Who hasn't eaten squirrel?

[Slimpikins]

I have killed my fair share, but I always give them away. Y'all have me wanted to try one now.

Anyone use a Pressure Cooker???

[Rustic]

This my 1st year squirrel hunting. I harvested one over the holidays. Skinned it and ate it. My family thinks I'm nuts (no pun intended). The meat was ok but my cooking has a lot to be desired. I'm still lookin for a good recipe.

[Dave Thaxton]

Ate a bunch as a teenager...camping out, killing squirrels and cooking them over an open fire...  

[Kip]

In my home town the schools close the Friday before Sq. season.They call it budgit day b/c they would have to hire too many teacher replacements would strain the school budget.Half the kids would also not show up.They also play the Friday nite football game on Thursday.We do not frey them unless they are small but cook them in a brown gravy till tinder.The right kind of cook can make a sq. sauce very tasty.Kip

[Tony Sanders]

YES YES YES YES.  I cut my hunting teeth on squirrel hunting 50+ years ago, and man I still love hunting,shooting and EATING squirrels. I first brown them in a skillet in olive oil, sometimes with onions and green peppers, and then transfer them to the slow cooker. I put in one packet of lipton onion soup mix,a 1/4 cup of water and a can of cream of mushroom soup. Let it go about 4 hours on low and man you talk about a meal fit for a King. Also to sweeten the deal, throw in a package of frozen baby carrots and some red skin potatoes and let them cook right along with the squirrels, and you are good to go.

  Tony

[Caughtandhobble]

I have eaten many over the years. I once was a squirrel hunting son of a gun, I loved it.

I always fried squirrel then smothered them in gravy. That served with rice or potatoes with some home grown veggies is hard to beat.

Since my wife has rescued a few baby squirrels, I can say that my squirrel hunting days are over. I guess I am getting soft as the years roll by. We have release squirrels in our back yard that we see and play with daily.

[frassettor]

People who haven't eaten them are really missing out on some great table fair when properly prepared.

I make pot pies out of them

[longbow fanatic 1]

Originally posted by McDave:
I have a lot of them in my backyard.  I remember as a child in Texas eating them, although I don't remember what they tasted like. Once a few years ago, I decided to shoot one of the squirrels in my backyard and eat it.  I had a video from the Internet, which made skinning them seem about as easy as pulling off a sock.  I shot one with my bow, but I made such a mess of trying to skin it that I had to throw it away.  This depressed me, because my one prime ethic about hunting is that I eat what I kill.  If anyone could suggest a better way to skin one, I would like to eat it, but I don't want to waste the meat.

Make an incision at the base of the tail. The incision should run horizontally in a line that, if continued to cut, would run down the top of the squirrel's back. Make sure the incision severs completely through the bones of the tail, then stop. Now, stand on the tail, getting your foot at close to the base of the tail as possible. Grab the squirrel's back legs and pull. This will turn him inside-out quickly. The rest of the cleaning and gutting would follow.

[Birdbow]

Hunt em and eat em. My Grandad in VA passed down his recipe for Brunswick Stew made with squirrel. Won't shoot something unless I use it and besides the meat the tails are great for tying fishing flies.

We have the larger fox squirrels here.  One needs the cheapest cedar blunts one can get to shoot squirrels out of trees.  I resist shooting them during deer season, because once I start there is no stopping me and no deer hunting.  Fried very slow in butter with the lid on the pan or inject them like a turkey and then cook them on the Weber grill. Squirrels are excellent tasting if done right and more fun to hunt than deer most days.

[olddogrib]

Whaaaa? Anybody who's never dined on "chicken of the trees" must immediately surrender their trad man(or woman) card until this requirement is met....no exceptions!

...and you only get 1/2 credit unless you prepared it yourself, lol.

[T Sunstone]

I have always fried them until brown then cooked in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes on 10 pounds.  Make a gravy with drippings serve with rice or boiled taters.  
Going to try this recipe also.
 

Here's one on skinning.

 

[59Alaskan]

Originally posted by olddogrib:
Whaaaa? Anybody who's never dined on "chicken of the trees" must immediately surrender their trad man(or woman) card until this requirement is met....no exceptions!

...and you only get 1/2 credit unless you prepared it yourself, lol.

my card is in the mail!  Our season goes until Jan 31 so I hope to remediate that.  The only squirrel I have killed was with a recurve.  It was a black squirrel.  I actually had it mounted and it looks cool.

I have eaten raw sea urchin, that should get me something right?

[Jakeemt]

Rustic- Bigger squirrels benefit from slower cooking methods as they are rather tough. Anything that call for chicken or turkey can have squirrel substituted. If they're tough simmer them for and hour in stock then grill, fry, or bake. Also slowly baking them at 350 in a covered dish drench in franks red hot is awesome. Serve with steak fries and lager.

McDave- You must not only cut completely through the tailbone but any meat as well. Make your cut wider and angled toward the back legs only skin should be left on the initial cut or you run the risk of just ripping the tail off.

[mangonboat]

Add me to the list of squirrel culinaires who saute first then slow cook ..I use my black cast iron skillet to go directly from stove top to oven, add some onions ,carrots and garlic and cover then bake for an hour at 350. Remove to a platter then make some gravy with what's in the bottom of the skillet and a little flour. If I'm feeling creative I'll add dried cherries, apricots or some jalapeno. Would love to try some smoked.

Truth be told, I haven't shot a half dozen squirrels with a bow in the past 40 years...got too used to picking them off with a .22.

[Slickhead]

Honestly Id rather eat squirrel and rabbit any day over deer meat.
I hunt deer as you get a bigger bang for the buck if you shoot one.

But I dont near enjoy the taste as much.

[Looper]

Every year, I do a post deer season squirrel hunt. Afterwards, I cook them up either in a dutch oven, buried in coals, or in a cast iron pot hanging over the fire. I usually try a different recipe each time, but one thing that is consistent is that it's done outside over/under a campfire, and complemented with biscuits. It's one of my favorite traditions.

One thing I do before hand is to soak the squirrels overnight in water and sea salt.

[David Mitchell]

Ummm, squirrel dumplins.   :D   I think most folks any more are so taken up with "big game" hunting that they have basically forgotten the joy and fine eating of small game.  Small game seems to be just an after thought, and the squirrels just hate that to be so disrespected.

[centaur]

My Dad loved hunting squirrels, and I hunted them with him lots of times. Fried 'em up and chowed down. Those were fox squirrels. Wyoming pine squirrels are not eaten by humans. They are placed on earth to harass elk hunters.

[Flingblade]

For anyone wanting to try squirrel be sure to remove the scent glands in the front armpits.  They are small white egg shaped kernels a little smaller than a pea.  If left in while cooking they may give a strong or gamey taste to the meat which may be why some who have tried squirrel didn't like it.

A few years back I was sitting in a makeshift ground blind on one side of a creek watching a deer trail on the opposite side.  A big black squirrel came out and sat on a log on the side of the creek about 8 yards away.  I thought what the heck and drew my 70 lb. HH Wesley Special and loosed a cedar shaft with a two blade magnus.  The squirrel was sitting up when I shot and he didn't move.  I thought I missed.  A couple seconds later he fell off the log dead.  I went over and found the shot was a pass through and had nearly cut him in two.  I couldn't believe he sat there like he wasn't even shot after being hit like that.  I grabbed my arrow and the squirrel and sat back down and five minutes later another black squirrel was sitting near the log.  I loosed the same arrow and pinned him to the side of the bank.  He kicked for a couple seconds and was dead.  When I went to pick him up I found in that couple seconds he had chewed up my arrow that had him pinned.  Didn't see any deer that day but thanks to the squirrels I had a blast and meat in the pot.