

(Note: Charley sent along a nice picture of the squirrel tamales on a plate, but I can't render that picture here. Maybe Charley can help me later. And maybe---just maybe---you be eating squirrel tamales while you're reading the next exciting adventure of THE JUICED AVENGER!)