Native Americans & Squirrels
"Of all the denziens of the Southern woods, none is more common than the squirrel, and the bushy-tailed rodents have been there in great numbers since long before Columbus. Indians roasted them over the open fire or stewed them in clay pots; later, new Americans from Europe and Africa fried them in skillets. Thomas Jefferson and many another Southerner after him...considered squirrel an essential ingredient of Brunswick stew, Kentucky burgoo makers...have always felt the same way. According to most contemporary preferences, the favored way to cook squirrel is smothered in a rich gravy made from pan liquids and flour. The same basic recipe is also used with other small game, such as rabbit and quail."
Southern Food: at home, on the road, in history, John Egerton [University of North Carolina Press:Chapel Hill NC] 1993
"The origins of Brunswick stew--initially based on squirrel meat, then on chicken or rabbit or all three--are shrouded in mystery. Brunswick, Virginia; Brunswick County, North Carolina; and Brunswick, Georgia, all claim they were the birthplace, either in the 1700s or 1800s. Others credit Britain's Earl of Brunswick, who, visiting the South, discoverd the derivative dish being served to Virginia workmen...Nashville's John Egerton [states]: 'It seems safe to say that Indians were making stews with wild game long before any Europeans arrived, and in that sense there was Brunswick stew before there was a Brunswick."
Smokehouse Ham,. Spoon Bread, & Scuppernong Wine: The Folklore and Art of Southern Applachian Cooking, Joseph E. Dabney [Cumberland House:Nashville TN] 1998
