When you think of squirrel, what comes to mind? Do you picture a cute fluffy tailed animal, some backyard wildlife? Or is your vision something more sinister? Are your squirrels tomato thieves, bird feeder destroyers, and dog taunters?

Is anyone thinking savory and delectable? I am.

About Squirrel Meat

While squirrels are ubiquitous in most American neighborhoods, they are almost never on the dinner table. Why? It has nothing to do with the outstanding dark meat, smooth textured, rich taste.

Squirrels are tiny animals when skinned, about 3/4 of a pound including bones. Though 'tree rats' are more numerous than HRC stickers in my liberal neighborhood, harvesting and processing enough to feed a crowd would be arduous.

Speaking of the bones, they are numerous. Wine braised squirrel is every bit as tasty as duck (I swear) but eating around the needle thin skeleton is a royal pain.

Then there's the concern about safety. Could something that runs around alleys, tree lines, and lawns be good to eat? I myself wouldn't touch the first few squirrel Alex made.

After a whole summer witnessing the beasts steal my garden produce and hang off bird feeders, it hit me: squirrels eat very well. They are not rats eating trash at all - they scavenge abundant wild nuts, seeds, and veggies. Most of what they eat is as untouched from chemicals as the pasture ranged meats I pay so much for at local markets.

Stretching

The October Charcutepalooza challenge was to make an appetizer of rillette, confit, gallentine or roulade, to stretch a single cut of meat into a dish that would feed many. I extended the stretching theme to include my food budget. What delicious small bite could I create without purchasing ingredients?

I immediately thought of squirrel because 1) we had one in the freezer and 2) making it into confit and then rillette would be the perfect way to enjoy the meat without the annoyance of the bones.

Alex flavored a backyard harvested squirrel overnight with garden herbs and garlic. Next, I put the squirrel in goose lard from last year's Xmas Eve roast with a few end bits of pork belly leftover from making bacon for a long warm bath. Alex picked the meat, pulsed it quickly in a food processor, and packed it into containers. He capped the rillette with excess goose fat.

To serve the rillette, I continued with the waste not, want not theme. I made homemade crackers with the amount of sourdough starter I would have discarded when feeding the fermented goodstuff this morning. Home grown, home canned cornichons and homemade cranberry sauce completed the platter.

Would you try a bite?

Today I was joined by ten lovelies at Sprout Soup for the third October Kids Cook lesson. We started by making graham crackers. This recipe is super easy and has the advantage of being egg free so kids can play with the dough without worry about salmonella.

¼ cup milk or buttermilk 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or vinegar (omit if using buttermilk) ¼ cup canola oil 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup 2 ½ cups sifted whole wheat flour, plus more as needed ½ tsp. baking soda ½ tsp. baking powder ¼ tsp. sea salt

1. Combine milk and lemon juice, set aside for a few minutes to curdle. In a small bowl, whisk the oil and sweetener together, and whisk in the curdled milk.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the liquid mixture. Stir gently until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and balls up in the center. You might have to add extra flour, or if you’re using whole wheat bread flour, you might need to add a little more milk.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheets if they are not non-stick. Using a rolling pin on a floured surface, and using more flour as necessary on top of the dough, and on the rolling pin, roll the dough out about 1/8-inch thick. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Arrange them on sheets.

4. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned and crisp. Transfer crackers to racks and cool them before storing in a tightly closed tin.

Recipe adapted from Alison's Lunch.

We sang 'Do You Know the Muffin Man?' with ASL signs for muffin, cracker, and bread.

While the crackers were baking, we explored wheat kernels. Everyone got to feel and taste them. We ground them with a mortar and pestle to release the endosperm from the bran.

We ate our crackers while listening to the story Little Red Hen.

Next week's class will be about the fall favorite squash, including pumpkin!