To supplement our meat supply (mainly chicken and pork, and a little beef), especially in the late fall and early winter, we depended on wild meat, which included squirrels, rabbits, Canada geese, and ruffed grouse from our woodlot, and, in most years, a deer that Pa shot in Adams County. By the time my brothers and I were ten years old, each of us was quite comfortable shooting a rifle and bringing home a squirrel or a cottontail rabbit for the table. Pa taught us how to safely use his old Stevens .22 rifle and how to bring down a squirrel or rabbit with one shot—the killing must be humane, he insisted. By the time I was twelve, I had saved up enough money to buy my own .22 rifle, a Remington Model 512A. Pa also taught us how to skin and clean rabbits and squirrels, so when we brought them into the house they were ready for Ma to prepare for the table.
Herman Apps and Bill Miller, back from deer hunting
For squirrels, Pa taught us how to make slits along the back legs and down the belly and then, putting a foot on the squirrel’s tail, pull on the back legs to remove the skin in one piece. Properly done, we could skin a squirrel in a couple of minutes. We saved the tails, for which we received ten cents apiece, I believe paid by the county. The squirrel-tail hair was used to make flies for fly-fishing. With fur removed, we took out the entrails and tossed them in the woods, and the squirrel was ready for the pan.
Rabbits are easier to skin than squirrels. Simply cut around each leg just above the leg joint, and then on each leg make a cut from the previous one to the backside of the carcass. Pull the hide from the carcass starting where you made the first cuts. When the hide is mostly removed, cut the head from the carcass. Remove the entrails and carefully wash the meat before cutting it into pieces. We all preferred fried rabbit over fried squirrel. As I remember, rabbit didn’t have as much “wild” or gamy taste as squirrel. Ma cooked all the hunted meat with plenty of onions to help quiet the wild flavor.
Starting in late November, we ate venison several times a week, if Pa was successful in bagging a deer. Pa always skinned the deer himself, and then Ma helped him cut the meat into pieces—steaks and chops—and process some of the venison into ground meat. In addition to fried venison steak, which we all enjoyed, Ma used venison to make meat loaf and meatballs. We took some of the meat to a meat market and had it made into smoked venison sausage; if stored in a cool place, it kept for several months.
Pa took the deer hides to a tannery in Berlin, where they tanned the hides and made them into buckskin gloves for all of us. They were soft and comfortable and wore like iron. We nailed the deer antlers to the end of the pump house, a reminder of Pa’s hunting success.
A few ruffed grouse (we called them partridges) found a home in our woodlot, but they were difficult to shoot. They flew up with an explosion of noise that usually surprised me so much that the bird was gone before I could bring the gun to my shoulder. But one day I was lucky.
My cousin Burton, who lived in Milwaukee and was a few years older than me, stopped by the farm one Saturday with the intention of hunting grouse. He had a fancy new 12-gauge shotgun, and he asked me if I would go along and help him find some birds. I quickly agreed and grabbed my .22 rifle—which is not the gun of choice for grouse hunting. If you want any chance of bagging a ruffed grouse you need a shotgun, not a .22 rifle.
Brother Donald after a successful goose hunt
I said I would walk through the woods and scare up a ruffed grouse so he could get a shot. As I stood at the edge of the woods, waiting for Cousin Burt to get into position, a ruffed grouse landed not fifty feet from where I was standing. I lifted up my .22 and shot it in the head, killing it instantly. I picked up the bird and started my walk through the woods. In a few minutes, I met up with my cousin. When he saw the grouse I was carrying, he said, “You shot that?”
“I did,” I said.
“You shot that grouse on the fly through the head with a .22 rifle,” he stated, somewhat incredulous.
I didn’t answer, leaving him to think whatever he wanted about my skills with a .22 rifle.
One way to prepare grouse for the table is to place the carcass breast up on the ground. Step on each wing near the body, grab the bird’s feet, and pull upward. This will leave you with breast meat with the wings attached (most of the meat on a grouse is in the breast). Remove the wings, wash the breast meat, and it is ready for the oven.
Clean the dressed squirrel with a damp cloth and cut into pieces for serving. Disjoint legs at body and split down the center of the back through the breast. Cut each half into two pieces. Dip pieces into flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Add some chopped onion. Brown in hot fat in a skillet. Reduce heat and cook until tender, about 1 hour. (If the squirrel is old, add a small amount of hot water to the pan. Cover tightly and cook over low heat for 1½ hours until tender.)
Baked Rabbit
1 rabbit, cleaned and cut into pieces
1¾ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 cup water
¾ cup ketchup
1½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 teaspoons sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season rabbit pieces with salt and pepper. Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add rabbit pieces and brown on all sides. Place in a 9 × 13-inch baking pan.
In a medium bowl, combine the onion, water, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar. Pour over the browned pieces of rabbit. Bake, uncovered, for 1½ hours. Baste frequently.
1 onion, or more if desired
1 carrot
1 rib celery
2 tablespoons fat or vegetable oil
A bouquet of parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and a few whole cloves tied together in cheesecloth
1 cup vinegar
3- to 4-pound venison roast
3 strips salt pork
Garlic
Chop the onion, carrot, and celery. In a skillet, cook in hot fat or oil with the spice bouquet for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the vinegar and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain and then cool. Put the venison in a glass, not metal, container. Pour the marinade over the venison. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove meat from marinade and rub it well with salt pork and a few pieces of garlic. Roast on a rack in a shallow pan for 30 minutes per pound of meat. Baste frequently while roasting.
Fried Venison and Pork Patties
1 pound venison
1 pound pork sausage
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon thyme
Flour
2 tablespoons butter or lard
Grind together the venison and the pork. Mix in the seasonings. Flour your hands and form the meat into patties. Heat the fat in a skillet and fry the patties on low heat, about 15 minutes on each side or until they are cooked through. Place on a paper towel to absorb fat when done.
2 pounds boneless venison, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons oil
4¼ cups water, divided
½ cup tomato juice
3–4 small onions, cut in pieces
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 bay leaves
3 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
6 potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large rutabaga, peeled and cubed
1 cup peas, frozen or fresh
1–2 tablespoons cornstarch, if needed
In a large pot, brown the meat in oil. Add 4 cups water and loosen any of the meat from the bottom of the pot. Add the tomato juice, onions, celery, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours. Add the potatoes, carrots, and rutabaga. Cover and cook until the vegetables are soft and tender, about 1 hour. Stir in the peas and cook for 15 minutes. If needed for thickening, combine the remaining ¼ cup water and cornstarch and add to the soup.
Baked Ruffed Grouse or Partridge
1 ruffed grouse or partridge, cleaned
Flour
Salt pork or bacon fat
½ bunch carrots, sliced
1 onion, sliced
Thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Meat stock or bouillon cubes if necessary for gravy
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the cleaned bird into pieces and split the breast. Lightly dust the meat with flour. Sauté in a deep pan in salt pork or bacon fat with carrots and onion. When nicely browned, add the thyme, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and paprika and cover with water. Bake until the meat is tender, 40 minutes to 1½ hours. It should be cooked through, but if it is the least bit overdone, the meat will be dry. As soon as the meat is done, take it out and keep warm. Taste the gravy in the pan. If the flavor is right, add water only. If the gravy tastes flat, add meat stock, salt, or bouillon cubes.