LAZYMAN'S Squirrel Gumbo

[Bicycleman]

Several events came together in the gumbo pot today. 

During the Christmas Holidays, my Judy invited her family over for a chicken and sausage gumbo.  Some of you may know, but for the rest of you, there is usually some gumbo leftover.  (Many say gumbo is better leftover.)  There were a couple of containers of gumbo broth in the freezer after the feast.

Fast forward about three weeks to a squirrel hunt during which I killed a very mature squirrel (late season.)  After I processed it, while packaging it for the freezer, I wrote on the package that this one would require a longer cooking time.

Fast forward again to yesterday when my Judy said she would be having lunch in town with her niece Tuesday (today).  Because she doesn't appreciate (like not at all) the smell of cooking squirrel as much as I do, I figured this would be a good day to cook a squirrel.

Today, the leftover gumbo broth, the mature squirrel, and my Judy's absence all came together.  I call it a Lazyman's gumbo because I didn't start from scratch with the roux preparation; and this saves about an hour to maybe as much as two hours of preparation time.

Now to the rice -- we had a meal last week sometime, and I had cooked too much rice for one meal.  The rest was put in a freezer bag to be used at a later time, like today.  More laziness.

I cooked the squirrel in the gumbo broth for almost three hours (like 2 hours 50 minutes).  That old squirrel became very tender due to the long cooking time in the liquid and yielded a very delicious meal.      BURP!  Oh, excuse me.  Hee hee

[Bicycleman]

As the cooler weather arrives, thoughts turn to Gumbo in Cajun Country.  This is the latest version of squirrel gumbo with three squirrels in the pot.  It should be cooked in about 45 minutes.  Bet you wish you were here!

[Bicycleman]

Wow, seven years since I created this thread!  But I have done the LAZYMAN'S Squirrel Gumbo many time in those years.  And yesterday was one of those times.  I put a very small/young squirrel in some leftover broth and let it cook for about 1.5 hours on low heat; and the meat was starting to pull away from the bones.  Mnnnn, good!  As I was eating, I remembered the hunt that yielded that young Gray Squirrel.  The memories are part of the joy of the hunts.
Stay well everybody.

[longislandhunter]

I never saw this post in 2015 but I enjoyed it in 2023 just now 

Looks delicious and sounds delicious and I agree with you......... the memories certainly are a very large part of the joy of the hunt.   

Really enjoyed this post, thanks for bringing it back to life 

Jeff

[Bicycleman]

Jeff, the meal is just another joy of hunting with an air rifle.  I usually cook a squirrel or two every week.  I share with my son, because he enjoys squirrel meals but has limited time to hunt right now.
This thread started when my Judy and I were still in Louisiana and Gumbo ingredients were as close at the nearest grocery store.  However that is not the way it is in Tennessee.  We import Cajun Smoked Sausage, the roux, the filé, and Andouille [for those that like it].  As a result, the Gumbo here in Tennessee takes long range planning.  A trip to Louisiana to visit the family is also a grocery shopping trip.  In addition to the Gumbo ingredients, we buy frozen Crawfish tails that are made into Crawfish Étouffée in the spring.  Yes Sir, the Yeti cooler get a workout on the trip back to Tennessee.
I am glad you enjoyed this thread.

[longislandhunter]

I've never really had the pleasure of dining on Cajun type cuisine, but it sure looks fabulous when I see it being prepared on TV or when you describe it 

Jeff