Who hasn't eaten squirrel?

[varmint101]

I love squirrel and squirrel hunting.  My 4 & 6 year old know the taste and fun too!  Sometimes I cook the legs up like chicken wings with hot sauce!  A might bit tougher than chicken but mmm good!

[SteveB]

Never have and never will. Too much work for a couple bites that need special prep.

[Steve Jr]

Some of the best eaten you could get. There is no shortage of them either.

[myshootinstinks]

I grew up here in the west but my family's roots are all in Kentucky. Squirrel hunting was big sport to them. Lot's of time spent around the wood-stove telling stories on the subject. Good stuff and I've enjoyed the few times I've had the opportunity to hunt with them.

[riverrat 2]

Mouth is watering at some of the recipes you all are talking bout'. My dad took Squirrel meat,ran it through his meat grinder with a bit of bacon. Then he browned it with some taco seasonings. And made up some fried corn tortillas,garden tomatoes,lettuce,onions,and cheese. Buddy,you would never know you were eating Squirrel tacos!! rat'

[Pine]

My late hunting partner and I would get a couple and dress them out in the woods . Get a good bed of coals going and roast them on the spot .
Wow how I miss those days .  

[Kent57]

When I lived in Ohio I hunted and ate them each fall. There good eating .

[Hoyt]

Never been too much of a squirrel hunter or eater, but have eaten a few every yr pretty much all my life.

I like them cooked in spicy rice with a little bacon till they almost fall apart.

When I clean them I use my pruning snips for the feet, head, tail and to snip into sections. A sharp pocket knife and pair of pliers for skinning..goes pretty fast.

[Sharp Stick]

I really like them B-B-Q.  Slow cooked until tender.  Great eating. I skin them pretty much like skinning a rabbit.

[mgf]

Originally posted by Steve Jr:
Some of the best eaten you could get. There is no shortage of them either.

That's not true everyplace.

I have a piece of private property where I kill a bunch and I have a few honey-holes in the national forest.

But, squirrels can be darned hard to find at our local state WMA...too much hunting and not enough game to hunt.

[mgf]

Originally posted by SteveB:
Never have and never will. Too much work for a couple bites that need special prep.

I'm not sure what you mean by "special prep" but a couple of squirrels makes a meal for my wife and I. More than a couple of  bites. LOL

[Pheonixarcher]

The last one I shot (he looks a little soggy 'cause my English setter had to retrieve him for me), I made fried squirrel nuggets out of. I cut as much meat from the bone as I could, soaked it overnight in salt water, and seasoned and fried it up in a pan. I first browned it, then added some water, and let it simmer on low heat until the water was gone. In hindsight, I shouldn't have used any soy sause when I cooked it as it was I bit on the salty side, but it was delicious! I'm looking forward to the next bird seed robber! Lol.

[Sam McMichael]

When I was a kid my uncle used to make squirrel stew. It was pretty much like Brunswick stew. He would boil them first to make the meat more tender. He would then remove the meat from the bones and, the broth was used in the stew. It was good stuff.

[Krex1010]

The one common thread among every recipe that has been put forth by the people who cook and eat squirrel regularly is at some point the squirrel is braised or cooked in a wet environment. This is the only way to guarantee tender squirrel, simmer until tender before breading and frying or grilling, or browning and then cooking low and slow in liquid, they all work. If you just throw it in a frying pan or in a grill and eat it.....you may get lucky with a young squirrel and get something passable, or you may end up with a chewy tough animal that will make you think squirrels aren't worth eating.

[Krex1010]

Pheonixarcher.....be careful with the salt water soak, I soak them in salt water as well but squirrels are small, an overnight brine can quickly make squirrel very salty, been there done that. Overnight soaks are fine as long as its a weaker brine, if you can only soak an hour or two then go with a slightly stronger brine.

[David M. Mathis]

Pressure cooker or slow cook for many hours.

[2bird]

I have been a avid squirrel hunter since about age 5. Here is how I skin and cook them.

1, soak the squirrel(rabbit too) in water, you want to get the hair wet, this keeps a lot of the hair off the meat.

2, cut around the ankles and between the legs just like if you were skinning a coon.

3, twist bailing wire tightly around his rear feet and tie it off to a branch, then just pull the skin right off down to his neck and cut it off along with all 4 feet and gut him.

3, rinse the squirrel in cold water and get all the hair off, then boil him in a pot with meat tenderizer until he is cooked.

4, pull all the meat off the bones, shred, and put in a bowl with some liquid smoke for a few hours/1 day (adds flavor and cuts the game taste).

5, put it in a pan and add your favorite seasonings, when it's all seared up add bbq sauce and heat it up.

BBQ pulled squirrel...

[cahaba]

I soak squirrel as well as venison in coffee. I don't know what the coffee does but it takes all the gamey taste away and gives it a great flavor. If it wasn't for squirrel we would have had a lot of meals without meat when I was growing up. I really like eating them.

[Wannabe1]

I like squirrel as much as deer

Yep, me too! Killed and ate more squirrels, rabbits, quail and such growing up near Poteau and Stigler, Oklahoma than any other place I've been.  

[SteveB]

Originally posted by mgf:
 

Originally posted by SteveB:
Never have and never will. Too much work for a couple bites that need special prep.

I'm not sure what you mean by "special prep" but a couple of squirrels makes a meal for my wife and I. More than a couple of  bites. LOL [/b]

A few examples from just this page - just not for me.

 

Tough and chewy if you don't boil 'em before you bread & fry.

I cut as much meat from the bone as I could, soaked it overnight in salt water, and seasoned and fried it up in a pan. I first browned it, then added some water, and let it simmer on low heat until the water was gone.  

This is the only way to guarantee tender squirrel, simmer until tender before breading and frying or grilling, or browning and then cooking low and slow in liquid, they all work.  

it in a frying pan or in a grill and eat it