GRIZZLED BUFFALO SQUIRREL AND BLUE CHEESE DRESSING by Grizzled Adams

GRIZZLED BUFFALO SQUIRREL AND BLUE CHEESE DRESSING

2 cups canola oil

squirrel quarters (lets say about 12 quarters for starters)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons butter

Hot Sauce (use whatever hot sauce you like, but the original recipe uses Durkee's Franks Original Red Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce which can be found in many supermarkets or gourmet specialty stores)

2 teaspoon white wine vinegar

Blu Cheese dressing

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled

Salt & pepper, to taste

The only real prep work is to preheat the oil in a deep skillet or deep-fat fryer if you own one. You want the oil to get to about 375 degrees F. While the oil is heating, Season the quarters with salt and pepper. This is a good time to preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

If you are going to make your own Blue Cheese dressing, chop the garlic, onion and parsley while you are waiting for the oil to heat up.

Fry the Squirrel in the oil until they are golden. Be careful when working around hot oil. The splatter hurts. You will want to move them around while they are frying so not to stick to the pan. Don't try to fry them all at once. Do them in batches. They should take about 6 to 8 minutes for each batch to fry. Remove them to a plate covered with a couple of layers of paper towels to drain the oil. Then place them in a large bowl.

In a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the hot sauce and vinegar. How much hot sauce you add depends on how hot you like your wings and the heat of the sauce. There is no way I can tell you how much to add. It is a personal preference. Always start with less and add more if it isn't hot enough.

For 2 tablespoons of butter, I would start with 2 tablespoons of hot sauce for mild and go from there. A 2 to 1 ration of hot sauce to butter is HOT, a 3 to 1 ratio is EXTREME in my opinion. But let your taste buds be the judge.

Add the sauce to the squirrel in the bowl and toss together with kitchen tongs. Here's where I differ from the original recipe. Remove them from the bowl with the tongs and place them on a baking pan. You can line the pan with foil to help with clean up. Just don't crowd the pieces or they will steam rather than bake. Bake the quarters for about 15 minutes.

How to make the Blue Cheese dressing:

In a small bowl, add all the ingredients together. Gently stir together until well mixed. At this point you can put cover and put the bowl in the refrigerator until the wings are ready. If you like to serve your wings with cold blue cheese dressing, make ahead of time and chill.

If you want to get fancy, spread the squirrel and celery out on a platter with the bowl of blue cheese dressing in the center.

If ya ain't got enough squirrel, throw some more peanuts in the backyard or ya can use chicken wings.