ISO ways to cook squirrel

[darlenemt08]

I haven't eaten squirrel in a very, long time. I grew up to where my dad hunted squirrels, rabbits, raccoon, pheasant, quail, & deer. My dad would skin the animals and sometimes clean them out or, my mom would clean them out.

My mom soaked the meat in I think salt water for awhile. Then she browned the meat with bones in a little oil. Then she'd put it into a pan and pour cream of mushroom soup over it for a gravy. She then added potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, & sometimes cabbage. Seasoned it with salt & pepper. Squirrel does taste good, when cooked right. As long as I don't have to kill it and clean it, I'm fine with eating it. LOL

My dad now feeds squirrels in their yard along with the tame birds. Cats are the enemies and he shoots those with his bb gun along with any dogs who catches & kills his 'pets'. My sister's & my 3 small dogs & their Dachshund are the only exception to dogs in their yard.

Darlene

 

[pacanis]

Squirrel hunting was my favorite hunting season. I don't remember the recipe I used, but it was a stroganoff type stew and very tasty.
All these recipes I'm reading is making me hungry to go squirrel hunting again.

 

[BreezyCooking]

The L.L. Bean Game and Fish Cookbook has a LOT of recipes for squirrel (& virtually any other living creature you might come across & shoot in North America). Husband bought me a copy, & although neither one of us hunts, it's still interesting reading, & many of the recipes adapt well to domestic products.

If you do a search on the book title, you might find some of their squirrel recipes online.

 

[Barb L.]

I use to squirrel hunt with my Dad, Mom would chicken fry it - yum, just have to watch out for any buckshot -


Flashback - One time we went out and we were about ten feet apart, sitting under trees and he motioned there was one, - I aimed - then it ran away- Dad asked what I didn't shoot - .................... Told him because the squirrel was lookin' at me !!!!! He was too !

 

[justplainbill]

The gray squirrel is a pretty muscular critter. I like it prepared in a Brunswick stew. LL Bean cookbook has a good recipe.

 

[kitchenelf]

I use to squirrel hunt with my Dad, Mom would chicken fry it - yum, just have to watch out for any buckshot -


Flashback - One time we went out and we were about ten feet apart, sitting under trees and he motioned there was one, - I aimed - then it ran away- Dad asked what I didn't shoot - .................... Told him because the squirrel was lookin' at me !!!!! He was too !

OH - that reminds me of the first time I cooked soft-shell crab - it opened it's eyes just at the wrong moment!

 

[Maverick2272]

Not to continue to add to moving the thread away from squirrels, but...

You should have seen the look on DWs face when, while watching Iron Chef American, they took out a live lobster and took its tail off right then and there. While they prepped the tail, the rest was slowly trying to crawl away.

 

[xmascarol1]

squirrel

Besides all of the above great recipes, Brunswick stew is not authentic unless it has several squirrel in there along with the other meats. There are many Brunswick stew recipes you could find on line .

 

[Michael in FtW]

My grandmother did it very simple ... she dredged it in seasoned (S&P) flour and browned it in bacon grease ... added a little water (1/2 cup maybe), covered and braised it over low heat for about an hour. She would then remove the lid - cranked the heat up a little to evaporate the water, then added some flour to make a roux, added milk to make a gravy. In another cast iron skillet she would make some cottage fries (of course she used bacon grease) and scrambled eggs.

This was a Sunday morning breakfast dish for grandpa and me - we would go hunting on Staurday and Nanny would cook it for us on Sunday morning ... homemade buttermilk biscuits, fried squirrel, fried taters, scrambled eggs, and gravy.

Oh - someone was concerned about the diet of squirrels ... it's mainly seeds and nuts.

 

[silvercarmel]

For barb , yeah buckshot is a pain ( more so for squirrel) For maverick 2272 EWWWWW live lobster part mutilated!!!!
For everyone who has sent me recipes I am very grateful , I love to try new things , To everyone who has been disguisted with me , next week I will be trying Panda stuffed with Golden eagle sauteed in kitten blood.ONLY KIDDING its not panda season . Carmel x

 

[Constance]

My grandmother did it very simple ... she dredged it in seasoned (S&P) flour and browned it in bacon grease ... added a little water (1/2 cup maybe), covered and braised it over low heat for about an hour. She would then remove the lid - cranked the heat up a little to evaporate the water, then added some flour to make a roux, added milk to make a gravy. In another cast iron skillet she would make some cottage fries (of course she used bacon grease) and scrambled eggs.

This was a Sunday morning breakfast dish for grandpa and me - we would go hunting on Staurday and Nanny would cook it for us on Sunday morning ... homemade buttermilk biscuits, fried squirrel, fried taters, scrambled eggs, and gravy.

Oh - someone was concerned about the diet of squirrels ... it's mainly seeds and nuts.

That's how my grandma fixed it too, except she made mashed potatoes instead of fried ones.

Our squirrels also like stale bread, cereal, pizza crusts and cornbread...especially corn bread!

 

[pacanis]

You guys with crunchy squirrel must have been using too heavy a load or shot size. I don't ever remember having to watch for shot in the meat. It all disappeared when you skinned the squirrel.
Although, I suppose someone else could have gotten that piece

Hey, this is under the Wild Game topic/forum. Why all the naysayers?
Did the topic name lead you to believe we had a game of Twister going on over here

 

[GrillingFool]

My white lab/retriever thinks I should go get a 22 rifle posthaste.
She would be quite happy to help.
Heck, she says forget the rifle and just let her and my black lab
off the leash next walk, LOLOL!!

Seriously, I wouldn't have a problem eating squirrel, as long as I could
kill them with one shot. I'm a weenie when it comes to squealing injured
animals.

 

[AllenOK]

Got plenty of squirrels around here that is for sure, but I don't think they will appreciate me using my .22 in the back yard, LOL.

Who needs a .22?

A slingshot, a bag of marbles, and a jar of peanut butter are all you need. Just smear the peanut butter on the toe of your shoe, and when the furry little tree rat starts nibbling at the stuff, pop it on the head with the slingshot. Steel-toed boots are recommended.

Personally, I've never had squirrel, but that's only because the opportunity hasn't presented itself.

 

[Maverick2272]

Who needs a .22?

A slingshot, a bag of marbles, and a jar of peanut butter are all you need. Just smear the peanut butter on the toe of your shoe, and when the furry little tree rat starts nibbling at the stuff, pop it on the head with the slingshot. Steel-toed boots are recommended.

Personally, I've never had squirrel, but that's only because the opportunity hasn't presented itself.

The way I am with a slingshot, I think I would just use a crowbar if it got that close.

I remember having to pick buckshot out of pheasant and rabbit when I was growing up, but it always seemed to be the ones my brother killed....

 

[Jeff G.]

Ugh, I think I'm gonna hurl.

It's just a tree rabbit.. Tasty!!

Rotisserie Squirrel..

Rub with butter, seasoned salt, pepper stick on a spit, fire up the grill get it cooking. Roast until tender... yummy...

 

[Fisher's Mom]

OH - that reminds me of the first time I cooked soft-shell crab - it opened it's eyes just at the wrong moment!

That reminds me of when we had a crab boil at the coast a couple of years ago. Fisher was about 3 and he was fascinated with the huge cooler full of live crabs we dragged in the kitchen. But when my neighbor started putting live crabs in the big pot of boiling water, it was another story. He's still a little suspicious of her even now!

My dad used to hunt squirrel when I was a kid. I'm thinking I wouldn't eat it because I have absolutely no memory of how my mom cooked it or anything.

 

[Michael in FtW]

... Hey, this is under the Wild Game topic/forum. Why all the naysayers? ...

This thread was started in another forum - and I moved it over here where it would be more appropriate. Can't really compare a squirrel with a 150-lb feral hog - but it's more at home in here than the general cooking questions forum.

Never had a problem with buckshot ... Grandpa and I always hunted with a .22 cal rifle.

 

[pacanis]

This thread was started in another forum - and I moved it over here where it would be more appropriate. Can't really compare a squirrel with a 150-lb feral hog - but it's more at home in here than the general cooking questions forum.

Never had a problem with buckshot ... Grandpa and I always hunted with a .22 cal rifle.

That's good. Don't remember talking about hogs in this thread, I'll have to go back and look....
I just don't understand why all these peta wannabees are still clouding up the thread. If it was moved to the Wild Game topic, what did they think they were going to be reading about?
Maybe they would be more comfortable discussing ways to cook Mary's little lamb. Or even better.. veal

 

[AllenOK]

Those feral hogs can be a real problem. The farmers here hate 'em. Rooting around, tearing up crops, etc. One of the guys I work with told me he was hunting feral hogs about 5 miles from where I now live, and for a good ways, tracked a cougar. The big kitties are eating all the feral hogs. Great. Another thing to be on the lookout for.