Squirrel and Mushroom Ragu
Ragus are meat-based sauces typically slow-cooked and served with pasta. The cooked squirrel meat will be in small pieces so it’s important that the vegetables are also cut small. This helps the sauce cook quickly and lets each bite include a little of everything.
Serves: 4
Cook Time: 30 minutes
1 Tbsp. olive oil
½ -oz. dried shiitake mushrooms, rinsed, soaked 30 minutes in enough cool water to cover
¼ c. finely chopped onion
¼ c. finely chopped celery
1 ½ c. coarsely chopped cremini mushrooms
½ tsp. minced garlic
¾ c. rutabaga, ¼” dice (can substitute carrots or turnip)
½ c. dry white wine
2 ½ c. (combined) reserved stock and mushroom soaking liquid, divided
8 oz. cooked, boneless squirrel meat (Basic Cooked Squirrel and Stock)
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
½ lb. pappardelle pasta
¼ c. toasted pine nuts, coarsely chopped
½ c. Panko crumbs, toasted in a skillet with 2 tsp. butter
Fresh lemon wedges
Remove rehydrated mushrooms from soaking liquid, reserving liquid. Trim and discard stems from soaked mushrooms and slice caps 1/8” thick. Heat oil in a 10” skillet over medium heat and add onion, celery, both mushrooms, garlic, and turnips and cook until liquid from mushrooms has evaporated and turnips are almost tender, about 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with white wine and simmer until wine has evaporated. Add 2 ¼ c. of stock and the squirrel meat, reduce heat to low, cover and let mixture come to a gentle simmer. In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolk and cornstarch until smooth then whisk in remaining ¼ c. stock until smooth. Whisk cornstarch mixture into the ragu, stirring gently and constantly until sauce returns to a simmer and thickens. Stir in parsley and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, reserving ½ c. of the cooking liquid. Add pasta to the ragu and toss to coat, adding some of the pasta water if needed to adjust the thickness of the sauce. Remove from heat and divide between four pasta bowls. Squeeze a fresh lemon wedge over each bowl and top with toasted Panko and pine nuts.
I am a lazy eater - lazy because I don’t want to pick through bones when I sit down to eat. Because of this, many of my recipes include the extra step of cooking meat and removing the bones before it goes into a final dish. Harvested game meats can contain unpleasant “finds” like bone fragments and shot that no diner wants to find on their plate. Squirrels have lean meat that resembles dark chicken and includes lots of little bones. Using a pressure cooker (or an Instant Pot) shortens the cook time on tougher game, and the bones add flavor to the cooking liquid. Meat comes out moist and tender, is easy to remove from the bones, and nothing is wasted. Oven braising or simmering on the stovetop are options if you don’t have a pressure cooker; the cooking time will increase to 1 – 1 ½ hours.