deanocraft
Silver Member
I posted my groundhog gumbo story to another thread here on TBN and I have been advised that some folks here might like it. I recently shot a groundhog that was living on my land. I don't want them starting a colony here, so I kill them when I can. Generally speaking, I don't like to kill things and not eat them so I decided to make a gumbo. I'm from Louisiana and so I have a couple recipes...
I cut the meat off the bone and then cut ALL the fat off. I understand that they have glands in the fat around their legs that will not taste good cooked, so cut it all out! Next, I chunked it into bite sized pieces and browned it in butter in a skillet and set that aside.
I make a roux with 4 heaping tablespoons of all purpose flour and one tablespoon of gumbo file, (ground sassafras). I make a dry roux and then add a half a stick of butter to the dry browned flour/file mixture once it has cooled a little. It does not really matter if you make a dry roux or a traditional one. When the roux is browned and the butter or oil is added it should be the consistency of peanut butter.
Add the following:
Most of a bunch of celery, chopped small
One yellow onion, chopped
One Bell pepper, chopped
One can of Rotel
One can of crushed tomatoes, (or diced)...
Saute that mixture until the veggies get soft. I put the top on and let the veggies make water.
Two lbs of chopped okra
About 10 cups of water, depending on the size of the pot you're using
Throw in your browned groundhog meat
I like it spicy, so I hit it with probably 10 shots of Tabasco, and maybe a couple shots of a more potent hot sauce from my collection... The rule is to season to taste! that will include probably a spoon full of salt...
Cook that at a rolling boil for a while and then as it cooks down, reduce to a simmer. I cook it down for about 2.5 hrs, or until I get the desired consistency.
Serve it over a scoop of rice.
I cut the meat off the bone and then cut ALL the fat off. I understand that they have glands in the fat around their legs that will not taste good cooked, so cut it all out! Next, I chunked it into bite sized pieces and browned it in butter in a skillet and set that aside.
I make a roux with 4 heaping tablespoons of all purpose flour and one tablespoon of gumbo file, (ground sassafras). I make a dry roux and then add a half a stick of butter to the dry browned flour/file mixture once it has cooled a little. It does not really matter if you make a dry roux or a traditional one. When the roux is browned and the butter or oil is added it should be the consistency of peanut butter.
Add the following:
Most of a bunch of celery, chopped small
One yellow onion, chopped
One Bell pepper, chopped
One can of Rotel
One can of crushed tomatoes, (or diced)...
Saute that mixture until the veggies get soft. I put the top on and let the veggies make water.
Two lbs of chopped okra
About 10 cups of water, depending on the size of the pot you're using
Throw in your browned groundhog meat
I like it spicy, so I hit it with probably 10 shots of Tabasco, and maybe a couple shots of a more potent hot sauce from my collection... The rule is to season to taste! that will include probably a spoon full of salt...
Cook that at a rolling boil for a while and then as it cooks down, reduce to a simmer. I cook it down for about 2.5 hrs, or until I get the desired consistency.
Serve it over a scoop of rice.
