FRED'S MUSKRAT

Muskrat roasted in tomato sauce

In northwestern Ohio and downriver Detroit, we have "muskrat suppers" in the winter, sponsored by churches and volunteer fire departments to raise money, rather the way other people have chicken and ham dinners. This recipe comes from Fred Witty, via the cookbook put out by my parents' church.

Legend has it that during the depression, the Bishop of Detroit declared muskrats to be fish (since they live in the water), so they could be eaten by Catholics on Fridays.

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

Procedure

  1. Sautae bacon, celery, onions, oleo, and cayenne pepper together for 10 minutes.
  2. Put rats in bottom of a pan you can cover tightly (my mother makes a double batch and uses the roaster she cooks turkey in).
  3. Pour sautaeed mixture over the rats, and then cover with tomato soup. (Don't add water to the soup.)
  4. Bake, covered, for 2 1/2 hours at or until done.

Notes

Muskrats are small rodents that live in swamp and build beaver-like houses out of cat-tails and mud. In New Jersey and Ohio, at least, they are trapped for their fur; I suspect that knowing a trapper is the only way you can get muskrats.

The recipe book I have has a recipe for muskrats for a crowd, that (for 20 rats) uses the above ingredients (but quantities unspecified, except it only uses 1/4 lb oleo), plus chopped green and red peppers, garlic salt, 5 bouillon cubes, and 3 bay leaves. Around Detroit, muskrats are cooked with cabbage and potatoes, and some folks at home roast them with apples and onions.

Rating


Difficulty: easy once you have the muskrats.
Time: 30 minutes preparation, 3 hours cooking.
Precision: count the muskrats.

Contributor

 
Pat Carstensen  
Bell Communications Research, Inc., Red Bank, New Jersey, USA 
nvuxa!nvuxb!pjc2
Recipe last modified: 1 Apr 87

Original header

Path: decwrl!recipes
From: pjc2@nvuxb.uucp (Pat Carstensen)
Newsgroups: mod.recipes
Subject: RECIPE: Muskrat in tomato sauce
Message-ID: <8989@decwrl.DEC.COM>
Date: 1 Apr 87 19:54:45 GMT
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Organization: Bell Communications Research, Red Bank, New Jersey, USA
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