* Squirrels should be skinned and cleaned. ** Potatoes shoul be
peeled and boiled. *** Herb bouquet should consist of: Bay leaf,
parsley, thyme, savory
~-
~-- Soak the beans overnight. Cut the cleaned squirrels into serving
pieces, and dredge with flour, salt and freshly ground pepper. In a
large skillet, fry the bacon and when crisp remove the crisp bits.
Brown the squirrel in the bacon fat. Place ham bone in a large dutch
oven and put browned pieces of squirrel over it. Add the beans,
bacon bits, the onions, celery and cover with boiling water; cover
tightly and simmer for 2 hours. Then add the remaining ingredients
and simmer another hour. Mix a little flour with water and stir into
the stew to thicken it. Cook briskly for 5 minutes. Taste to correct
the sesoning and serve. NOTE: ----- Brunswick stew often had veal
added to it, chickens, ham, even beef; sometimes it was made with a
few rabbits, somtimes with a few chickens. In short you can vary just
about anything in the stew with what you have on hand.

NOTES FROM ELSEWHERE: --------------------- In North Carolina, and
here in Virginia where Brunswick Stew was created (i Brunswick County
~- don't ask me which was named for which), we usually mak the dish
to simmer for a day or two -- I've had it cooked the way you
describe, and I've had it cooked (low simmer only!) another day, and
believ me, it's worth the extra time to prepare. The traditional
recipe calls for three or four kinds of meats, and any kind can be
used -- squirrel, possum, chicken, venison, pork, lamb, rabbit,
moose, reindeer -- once it's simmered for a day or so, ALL the
ingredients should lose their individual identities.