My recipe for tree rats, ground rats, swamp rats, and house rats:
Split pelvis so the rat lies flat on it's back, but stays in one piece.
Slather with extra virgin olive oil, lotsa garlic, some onion (not too much), and your favorite brand of honey BBQ sauce. A shot of apple cider vinegar or whiskey might not be a bad idea either.
Roll him up so that his limbs are inside the roll, tie him with a string (shoestring works fine, and is reusable).
Sear the outside of the ratball on the frying pan with some extra virgin olive oil, making sure to cover him good in salt (Dollar General Cajun Spice or Soul Food spice is better if you have it around).
Put him immediately into a 350 degree oven, cover, and bake for 1-1 1/2 hours. Make sure to check his progress, and keep him basted with water, beef broth, or olive oil so he don't burn.
Serve in small cut-up pieces with a watery mixed sauce of BBQ sauce and italian salad dressing - that fools your girlfriend and kids into thinkin it's some more socially-accepted animal fer eatin. Also won't make your wheels start turnin either. I've pushed many a plate aside when I got to thinkin about it too hard.
Oh - you can substitute the pan fry and oven time with some serious skills behind the grill, keeping careful tabs on the grilling temperatures (much like wok cooking). Despite popular opinion round here, an adept griller can make a five-star chef's oven-time look like horsecrap.