Our woodchuck was 7lbs whole, but only about 2.5 pounds of meat when cleaned and skinned. Scale the recipe up or down depending on the size of your animal.
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 lb Groundhog/Woodchuck meat, quartered and skinned
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 Tbs. smoked paprika
- 1 tsp. garlic granules or powder (or several cloves fresh garlic, pressed)
- 1 tsp. onion granules or powder
- 1 tsp. each of thyme, oregano and parsly
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Directions
Key ingredients
- Once you’ve parted up your groundhog you should have front legs, saddle (hips and loin) and hind legs. You can save the spin and ribcage for stock. Place it in a tupperware or ziploc bag, along with the remaining ingredients above and marinade 12 to 24 hours. To bread and fry, you’ll need:
- 2 cups flour (approximate)
- 2 cups canola oil (approximate)
- When you’re ready to cook, heat 2 inches of oil in a deep thick bottomed pan. I use an enameled cast iron dutch oven. Dredge the woodchuck pieces in flour to coat, and then dip them back into the marinade before you dredge them in flour a second time. (The double dredging is key to a good crispy coating.) Fry, turning once, until the coating is cooked to a deep brown color. Remove to drain on paper towels.