Groundhog Day is one of my favorite days. February 2nd is the day we find out if we are going to have 6 more weeks of winter. Here in Maine, we always have 6 more weeks of winter, HA. In honor of this fine day, I thought I would put a couple of recipes together. A smoked groundhog sandwich with homemade pickles and some no bake cookies that are super cute! I hope you try these recipes and let me know how you like it!
INGREDIENTS
6-12 pound groundhog, skinned and field dressed1 large sweet yellow onion, sliced
1 dark beer
BBQ Rub, Humphrey's Devine Bovine is perfect for this recipe!
1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
a few homemade pickles
Lay's Ripple potato chips
Liberally shake Humphrey's Devine Bovine rub over all exposed meat, rubbing it into the meaty rear legs and backstraps. That’s right, groundhogs have backstraps, and they are as good as you would imagine them to be when stripped off the backbone, rolled in seasoned flour, and fried.
Place the groundhog directly on the smoker grate at a relatively low temperature. On the Humphrey's, we set it at 225 degrees, and allow it to slowly smoke for two to three hours, depending on the size of the groundhog. You are watching for an internal temperature of around 165 degrees in the thickest part of the ham.
While the groundhog smokes, slice an onion and place it in a disposable aluminum pan or on a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil large enough to completely wrap the groundhog. Once your meat has hit the desired temperature, move the groundhog to the pan or onto the foil. If you are using foil, wrap it up and around the groundhog, forming a shallow bowl. If you are using a pan, just move the groundhog into it.
Pour in a dark beer and seal the package tightly to hold in the steam. Return the groundhog to the heat and continue to cook for another two to three hours at 250-275 degrees. Carefully remove the groundhog from the heat and pull the foil up to allow steam to escape. Move the groundhog to a large cutting board and use two forks (or Humphrey's Butt'ah Fingers) to shred the meat from the bone. Pour on your favorite BBQ sauce and give everything a good stir to evenly coat the meat.
Serve the Smoked groundhog just like you would any BBQ, you might even enjoy letting your diners play a game of “Guess That Meat!”
Goundhog Day No-Bake Cookies
INGREDIENTS
- 4 crunchy chocolate cookies
- 8 mini cookies
- 8 homemade googly eyes (white chocolate chips and mini chocolate chips)
- 4 pink-colored jelly beans
- 8 sunflower seeds
- 8 chocolate chips
- 2 Tbsp. chocolate sprinkles
- 1/4 c. melted chocolate, for the “glue”
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add a thin layer of melted chocolate on the top of the crunchy chocolate cookie for the hair. Immediately cover with sprinkles.
- “Glue” the mini cookies in the middle of the large cookie for the cheeks.
- Add the pink jelly bean for the nose, the googly eyes, and the sunflower seeds for the teeth.
- “Glue” the 2 chocolate chips for the ears. Allow the chocolate to firm up (approx. 5-10 minutes).
