Muskrat is an Eastern Shore favorite.

Muskrat is an Eastern Shore favorite.

Back in the late 1950s and early 1960s I had a younger brother Ollie who would trap and hunt whatever was in season. My dad was very happy when he came home with rabbits and squirrels. He would also clean them for mom. The only thing he could not get my dad to eat was the muskrat, better known as the marsh rabbit. He sold the meat to local folks who loved it, and mom loved it because he sold them as fast as he trapped them.

My brother would save the hides and stretch them on a special piece of board designed to fit the hide. He had them drying out for a certain number of days and then would package them up and ship them to his buyer. His buyer was the late Mr. Clark Harrison Sr. of Preston. After several shipments Mr. Harrison would send my brother a check. Preston seemed like a faraway town back then and now I live just a few miles away. Years ago I contacted Mr. Harrison and told him the story of my 14-year-old brother who did three tours of duty in Vietnam in the 1960s and later retired from the United States Army. I will dedicate today’s column to those two men — the late Clark Harrison Sr and USA Retired Ollie Lowe Hitchens, Jr.

You guessed it — I never tasted muskrat or marsh rabbit, but I cooked it. The first one I ever cooked was right in my Preston Road kitchen under the guidance of my late husband, John Williamson Sr., who loved them and knew how to cook this marsh rabbit.

JOHN R.’S FAVORITE MUSKRAT

Trap, clean and cut muskrat in half. Soak in a large pot of cold salted water for several hours, changing water several times. Finally, after draining well, place the meat in a large pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, boiling for 5 minutes. Remove meat from the pot, rinse and clean out the pot well. Then spray the pot with a non-sticking spray, add the meat, half cover with water. Cook until meat falls apart.

Add to taste sage, red pepper, salt and bacon or sausage grease. Don’t be afraid of adding any of these ingredients and just keep adding until you can taste all of them.

Cook down as much as you want, but do not let it cook dry.

Serve with a favorite potato dish of your choice and a green vegetable.

Clean, cut in pieces, and soak three muskrats in cold water and salt. After at least two hours, drain water off and rinse meat well. In a large pot, place the meat and just enough water to cover them. Add 2 teaspoons ground sage, 1/2 teaspoon bacon grease, salt and pepper to taste. Let cook over medium heat for 4 to 5 hours. Start on high heat until it starts boiling, then reduce heat to simmering. Let cook until meat is falling off the bone. Serve over cooked rice.

Clean, cut up and soak one or two marsh rabbits in salty water for several hours, changing water several times. Rinse well in several changes of water. Remove from water and pat dry.

In a large bowl add flour, sage, salt and pepper. Dredge the pieces of meat in the flour mixture and place in a fry pan with cooking oil and add 2 or 3 strips of bacon. Brown on both sides, adding more sage if needed. When meat is browned on both sides, add some water to the pan, turn heat down and let simmer as the meat becomes tender and a gravy forms.

Two pounds or 14 sets fresh or frozen frog legs, 1/3 cups milk, 2/3 cups corn flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper, shortening, or cooking oil for deep frying, lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon accent food enhancer, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.

In a medium bowl combine corn flour, salt, pepper, accent and garlic powder. Coat frog legs with corn flour mixture.

In a saucepan or deep fryer, heat about 2 inches melted shortening or cooking oil to 375 degrees. Fry coated frog legs a few at a time in deep hot oil for 1-2 minutes or until done. Drain on paper towels.

Hop up to the table and enjoy this like the boys on West Line Road did!

Two full deer shanks, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon your favorite all spice blend, 1 teaspoon salt, 4 cups beef stock, 3 garlic cloves smashed, 1 celery stalk, chopped.

Hoppin’ John: 1/2 lbs of dried black-eyed peas, 3 strips of bacon chopped, 1/2 cup diced onion, 1/2 cup diced bell pepper, 1 clove garlic minced, 1 celery stalk diced, 3 cups of the reserved braising liquid, 2 tablespoons your favorite all spice blend, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 cup of yellow rice rinsed and drained.

Thinly sliced scallions for garnish.

Bring a large pan to high heat on the stove. Rub the shanks with oil, all spice and salt. Once the pan is hot, sear each side of the shanks. Turn on the slow cooker and set it to LOW. Place the seared shanks inside and add the stock, garlic and celery. Allow the mixture to cook for 8 hours or until the meat falls off the bone. I cooked mine overnight.

Once cooked, remove the meat from the slow cooker and set it aside. Strain and reserve the braising liquid for the next steps.

Place the black-eyed peas into a bowl and cover them with water. Allow them to sit while you complete the following steps. Bring the Dutch oven to medium-high heat and stir in the chopped bacon. Brown the bacon and then remove bacon from the pan, leaving the grease behind. Stir in the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Cook, frequently stirring, until the onion turns opaque.

Drain the remaining water from the black-eyed peas. Stir the peas into the pot. Add three cups of the braising liquid from the deer shanks, the all spice blend, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and allow to simmer for 45-60 minutes or until the peas begin to soften. You do not want them to completely cook. While waiting, shred the deer meat. When the peas are al dente then there should be about two cups of liquid remaining. Add more if needed. Stir in the rice and the shredded deer and bring the mixture back to a simmer. Cover and allow to cook for 20 minutes or until the rice is done. Serve with the sliced green onions atop along with some biscuits.

My father was an avid hunter, he especially loved letting his beagles “run rabbits in the woods.” Hours of dogs howling followed by multiple gun shots and then silence usually meant a good hunt. Since he hunted right back behind our farm it wasn’t long before the rabbits went from the woods to the stove. Squirrels and quail were also hunted regularly by my brothers and father. This was before all the land was developed and the wildlife thrived in those Worcester County woods.

Three to four pounds rabbit, 6 potatoes quartered, 8 carrots sliced, 1 medium onion chopped, 1 teaspoon salt, 1⁄4 cup beef consommé, 3⁄4 cup beef broth, 3⁄4 teaspoon pepper, 1⁄4 teaspoon basil, 2 bay leaves, 1⁄4 teaspoon rosemary, 1⁄4 teaspoon thyme. Cut rabbit into pieces. Layer onion, potatoes, and carrots in the bottom of a crock pot. Add spices to the pot. Add rabbit, salt, pepper, consommé, and about 3/4 cup beef broth. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Thicken gravy as desired.

Two rabbits cut into serving pieces, 1/4 pound bacon, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 medium onion, sliced into half-moons, 1 head garlic, cloves peeled but not chopped, white part of a fennel bulb, chopped roughly, a handful of dried mushrooms, about 1/2 cup, 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, 3 bay leaves, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, 3 cups good stock (chicken or vegetable), 5 spring onions, 1 cup finely chopped fennel fronds, 2 tablespoons fresh chopped oregano, salt. Cook the dried mushrooms in 2 cups of hot water. Let them sit, covered, for at least 1 hour.

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven and cook bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and turn the heat up to medium-high. Salt the rabbit pieces and brown them well. Add the chopped onion, fennel bulb and the dried mushrooms and sauté until they begin to brown. Add the fresh mushrooms and garlic and sauté until they begin to brown. Add salt. Add 1/2 to 1 cup Armagnac or other cooking brandy and stir well to combine.

Turn the heat all the way up and add back the rabbit, the bacon, and add the bay leaves, fennel seeds and dried oregano and mix well. Pour in just enough stock just to cover the rabbit. Do not totally submerge it. Bring to a simmer, taste for salt (add more if need be), cover and set over low heat for an hour, or 45 minutes if you are using chicken or domestic rabbit. After an hour, test to see if the meat is tender. You want it to be practically falling off the bone. At this point you can pull the rabbit from the pot, remove from the bone and add back to the pot or keep it in the pot on bone. Add the green onions, garlic and fennel fronds and stir to combine. Simmer uncovered for 3 minutes or until you believe it is done. Be careful to not overcook.

There are a few opportunities coming up for you to enjoy a great muskrat dinner without having to stare down skinned muskrats! This year the 76th annual National Outdoor Show will be held Feb. 24 and 25 at the South Dorchester K-8 school at 3485 Golden Hill Road in Church Creek. The muskrat will be served on Saturday only at 1 p.m.

The second chance to get this wonderful Delmarva delicacy is at the West Side Volunteer Fire Department located at 21045 Nanticoke Road, Bivalve, Maryland, 410-873-2140. On Saturday, March 11, 11 a.m. until they are all gone you can get a muskrat or oyster platter with greens, mac and cheese and corn bread. No prices released yet.

If you can make it out, go see for yourself what all the fuss is about!

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