A lot of old timers like to soak muskrat meat in salt water overnight. Two things to watch out for when cooking with rats: 1. The musk! (It’s in the rear. Scrape it out.) 2. The bones! (They are small, and there are many.)

BBQ Muskrat

Ingredients
1 medium to large muskrat

Baking mixture:

1 c. duck sauce
2 beef bullion cubes
2 c. water
dash of salt and pepper

BBQ sauce:

1 T. flour
2 tsp. vinegar
1 medium onion
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dark brown sugar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. catsup

Preparation:
Place muskrat in shallow baking dish with baking mixture. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. While muskrat is cooking, mix the other ingredients in a saucepan to make the BBQ sauce. Make sure to stir frequently, as it tends to stick. Cook for only 3-4 minutes. Drain essence of cooked muskrat. Pour on BBQ sauce, working all over. Put back in oven (uncovered) for about 15 minutes.

Mom's Old Fashioned Muskrat

Ingredients
2 muskrats
3 slices fat meat
salt (to taste)
2 tsp. pepper
sage (to taste)
1 medium onion (sliced)
cooking oil

Preparation:
Clean muskrats. Put in a pot. Cover with water. Let boil for 5 minutes. Pour water off. Add fresh water, fat meat, salt, pepper, sage and onion. Let boil until tender. In an iron skillet, put a small amount of cooking oil. Put muskrat in skillet and let brown a little.

Picante-Cranberry Muskrat

Ingredients
Several muskrats

Sauce:

1 16 oz. can jellied cranberry sauce
1 c. chili sauce
1/4 c. picante sauce (They are sold in mild, medium and hot. I use hot.)
3 T. brown sugar
1 T. lemon juice
3 T. grape jelly (I use damson preserves that my mother canned in 2005. We can blackberry, grape, damson and figs during the summer months.)

Preparation
Place muskrats in a baking dish. Make sure musk has been removed. In a saucepan combine all of the above ingredients. Cook and stir until cranberry sauce is melted and mixture is heated through. Pour over the muskrats. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour. Serve with parsley buttered noodles.

Corn Bread

"Whenever I serve muskrat dinners at church, I always serve corn bread, spoon bread, stewed tomatoes, fresh kale or collards." —Rhonda Aaron

Ingredients
1 small box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 8 oz. sour cream
1/2 stick butter
1 small can of cream style corn
3 eggs
1/4 c. sugar

Preparation
Mix together all the ingredients. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, or until done in the middle. Use 8 x 8 inch pan.

Find links to Web sites with more muskrat recipes in Learn More >>

Illustrations courtesy of John Root Hopkins