1.   To prepare the meat, cut into triangular shapes that are about 1.3 cm or ½ inch thick sections. At the 1/3 point from the tip of the triangle, cut a slit on each side, at a slight angle, leaving a well-connected area for the neck. If desired, trim a bit of meat from the neck to make a more distinct head shape

2.   At about the half way point, make a slit on each side to make the front and back legs. Repeat until all the “rat” shapes have been prepared

3.   Use long toothpicks and push them through on a diagonal to go through one back leg to the opposite front leg. Do the other side as well. This will keep the rat shape as you are frying

4.   Alternatively, you could use thin slivers of carrot stick inserted for each limb to add support to the shape

5.   For the tail, make a deep small slit at the bottom of the rat to insert the tail. Use one of the long strips of carrot to make the tail. Insert the tail into the slit. Repeat for all pieces of meat

6.   Lightly salt and pepper both sides of the rats. Set aside

Batter Coating and pan frying

7.   Place the dry ingredients for the batter into a metal sieve over a bowl, and whisk until all the dry ingredients have been sifted. Whisk the dry ingredients in the bowl to combine thoroughly

8.   Add the wet ingredients to the mixing bowl and combine. If the batter is too thick, add a bit more water, until the mixture has a good consistency. Set aside

9.   To coat the rats, it is important to dry the meat with a paper towel so that the batter will coat the meat well

10.   OPTIONAL: Coat each piece of meat with either whey protein isolate (no carbs) or with coconut flour. This will help the batter adhere to the meat better, if meat is still moist

11.   Heat your oil or lard on medium heat until the oil is 350 F or 177 C – to a sizzling but not boiling stage. NOTE: Check the oil by dipping a wooden spoon or chopstick into the oil and watching for bubbles. You want fairly fast bubbles and not sluggish bubbles. If the oil is not hot enough, you may end up with greasy rats that are cooked on the outside, but contain raw meat on the inside

12.   When the oil is at the right temperature, dip each of the prepared rats into the batter, and coat both sides and tail well. Roll around in the batter until all sides are coated. This may take a few attempts. Once coated, handle with care as you place the rats into the hot oil, as you prepare each rat. Fry 2 or 3 at a time, leaving plenty of room between rats

13.   Fry until the undersides are a deep golden brown and carefully flip the rats over and fry until that side is a deep golden as well. Depending on the thickness and kind of meat you are using the time per side could be 2 -3 minutes per side. If the tail comes off, carefully remove from the pan and set aside to reattach later

14.   When the rats are fried on both sides, carefully remove from the oil and place on a plate. Handle as little as possible until batter has cooled a bit. Reinsert the tails if needed

15.   If desired, insert a shish kabob stick through the center of the body and through the head. Also, if you are serving this to children, remove the toothpicks as they are a choke hazard, or caution guests about the toothpicks supporting the limbs. Enjoy