by Trayle Kulshan

Created on: June 01, 2010

"Aw - right, Paw! I done gone and catched me a fine 'ol muskrat in the pond out yonder. How d'ya think we should cook 'er up?"  

You might imagine that muskrat recipes are found only on the set of the Beverly Hillbillies, but in fact they are considered a fine dark meat around the world.

Muskrats are a large rodent, that in the United States, generally lives in ponds and brushy areas. Their meat is dark and gamey and should be well cooked. They are not usually found in the supermarket, you will most likely have to trap or shoot your own.

The following recipes are from southern Siberia region of Russia and the Republic of Guinea, where bush meat is a delicacy.

 *Altai Spiced Rodent*

This recipe should be served with hot tea, vodka and boiled potatoes during a windy snow storm. Serves 4.

- Prepare a marinade in a blender (traditionally prepared with a mortar, pestle and mixing). Liquefy 4-12 cloves of garlic (depending on size and your liking), 4 tbs of olive oil, 2 tbs of vinegar or lemon juice, 1 tbs turmeric powder (or curry powder for a stronger flavor), 1 tbs whole cumin seeds, 1 tsp whole coriander seeds, 1 tsp pimento corns, 1 tsp clove powder, 1 tbs salt. If the marinade is not liquid enough add a little more oil or lemon juice.

You can substitute powdered cumin, coriander and pimento (allspice) seeds, but if you do use only 1 tsp of powder.

- Skin 4 muskrats (2 marmots will work as well, and are a little bigger in size), and clean out the innards. This is accomplished just like you would do for a rabbit, and when complete they look very similar.

- Marinate the muskrats for several hours or overnight in a deep baking pan. When you are ready to roast, then add about 1 ¼  cups of yogurt mixed with 4-6 tbs of honey, poured over the top of the muskrats and marinade. Mix around until the yogurt is a nice yellow color.

- Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius.

- Finely chop 3 large onions, slice 3 large carrots and place them around the meat mixture. Mix around so everything is nicely coated with yellow sauce.

- Cover with tin foil and put in oven for about 30 minutes, then reduce heat to about 180 degrees Celsius and roast for about 2 hours. Keep on hand at least 4 cups of stock (any kind is fine) and check on your roast every 30 minutes or so- if it shows any signs of drying out add stock to keep the mixture of sauce quite soupy.

It should smell up your cozy kitchen in no time leaving a great ambiance!

*Bush meat special*

This is essentially just grilling your meat - with a special ingredient - liquid Maji. It was originally done with cane rats in West Africa (a large terrestrial rodent, about the size of a large cat), but will be tasty with any thing.

- Prepare your grill.

- Skin and clean your rats (again, it will look a lot like a rabbit).

- Make a sort of boat out of tin foil, that you can open and close upon the grill.

- Put your rat in the foil boat. Add some garlic, olive oil and onions if you like.

- Add some Liquid Maji (MSG flavoring sauce) or Soy sauce.

- Let it cook until done and serve in the foil. Eat it with your hands and beer.

So, there you have 2 extraordinary recipes for this extraordinary meat. Play up the exoticism - Siberia! Guinea! You might gross out your American guests by serving them a rodent - but just don’t tell them what it is until they have told you how great it is!

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