All right, here you go. I did this for a Halloween party and they were a huge hit. Everybody loved them...there was none left. Some of the women were a little squimish but all in all it was pretty cool. I used chow mein noodles for the wiskers....they were just crooked enough to give you the willies.
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch black pepper
uncooked spaghetti, broken into quarters
thinly sliced raw carrot
black peppercorns, cooked black beans
1 (19 ounce) can ground tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
1In a mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, rice, onion, egg and 1 teaspoons (5 mL) of the salt. Mix well.2Now make the rats. Using a measuring cup, scoop out 1/4 cup (50 mL) of the ground beef mixture. Form it, by hand, into a firmly packed teardrop shape — pointy on one end, rounded on the other. This is your basic rat. Place it into a 3-quart (3 liter) shallow baking dish and gently pinch in the neck area. Poke a piece of uncooked spaghetti into the larger rounded end as a tail. Repeat with the remaining ground beef mixture.3When all the rats are neatly placed in the baking dish, stir together the tomatoes, water, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, remaining 1 teaspoons (5 mL) of salt and 1/4 teaspoons (1 mL) pepper. Pour over the rats. Cover the dish with foil wrap (or a lid, if it has one) and bake at 350° F (180° C) for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake for another 45 to 50 minutes, basting occasionally with sauce, or until the rice is tender and the rats are fully cooked.4Gently remove rats, one at a time, from the sauce and place gently on a serving platter. (Take care not to damage the tails — they’re fairly delicate.) Into each rat, insert two carrot slices as ears, peppercorns (or whatever) for eyes, and a few more broken strands of uncooked spaghetti for whiskers. Spoon sauce around the rats and serve, smiling wickedly.
All right, here you go. I did this for a Halloween party and they were a hugh hit. Everybody loved them...there was none left. Some of the women were a little squimish but all in all it was pretty cool.