A Woodchuck Recipe

You will need one woodchuck (ground hog)

Onion, carrot, celery

Turkey stock (or beef) three pints

Kitchen Bouquet (adds flavor and darkens the gravy)

Bay leaves (2)

Salt and Pepper to taste to meat, add'l salt for dumplings below.

Flour  2 cups plus 3 TBL ( use the 2 cups for dumplings)

Butter 5 TBL  use 3 Tbl for roux and 2 for dumplings

2 Tsp baking powder

1 Tsp Salt

Nutmeg to taste

Garlic to taste

Water

Milk to smooth out dumplings- not sure of measurement, 

it depends on how much the dumplings need for the correct consistency.  

Once the woodchuck is no longer living, 

Skin and clean it properly being very careful to remove the scent glands.

Cut off extra fat.

Soak in salted water over night. 

Change water in the morning and resoak in salted water a few hours.

Add turkey stock to a large, heavy pot.

Add cut onions, celery and carrots.

Add bay, salt and pepper

Add Kitchen bouquet

Cook until tender.

In a skillet add the 3 TBL butter and flour each.

You are making a roux.

Stir over low heat until dark but not chocolate brown.

This will take about 15 minutes or so.

Add the roux to the pot with vegetables and stir up well.

Pressure cook the woodchuck and garlic in two cups of water for 20 minutes 

once the pressures builds up and the top starts rocking.  

Cool down and open the pressure cooker once the pressure has dropped.

Take meat off the bone.

Put the meat in with the vegetables.

Make dumplings (this type is more of a drop biscuit)

Use the 2 cups of four

add 2 tsp of baking powder and 1 tsp salt

Add nutmeg

Add 2 TBL butter-cut in the butter until chunky/grainy

Add milk until the consistency of a sticky drop biscuit

Make sure the liquid is simmering in the pot

Drop the dough into the pot to make nice sized dumplings.

Put lid on for 15 minutes.

Now you are done.

Woodchuck and Dumplings

It tastes somewhere between chicken and beef, very tender due to the pressure cooking.

You can view part 1 and part 2 here.

Part 2 has graphic images.