# Squirrel Recipes?



## Stomata leontôn (Dec 29, 2008)

Does anyone have a recipe for squirrel? I hear it's better than rabbit.


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## PresbyDane (Dec 29, 2008)

Are you running low on food on the other side of the bay?


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## Stomata leontôn (Dec 29, 2008)

Martin Marsh said:


> Are you running low on food on the other side of the bay?


I'm getting tired of Top Ramen and grits.


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## PresbyDane (Dec 29, 2008)

? I have no idea what that is


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## Stomata leontôn (Dec 29, 2008)

Martin Marsh said:


> ? I have no idea what that is


Grits is the staple of life.


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## Guido's Brother (Dec 29, 2008)

When I was a missionary, we had a squirrel problem. I began trapping them and then ran across a recipe. We had plenty of raw material to work with, so it was time to experiment. 

My favourite was smoked squirrel. The key is to marinate the squirrel in lemon juice overnight. Then put it in the hot smoker with hickory chips for a few hours until it's nicely cooked. Depending on the size of the squirrel (we only had small ones), you could quarter them and serve it as an appetizer. I enjoyed it and so did most of the people I served it too (the key was to only tell them later that it was squirrel).


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## nicnap (Dec 29, 2008)

It is not better than rabbit, In my humble opinion, but then again I may have never had the best recipe. I bet LawrenceU might have a good one. 

I haven't found a great squirrel recipe, so I'll be watching this thread, hoping to find a good one.


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## GTMOPC (Dec 29, 2008)

Grits = *G*irls *R*aised *I*n *T*he *S*outh

Squirrel = "Tree Rat" 

In my opinion squirrel is preferable to rabbit, though there's not much meat on a squirrel. I grew up frying them. Never tried them any other way.


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## Stomata leontôn (Dec 29, 2008)

Joshua said:


> Peter H said:
> 
> 
> > Does anyone have a recipe for squirrel? I hear it's better than rabbit.
> ...


I'll have to figure out how to get the fur off first (I'm ignorant in these things). But since maintenance is hunting them right now with shotguns here, I though I could make use of the bodies. A lady I talked to says she breads them.


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## LawrenceU (Dec 29, 2008)

I'll post some skinning directions and some kicking recipes later on. I'm short on time right now. Hint: squirrels peel easy, they's tough to skin.


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## Richard King (Dec 29, 2008)

skinning a squirrel is no picnic.
they have thick tough hide.

Now I will tell a story of squirrel cuisine that I don't often tell.
I once went home with a college buddy who was a Georgia boy
His family had moved to a little town called Anna Texas and back then it was pretty much small town country living.
We went out to the woods to a double wide where some of his buddys cooked us up a treat.
turns out they were cooking squirrel brains with the little skulls in a frying pan and spreading the cooked brains on saltine crackers. They kept sayin' "now this here is good eatin' It was like listening to sheriff Taylor in Mayberry.
It was sort of surreal.
It tasted good but I just wasn't completely loving it.
Seems like I keep hiding pecans ever since.


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## PresbyDane (Dec 29, 2008)

You people are frightening me, I have to say 
Why would you even know these things, skinning a squirrel?
Do you not have chicken or cows.


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## Poimen (Dec 29, 2008)

Is there anything in particular you would like the squirrel to cook?

In addition please post proof of your cooking squirrel because this has to be a 'world first'.


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## Guido's Brother (Dec 29, 2008)

Martin Marsh said:


> You people are frightening me, I have to say
> Why would you even know these things, skinning a squirrel?
> Do you not have chicken or cows.



No chickens or cows, but we had grouse and moose! We had lots of the former, the latter are harder to get and only available for a short season at least up in the parts where we were living. Squirrels can be hunted year round.


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## westminken (Dec 29, 2008)

Martin Marsh said:


> You people are frightening me, I have to say
> Why would you even know these things, skinning a squirrel?
> Do you not have chicken or cows.



Yes, Americans have chickens and cows. However, in the South, squirrel and various other small animals i.e. rabbits (cotton tails and jack rabbits), raccoons (coons), etc. have been the poor man's steak for generations. My grandmother could make the best pot of jackrabbit chili ever.


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## PresbyDane (Dec 29, 2008)

westminken said:


> Martin Marsh said:
> 
> 
> > You people are frightening me, I have to say
> ...



Yes, I am sorry!
I guess I had not thought that through, being from the land of bacon myself.


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## LawrenceU (Dec 29, 2008)

Why eat cows and chickens when you can eat squirrels? Really. Growing up squirrel was standard fare. So was rabbit, coon, and a few other assorted small game. Below is a good video that shows the way to peel a squirrel. Any other method will leave you frustrated at best. This is how my daddy taught me, how his daddy taught him, and, well you get the picture.
SquirrelSkinning.flv - Video - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

I'll post some recipes later when I can type them up. Most of them are in my head and it is very tired.

BTW, squirrel brains are great. I was taught to shoot a squirrel in the neck with my .22 so that I didn't spoil the best part or the meat.


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## Neogillist (Dec 29, 2008)

I do have a squirel recipe (in French) from an old cook-book written in Quebec by a Quebecer lady who studied in food chemistry at the Sorbonne (France). Are you a fan of French Cuisine? Let me know if you would like me to translate it for you, although I don't feel like doing it right now.


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## AThornquist (Dec 29, 2008)

LawrenceU said:


> BTW, squirrel brains are great. I was taught to shoot a squirrel in the neck with my .22 so that I didn't spoil the best part or the meat.



You kill them with a gun?  Wow. If you use a bow and arrow then they can at least squirm around and bleed to death knowing that they will feed a true sportsman. 

I have never had squirrel but I really would like to try some. I bought a 1911 A1 .45 cal from Springfield Armory just so that I could shoot at 'em at campsites. I just haven't put out the effort to do it, yet


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## Grymir (Dec 29, 2008)

Squirrel Melts.

[video=youtube;7RlK0Xd4c2c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RlK0Xd4c2c[/video]


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## LawrenceU (Dec 29, 2008)

Alright, here are a couple of easy ones.

Fried Squirrel
Squirrels quartered
Flour
Cornmeal
Salt 
Pepper
Tony's seasoning
Buttermilk, clabbered, or soured milk (buttermilk is best)

Soak the quartered squirrels in the milk for around an hour, longer if they are grey squirrels. Two or more is good for them. 

Mix equal parts of flour and cornmeal. Personally, I like more cornmeal than flour, but I was raised on cornmeal. Mix in the Tony's until you begin to see a bit of colour in the mix then add a bit more black pepper. It might be a bit spicy for some folks so taste the mixture as you go. (Remember, it will be more seasoned after cooking than before. So, if it bites in the mix it might grab you and beat you around the head when it is cooked.)

Get your frying pan good and hot. The same temperature that you use for frying chicken. ( Most Northerners do not know that hot fat is less fattening than not-so-hot fat when you deep fry. Hot fat seals the item so that it doesn't soak in.) Your lard should be able to light a match head when it is dunked into it. When it does that it is frying temperature. Make sure that you have enough fat in the pot so that the pieces will float in it. 'They don't call it deep frying for nothin', Hon.'

Dredge the squirrel pieces real good in the mixture. Set them aside for at least five minutes before cooking. Fry them in the fat until they are golden brown. Drain them on towels.

Make gravy with a bit of the fat and serve with hot biscuits.


Squirrel Stew

Three or four quartered squirrels.
Two white onions
Three Irish potatoes
One carrot
Jerusalem artichoke or Cat Tail roots if you can get them. If you can't, well you are missing out, but it will still be good.
Salt
Pepper
Fat Bacon
Beer
Bourbon

Fry the fat out of the bacon in your stew pot taking care not to burn the bacon. Don't even get it real crisp. It makes a difference. Season the pieces of squirrel with salt and pepper. Just brown them in the bacon grease and pull them out. Simmer the chopped onions in the bacon grease until they just go clear. Put the chopped carrots, potatoes, carrots and other stuff, including the squirrel into the pot. Cover with water and stew until the meat is tender. Pull the meat out and debone. Put the meat back in and add the beer. Cook for about another half hour or so and it's done.

What's the whiskey for? Sipping while the stew is simmering.

-----Added 12/29/2008 at 08:56:59 EST-----



AThornquist said:


> LawrenceU said:
> 
> 
> > BTW, squirrel brains are great. I was taught to shoot a squirrel in the neck with my .22 so that I didn't spoil the best part or the meat.
> ...



Oh, I take them with my bow as well. Growing up it wasn't about sport. It was about food. And, a .22 is a sure thing.


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## turmeric (Dec 29, 2008)

*PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T EAT SQUIRREL BRAIN, OR ANY OTHER BRAIN!!! it's an excellent way to get Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease!*


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## SolaScriptura (Dec 29, 2008)

LawrenceU said:


> Below is a good video that shows the way to peel a squirrel. Any other method will leave you frustrated at best. This is how my daddy taught me, how his daddy taught him, and, well you get the picture.



Thanks alot for that! That was helpful! I'm one of those frustrated folks... I can't wait to try this out!


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## Guido's Brother (Dec 29, 2008)

turmeric said:


> *PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T EAT SQUIRREL BRAIN, OR ANY OTHER BRAIN!!! it's an excellent way to get Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease!*



Can squirrels carry the bovine form dangerous to humans?


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## turmeric (Dec 29, 2008)

Guido's Brother said:


> turmeric said:
> 
> 
> > *PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T EAT SQUIRREL BRAIN, OR ANY OTHER BRAIN!!! it's an excellent way to get Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease!*
> ...


 
I remember reading an article in the_ Atlantic_ years and years ago about a local guy in the Appalacians who was pretty sharp. His mother used to pressure cook and can squirrel and the kids put it in sandwiches and took it for school lunch. Anyway, he came down with the spongiform thing and his doctors said ti was from eating squirrel brains as a child.


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## AThornquist (Dec 29, 2008)

LawrenceU said:


> Oh, I take them with my bow as well. Growing up it wasn't about sport. It was about food. And, a .22 is a sure thing.



I was just messin' with you, I don't think one way of killing them is more "sportsmanlike" than another. I was more of regurgitating what some people say in reference to hunting larger game. "I don't mind if they hunt deer as long as it's with a bow and an arrow. It just isn't fair to use a gun blah blah blah."

But still...I want to eat squirrel. They seem to be about the same size as a cornish game hen, right? I wonder what it would be like to use a cornish game hen recipe but just use a squirrel instead?


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## Mindaboo (Dec 29, 2008)

I used to squirrel hunt everyday, before I had a job. I used a .22 also, loved it. Anyway, fried squirrel was always my favorite way to cook it. I used eggs and flour with a dash of Old Bay, yummy! I used to add mashed potatoes and corn. I would imagine that you could cook it the same way as chicken. I always fried mine, that's what all southerners do isn't it?


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## Romans922 (Dec 29, 2008)

I have a few squirrels in my yard. This is also making me hungry. Maybe sometime soon, I'll get the shotgun out or the 22 and shoot a few, and cook'em up. I love the country!!!


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## AThornquist (Dec 29, 2008)

Are the leftover squirrel pelts good for anything? I would like squirrel earmuffs--one small squirrel on each side of my head. They probably are too small for a Daniel Boone coonskin type hat, but maybe they are big enough for like a redneck yamaka.

-----Added 12/29/2008 at 10:12:27 EST-----



Romans922 said:


> I have a few squirrels in my yard. This is also making me hungry. Maybe sometime soon, I'll get the shotgun out or the 22 and shoot a few, and cook'em up. I love the country!!!



Shotgun? Whoa, you want some squirrel left don't you?


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## Grymir (Dec 29, 2008)

Oh yeah, dont' forget the BB-Q sauce!


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## Romans922 (Dec 29, 2008)

AThornquist said:


> Are the leftover squirrel pelts good for anything? I would like squirrel earmuffs--one small squirrel on each side of my head. They probably are too small for a Daniel Boone coonskin type hat, but maybe they are big enough for like a redneck yamaka.
> 
> -----Added 12/29/2008 at 10:12:27 EST-----
> 
> ...



Well I'm not using a slug or buck shot.  And if you know how to aim when you shoot (knowing your spread pattern), you will only hit the head.


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## mvdm (Dec 30, 2008)

Squirrels taste best after an appetizer of spotted owl.


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## PresbyDane (Dec 30, 2008)

You guys have twisted something in my head all day today I have been thinking about were I could possible get a squirrel because of this thread I really want to try on.
But here we can not get them as food there are only very few and the are small red ones and are considered cute animals, pet like, not food.
But you have ruined that for me.
give me, give me, give me squirrel meat


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## Guido's Brother (Dec 30, 2008)

Martin Marsh said:


> But here we can not get them as food there are only very few and the are small red ones and are considered cute animals, pet like, not food.



Oh, the small red ones will work too. Those were the ones I was talking about, not those big monsters you see in the American south.


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## Stomata leontôn (Dec 31, 2008)

Grymir said:


> Squirrel Melts.
> 
> YouTube - squirrel melts


Ha ha ha ha ha ha! That lady's coy look on her face, and her skinny little boy. And then she throws one in the pot and says "They're kinda cute!" [wipes tears from laughing]


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