Squirrel Chili with Kory Slye

This week's insight brought to you by:

Kory Slye

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HarvestingNature

Squirrel provides delicious meat—incredibly sweet and nutty (thanks to its berry and nut-based diet) and packed with protein and a good source of iron, niacin and vitamin B6, as well as an excellent source of vitamin B12. Like most wild game it is also very versatile and can be used for any chicken or beef recipe. This week we are making chili. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

• 3-4 Squirrels, skinned and cleaned
• 4 cups wild game stock (sub beef stock)
• 12 oz Pale Ale
• 1 tbsp oil
• 3 cayenne peppers, chopped 
• Salt, Pepper, garlic powder
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 yellow onion, grill then dice
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 green bell pepper, grilled then diced.
• 1 red bell pepper, grilled then diced.
• 1-2 jalapeño peppers
• 1 lbs tomatoes (5-6), grilled, peeled, and chopped
• 2-3 cups of braising liquid from above
• 1-15 oz can of Tri Blend beans (kidney, pinto, and black beans)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp brown sugar (optional)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:

• Preheat medium pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Amply season squirrels with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
• Add 1 tbsp of oil to the pot and brown each side of the squirrels. Work in batches if you cannot fit them all in your pot at once. Once brown, add the stock, pale ale, and cayenne peppers. Do not completely cover the meat. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Cook for 2-3 hours until the meat is falling off of the bone.
• While waiting, grill the onion, jalapeño, bell pepper and tomatoes. Peel the tomatoes and then dice all the vegetables.
• Once cooked, remove squirrels and set aside to cool. Strain the solids out of the braising liquid and set aside
• Remove bones from squirrels, leaving only good, quality meat
• Return the pot to the stove, bring to medium high heat, and add 1 tbsp of oil.
• Add the onion, jalapeño, tomatoes, garlic, bell peppers and beans. Mix well while adding the 2-3 cups of braising liquid. The amount of braising liquid depends on how soupy you like your chili.
• Stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, oregano, ground chipotle pepper, salt, and pepper. Add brown sugar if you like sweeter chili.
• Bring the chili to a simmer. While waiting, remove the meat from the bones of the squirrel and add to the chili.
• Once simmering, reduce the heat to medium low and allow to cook for 20 minutes uncovered. This will thicken up your chili. If you like a thinner chili then cover the pot.
• Serve with sour cream, cheese, sliced jalapeños, lime, and maybe some frito chips for dipping.