Jerk-Spiced Squirrel Over Camp Rice
A jerk-style dry rub for small game, cooked over the fire and served on instant rice.
- calories
- 540
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 60
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 30 min
- total time
- 50 min
- water
- 600 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Squirrel, skinned and quartered | 3-4 squirrels | chicken thighs work the same way |
|---|---|---|
| Ground cinnamon | 2 tbsp | |
| Ground ginger | 1 tbsp | dried, since fresh root does not travel |
| Five spice powder | 1 tbsp | |
| Ground allspice | 1 tbsp | grind the berries at home |
| Ground black pepper | 2 tsp | |
| Dried thyme | 1 tbsp | crumble it between your palms |
| Ground nutmeg | 1 tsp | |
| Salt | 2 tsp | |
| Vegetable oil | 3 tbsp | |
| Instant rice | 2 cups dry |
Method
- Mix every spice with the salt in a bag at home. In camp it is one bag, not eight jars.
- Rub the quarters with oil, then work the spice mix into every surface. Let them sit 15 minutes while the fire burns down.
- Wait for coals, not flame. Squirrel is lean and a live flame will scorch the rub before the meat cooks.
- Set the grate over the coals and lay the pieces out. Turn every five minutes or so, about 30 minutes total, until the thickest part pulls clean off the bone.
- Pull the meat to a plate. Boil 600 ml of water in the pot, stir in the rice, cover, and take it off the heat for five minutes.
- Fluff the rice and serve the quarters on top. Scrape the pot drippings over it.
Jerk is normally a wet marinade with onion, scallion, and chiles blended into a paste. None of that keeps in a pack, so this is the dry version: the same spice backbone — allspice, thyme, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger — carried premixed and bound to the meat with oil instead of a puree. The oil matters more than it looks. Squirrel has almost no fat of its own, and without a coat it goes stringy over coals.
Coals, not flame, is the other thing to get right. A dry rub this heavy on cinnamon and sugar-adjacent spice burns fast over open fire, and burnt allspice tastes like ash. Instant rice on the side soaks up the drippings and stretches four small carcasses into four real dinners.
Packing
Premix the rub into a small zip bag and label it. Oil goes in a dropper bottle. Game rides in the cooler on ice, bagged, until the fire is ready.
Variations
- A chopped jalapeno or a scotch bonnet worked into the oil brings the heat the original rub carries.
- Squeeze lime over the top if you brought one. It cuts the sweetness of the cinnamon and allspice.
- Grilled pineapple rings on the same grate use the space you already have hot.
https://realtree.com/timber-2-table-wild-game-recipes/jamaican-jerk-squirrel-recipe