| Book Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Source: | AFFresh | ||
| Writer(s): | Douglas Goodall | ||
| Publication Date: | 1 June 2023 | ||
| Up | Recipes from Vvardenfell | ||
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There are several ways to make rats palatable, but one of the best is simply to cook it at high heat and add some spice. If you're eating rat, you can't spare anything, so there are two recipes here. One for the best, relatively speaking, meat and one to use the leftover rat as stock.
One or two rats, depending on size. Note that there is no way to make a blighted rat palatable. Diseased rats are usually okay. They're all diseased. It is a matter of degree.
A handful of bittergreen petals.
A spoon or two of ash salts.
Saltrice flour.
A large metal pot.
Tongs or a metal strainer or some way to get the meat out of boiling oil. A pair of steel tongs was the secret of my survival in Vivec as a young woman.
Cut the rat leg meat off the bone and into strips. I don't recommend using anything but the larger leg cuts.
First, make a regular fire and hang the pot somewhat high above the fire for a low heat. Put the rest of the rat meat (that is, not the leg meat cut into strips) into the pot.
Let it cook down for a few hours. Much of the fat and oil should come out and make a nice layer of oil in the pot.
Take the meat out of the pot and set it aside.
Make the fire much larger and lower the pot for a very hot fire. Make a plate or shallow bowl of saltrice flour.
Dip the rat meat into the saltrice flour. You might need to add a little water, but the rat is so oily, it should stick by itself. You shouldn't need an egg coat or anything.
When all the strips are coated and the oil is bubbling, dump the strips into the oil.
Leave for one short glass.
Take the strips out.
Let them cool.
Rub the bittergreen and ash salts into them.
Then put them back in for another short glass.
If you want a better meal and can afford it, dump the oil in the pot until there's just a thin coat and cut some strips of hackle-lo, ampoules, and marshmerrow and fry them in the oil until they just start turning brown. This can really help supress the flavor of the rat, but the bittergreen does a decent job on its own.
Using the same pot, toss out the oil and put the rest of the meat back in.
Add another handful of bittergreen and a couple spoons of ash salts.
Fill the pot with water so that the meat is entirely covered.
At this point, you can make a somewhat palatable soup of the rest of the rat. But to stretch it a bit, add in some ash yams, wickwheat, hackle-lo, or just about anything you can get your hands on.