Simple But Delectable Squirrel Recipe

[cottswald]

directions:

I've read a number of posts that have asked "how do you fix a squirrel dish". Here's an easy one. Modify it to your taste!

• kill the squirrel
• place skinned and dressed squirrel (2) in a container of water with about half teaspoon of salt for at least a couple of hours (draws the blood out), then rinse thoroughly.
• place the squirrel in a pot of water (salted) and simmer on low for about 3 hours, then debone.

add the following to a crockpot:

• 2 diced russet potatoes
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 chopped green pepper
• 2 diced carrots
• 1 ½ cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 can diced tomato
• 1 or 2 bay leafs
• simmer on low for about 4 hours
• add the meat and simmer for another 45 minutes.
• salt and pepper to taste.

Exquisite!



Dessert

 

[Mitch from LA]

Looks great! Is there any reason you don't brown the meat first?

 

[cottswald]

Well I suppose you could, if you wanted to season it or something. But there's really no reason to brown it. Once you slow simmer in brine water for 3 hours, the meat will easily fall off the bone, and can go straight into the crockpot.

 

[HOOfan_1]

Can I skip the "kill the squirrel" step?

 

[Savage Shooter]

I think if ya didn't kill him it'd be awful had to get him to hold still so you could skin him and dress him, let alone get him to sit in a pot of boiling water for 3 hours.

 

[cottswald]

Well I suppose you could just slowly submerge him in the pot like you would a lobster!

But then you'd still have the skinning and gutting part!

 

[JohnBT]

"Can I skip the "kill the squirrel" step?"

Many years ago there was a secretary at the office who had a son who loved to squirrel hunt. Until he left for VMI, he would send me his extra squirrels - cleaned and ready to fry.

John

 

[Cob]

As a man once informed me with a road killed Opossum, you just place him on the grill, hair and all, and roast... The fire burns the hair off, and cooks the meat... When he Pops, he is ready to eat!

 

[Johnny_Come_Lately]

For us coonass's down here in Louisiana, a few squirrels liberally sprinkled with Tony Chachere's, a light dusting of flour and about an inch of hog lard in an iron skillet followed up with a heaping pile of mustard greens, rice and gravy with a stick of jalapeño cornbread and a cold glass of milk makes a fine meal indeed.

Of course if a 7-course meal is called for then we break out a pound of boudin and a six pack of beer!!!!

 

[mio]

looks and sounds great. my wife usually just quarters my squirrels (5 pieces with the cage) tosses them in the pressure cooker for about an hour on 10lbs then shake and bakes them. comes out real good that way but im printing your recipe out cause a little variety never hurt and man that looks good.

 

[mio]

Can I skip the "kill the squirrel" step?

thats the best part after the eating of course

 

[cottswald]

Many years ago there was a secretary at the office who had a son who loved to squirrel hunt. Until he left for VMI, he would send me his extra squirrels - cleaned and ready to fry.
John

Always good to have friends like that!

looks and sounds great. my wife usually just quarters my squirrels (5 pieces with the cage) tosses them in the pressure cooker for about an hour on 10lbs then shake and bakes them. comes out real good...

Thanks mio. Lots of great shake n bake recipes out there too!

 

[pitsmile]

I have never tried squirrel before. I live up in NJ and honestly had never even heard of it before a friend moved to NC and started dating a native there and she tried it.

What does it taste like? Can you compare it to anything?

 

[Yarddog]

Chicken
Y/D


"[What does it taste like? Can you compare it to anything]"

 

[cottswald]

Yep, it tastes like chicken. Yarddog beat me to it!

Seriously though, it depends a lot on how you fix it (as is the case with a lot of things). When you pre cook it and fix it with a stew as described above, the flavor blends in nicely with your herbs and veggies and has a very nice texture. I can only suggest you give it a shot some day.

Eastern tree squirrels have a very clean diet consisting of sprouts, berries, tree sap, and lots of nuts (hickory, beech, walnut, oak) to name just a few. As with all wild game animals, the meat is free of growth stimulators, hormones and antibiotics found in most store bought products. Good tasten and good fer ya!

 

[CSA 357]

we used to leave the heads on them so we could eat the brains and tounges, i think ill go kill me a mess as soon as deer seasons over and fry them!

 

[Cosmoline]

I have personally had squirrel that did NOT taste like chicken. It tasted like squirrel. And I kept tasting it for weeks afterwards. I think you need to be careful not to cook the scent glands.

 

[cottswald]

I think you need to be careful not to cook the scent glands.

The subject of scent glands on squirrels seems to come up often. When gutting a squirrel, its not difficult to identify various internal organs (heart, lungs, stomach, intestines etc.). I can't say I would be able to identify a scent gland if I saw one, nor do I think I need to. When you gut a squirrel, anything that doesn't look like carcass gets removed. With the exception of stray hair, the carcass should be pretty clean when you bag it in the field. When you come home you rinse as much of the hair off as is practical, and again anything thats loose or dangling or doesn't look like part of the carcass gets removed. The procedure is repeated once again after you soak it in water for a few hours to draw out the blood. When you're ready to put it in the pot, there should be nothing left but meat and bones (a few stray hairs or tendons won't hurt anything).

The only scent glands that I am aware of would be on the bottom of the feet (used for marking territory or signaling distress). I always cut the legs off just above the first joint.

Also when gutting, if you accidentally puncture the bladder or intestines it might not be a bad idea to discard the carcass as a precaution.

 

[HOOfan_1]

We usually cut the hide right along the center of the spine...perpendicular to the spine. Then we basically just peel the hide off like a banana. It will stop at the head, the tail and the feet...then we take a hatchet, cut off the head, cut off the tail and cut off the feet.

IMO it does taste like chicken.

One of the best lines from "The Matrix"

how do the machines know what Tasty Wheat tasted like? Maybe they got it wrong. Maybe what I think Tasty Wheat tasted like actually tasted like oatmeal, or tuna fish. That makes you wonder about a lot of things. You take chicken, for example: maybe they couldn't figure out what to make chicken taste like, which is why chicken tastes like everything.

 

[cottswald]

Hoofan, thanks for mentioning that. I sort of took the head and tail removal as a given. But for folks that aren't familiar with dressing wild game, one should never assume!

 

[pitsmile]

Chicken

Alright, well I'll keep an open mind and, who knows, maybe one day I'll be offered squirrel.

maybe they couldn't figure out what to make chicken taste like, which is why chicken tastes like everything.

 

[rugerman]

Tastes a lot like sewer rat but with nutty overtones.

 

[Navy_Guns]

I deboned squirrel - once. Too much work! For me, gutted and skinned, then cooked whole on the grill with BBQ sauce. Eat them like corn on the cob.

 

[cottswald]

I deboned squirrel - once. Too much work! For me, gutted and skinned, then cooked whole on the grill with BBQ sauce. Eat them like corn on the cob.

If you cook it thoroughly in water first (2 1/2 to 3 hrs), it'll drop off the bone with almost no effort at all.

*Occasionally I like to grill em and eat em off the bone too!

 

[Russ Jackson]

3 hours is a very long time to simmer. I would think it was dry and tasteless.

How many rednecks does it take to eat a squirrel?

Three...One to eat it and 2 to watch for cars....Russ