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Ground Hog, Hedgehog, or Woodchuck
Under whatever name this little animal goes burrowing, he is considered equally good by woodsmen who have been hungry enough to eat their first one. The kernels must come out from under the forelegs, and then after parboiling to remove most of the strong taste, he must be seasoned with salt, plenty of pepper, and a good sprinkling of herbs, and cooked like rabbit.
A camp-cook's outline rather than a recipe: the whole method is in three moves — remove the glands, parboil, then treat it as rabbit. The first move is the one that decides whether the dish is edible.
- The kernels are scent glandsThe kernels are generally understood as glands -- small waxy nodes, which this recipe locates under the forelegs; hunters describe similar nodes elsewhere on the carcass. Cut them out cleanly before cooking and wipe the knife afterward, or their musk can carry through the pot.
- Handle the raw carcass with glovesWild rodents and lagomorphs can carry tularemia, which is contracted through cuts and mucous membranes during skinning far more often than through eating. Wear disposable gloves, skin outdoors, and wash knives, board and hands thoroughly. Discard any animal that seemed sluggish or showed spotted liver or spleen.
- ParboilingCover with cold water, bring to a boil, simmer 20-30 minutes, drain and discard the water. A tablespoon of vinegar or a halved onion in the water helps. For an old, heavy autumn animal, two changes of water are not excessive.
- "Cooked like rabbit" means braised"Cooked like rabbit" most plausibly means a braise, though the recipe gives no temperature or time and rabbit was also fried or fricasseed. Cut into serving pieces, brown in fat, then cover and cook in liquid -- in a modern oven, roughly 325-350F for 1 1/2 to 2 hours -- until the meat pulls from the bone. Woodchuck is lean, dark and hard-worked; dry roasting produces something closer to leather.
- Cook it right throughGame of this kind should reach 165F at the thickest part and hold there. A long braise passes that point comfortably, which is one reason a covered pot suits the meat.
- Herbs and seasoningThe recipe does not specify which herbs; sage, thyme and savory, usually dried, are plausible choices. Bay, juniper, garlic and a little smoked bacon in the braise all suit the meat's strong flavor.
- Trim the fatMuch of the gaminess sits in the yellow fat under the skin and around the kidneys. Pull it off before parboiling; a spring animal carries far less of it than one taken in September.
- YieldA dressed woodchuck gives roughly 2 to 3 lb of meat on the bone — two servings, three if it goes into a stew with root vegetables and dumplings.
- Check your state's rulesGroundhogs are unprotected in some states and regulated as game or requiring a license in others. Season, method of take and possession are all local questions.