Cooking with Stacy Lyn

I’ve heard that squirrel is just about the most ethical dish you can serve on a dinner plate; it’s free-range, plentiful, low in fat and low in food miles (local). I know that there are a larger number of folks eating squirrel … it’s got quite a nice flavor. Squirrel tastes sweet and is a good cross between duck and lamb.

Most kids get their first taste of hunting squirrel hunting. I know the rule for my husband’s home, and now our home, is that you eat what you harvest. Here’s one of my favorite recipes to use with that first squirrel harvest of the year.

1-1/2 pounds squirrel meat, diced into 1/2-inch pieces 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour 2 Tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, diced 3 stalks celery, diced 2 carrots, peeled and diced 5 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups beef broth 2 cups Guinness (beer) 1 (16-ounce) can chopped tomatoes 3 sprigs fresh rosemary (1 Tablespoon), finely chopped 4 sprigs thyme (2 Tablespoons), finely chopped 1 handful flat-leaf parsley leaves (about 1/4 cup), chopped 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt 1-1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper 1 pie crust 1 large egg mixed with a teaspoon of water

Heat oven to 400 F. In a medium-sized bowl, toss the meat with the flour to coat. In a large

Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Working in batches, brown the meat on all sides until lightly browned and allow it to drain on a paper towel. Add more oil to the pan as you need it for optimal browning. Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook for about 5 minutes or until they are translucent and soft. Add the garlic and cook about 2 minutes more. Return the meat to the pan, then add the broth, Guinness, tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper and allow to reach a boil. Scrape the bottom of the Dutch oven to loosen the brown bits and reduce the heat to simmer leaving the mixture uncovered for an hour or until it has thickened. Pour mixture into a 9-inch pie dish and allow to cool completely. Brush the outer edges of the pie dish with melted butter and gently place the pie shell over the mixture pinching the edges to seal. Brush the egg and water mixture over the pie crust to enhance browning. Transfer the pie into the oven for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the crust is baked through and browned. Serve immediately with rice and a salad.

Stacy Lyn Harris is a best-selling cookbook author, blogger, TV personality, public speaker, wife and mother of seven children. She currently lives in Pike Road, Alabama, with her husband Scott and their children. Stacy Lyn regularly appears on cable and broadcast television as a guest chef and sustainable living expert. Her critically-acclaimed “Harvest Cookbook” was published in 2017 and contains many of her family’s favorite recipes, along with stories from her life growing up in the Black Belt and tips she’s learned along the way.