The Best Gnocchi and Squirrel Soup with Breadsticks
This Gnocchi and Squirrel Soup with Breadsticks is so comforting and delicious and the best way I've found for cooking squirrel. It'll warm you inside and out. This is my wife's favorite squirrel recipe, as well as one of her favorite soup recipes. This recipe was first featured in Outdoor News "Taste of the Wild" on February 17, 2022.OLIVE GARDEN GNOCCHI SOUP SQUIRREL RECIPEA quick search of Pinterest reveals thousands of Olive Garden copycat recipes — from their Italian salad dressing to their toasted ravioli. The Olive Garden Gnocchi Soup is one of the most popular. Why are so many people recreating these dishes at home? First of all, it’s more budget-friendly to eat at home. Second, you can make as much as you want for leftovers. Third, you don’t have to take your children out to eat. Let’s face it, taking your young kids out to eat is a big gamble. And sometimes you’re just not in the mood to test your luck.My wife was not too keen on eating squirrel for the first time, so I knew I had to knock it out of the park with an amazing squirrel recipe. My goal was to impress her with amazing flavors of a great soup so she could look past the fact that she was eating squirrel. She was able to enjoy it because this squirrel soup recipe reminded her of the rich and creamy Olive Garden soup with the soft pillowy gnocchi potato dumplings. If you have friends and family who are a bit wary on eating squirrel for the first time, try this squirrel soup for their introduction to a squirrel recipe.HOW TO SKIN A SQUIRRELIf you’ve never done it, learning how to skin a squirrel is a bit harder than you might think. Squirrels have a thicker hide than rabbits. I learned how to skin a squirrel on the tailgate of a pickup truck. Here's how to skin a squirrel whether you are still out hunting or you're home in your garage or kitchen. First, you'll need the following items:– Water– A cutting board– A small sharp knife– game shears– A trash bag– A large plate or rimmed baking sheet to put the squirrel pieces on1. Start by snipping of the squirrel's head, feet and tail with the game shears. 2. Now take your knife in one hand, and with your other hand pinch up the loose skin at the center of the squirrel’s back: Use the knife to make an incision perpendicular to the squirrel’s backbone about 3 inches long. 3. To skin the squirrel, place two of your fingers from each hand under the squirrel's skin through the incision you just made. Now pull hard and the skin will come right off. 4. Stick your finger under the legs to remove the remaining skin. Use your knife to carefully remove the skin off the squirrel's stomach area.HOW TO GUT A SQUIRREL1. If you've ever gutted a fish or a deer, it won't be too difficult to figure out how to gut a squirrel. Just remember to treat the squirrel guts like a deer guts. You want to try not to puncture anything with your knife, so tread lightly. Use the same knife with the blade facing up and away from the guts to open up the wee beastie. His guts will spill right out. Use your fingers to reach up toward the squirrel's heart and lungs and pull them out. Save the heart if you want to try and use it in another recipe like this Stuffed Mushrooms recipe. Use the game shears to split the pelvis so you can get the remaining little pieces of guts and "undesirables" out.2. Wash the squirrel under lots of clean, cold water before starting to process of butchering the squirrel.HOW TO BUTCHER A SQUIRREL1. Everyone does it different, but I learned how to butcher a squirrel by first removing the legs. Use your knife to cut down to the ribcage behind the front leg, then slice along the bones toward the squirrel’s neck until you free up the front leg. Do the same thing on both of the front legs.2. To remove the squirrel's hind legs, use your knife to slice the meat on the inside of the squirrel’s leg where it attaches to the body until you see the little ball joint. Use your hand to bend the leg backwards until you pop that joint out. Use your knife to slice around it to free the leg. Do the same thing on both of the hind legs. 3. Now you should just be left with the squirrel torso and belly. I keep this intact and throw the whole thing into the soup pot.COOKING SQUIRREL FOR SQUIRREL SOUP1. In a large stockpot, simmer the squirrels in chicken broth until tender. This can be done in a pot on the stovetop over a couple hours, or overnight or all day in a crockpot. Pull all the meat off the bones and shred. Set meat aside and reserve the broth.2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.3. In a large cast iron skillet, boil salted water and cook gnocchi according to package directions (usually only 2 minutes). Drain water and set gnocchi aside.4. In same skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook, stirring frequently for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic & thyme and cook another 1 minute. 5. Add another 2 tablespoons butter & whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.6. Gradually add reserved chicken broth, and cook, whisking constantly until thickened, about 3 minutes.7. Stir in gnocchi, kale, squirrel meat, half and half, and Sazon seasoning packet. 8. Put breadsticks on a sheet pan and place both the breadsticks and the cast iron skillet of soup in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Taste soup and season with salt and pepper to taste.9. Serve immediately with a bowl of fresh grated Parmesan to sprinkle on top of the soup.MORE GREAT SOUP RECIPESIf you are looking for another great soup, check out my Homemade Zuppa Toscana with Italian Venison Sausage, or my Grouse and Wild Rice Soup recipe and my Pheasant Olive Garden Gnocchi Soup recipe.COME HUNT NORTH DAKOTAIf you would like to come to North Dakota and experience an amazing upland bird hunt for grouse and pheasants, check out the North Dakota Tourism website. And if you want me to come along with you as your camp cook, photographer, or butcher, you can find out more details here.WILD GAME FOR WEEKNIGHT DINNERSAfter a long day of work, it's not always easy to face your kitchen and whip up dinner. But I hope this squirrel and gnocchi soup recipe and my other Upland Birds and Small Game Recipes will give you inspiration and motivation you need to get excited about cooking every night.CONNECT WITH ME AND JOIN OUR WILD GAME COOKING COMMUNITYDid you make this Gnocchi and Squirrel Soup? I’d love for you to join our community and connect with me so we can all see pics of this dish and all of your wild game and fish creations. Be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #wildgameandfish and tagging me @wildgameandfishDid you enjoy this Gnocchi and Squirrel Soup with Breadsticks Recipe? Be sure to leave a 5-star rating RIGHT HERE!
Ingredients
- 2-3 squirrels, skinned, cleaned, and cut into pieces
- 1 quart chicken broth
- 1 16-ounce store-bought potato gnocchi
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 2 cups fresh kale or spinach, finely chopped
- 1 packet Goya Sauzon seasoning
- 6 frozen breadsticks
- 1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, simmer the squirrels in chicken broth until tender. This can be done in a pot on the stovetop over a couple hours, or overnight or all day in a crockpot. Pull all the meat off the bones and shred. Set meat aside and reserve the broth.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large cast iron skillet, boil salted water and cook gnocchi according to package directions (usually only 2 minutes). Drain water and set gnocchi aside.
- In same skillet, melt 2 Tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook, stirring frequently for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic & thyme and cook another 1 minute.
- Add another 2 Tablespoons butter & whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
- Gradually add reserved chicken broth, and cook, whisking constantly until thickened, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in gnocchi, kale, squirrel meat, half and half, and Sazon seasoning packet.
- Put breadsticks on a sheet pan and place both the breadsticks and the cast iron skillet of soup in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Taste soup and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve immediately with a bowl of fresh grated Parmesan to sprinkle on top of the soup.
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