Who likes to eat squirrels and how do you cook them?

Young, and fried. They get very big, and the gravy will be tough :eek:

My grandmother could cook even an old tough one up, but she's long gone. Would love to get some recipes!

Those little tree rats can be quite tasty!

I like to eat them two ways.

Simple: Using whole carcass - Salt and pepper to taste, skewer on a stick, and cook over an open hardwood fire until done.
Little more work: Using squirrel cut into quarter pieces - Salt and pepper to taste, drench in egg wash, dredge in flour spiced with chili powder, and fry in ~300 degree oil in a skillet until done.

Of course this is one of the traditional meats in a Brunswick Stew.

Is there an easy way to identify the old ones that will be tough so they can be segregated from the tender ones and prepared seperately?

My latest preparation technique is to cook them about a half day in a "Slow Cooker" in condensed Cream of Celery Soup using only half the water called for in the soup recipe. Unfortunately by the time the old ones get tender, the young ones are falling apart.

Irv S,

I have always segregated squirrels by size - the larger being assumed to be older.

Well who knew? This got me curious so I did a google search for "squirrel age determination" and got the link listed below (among others).

http://members.tripod.com/~BayGourmet/askchef.html

Squirrel age determination excerpt from the above listed web site:
...here are the standard tests for age. None of them are foolproof, so do them all and get a general impression.
Ear pliability. A younger animal will have soft, pliable ears even after rigor mortis sets in. An older animal will have dry, stiff ears.
Fur condition and tightness to skin. An older animal will have drier fur with more hollowness to the individual hair shafts, and the pelt will be tighter to the muscle. The skin may also be thicker, and show less of a fatty deposit on the underside.
Teeth size, coloration and wear. Older animals have worn, smoother and yellowier teeth. Whiter, smaller, sharper teeth are the sign of a younger animal.
General muscle tone, flexibility, tenderness. A younger animal will retain more pliability even when dead, and a finger poked deeply into a haunch will cause the meat to dent in and then rebound more quickly.
Ossification, thickening or fusing in the bone joints, thick, toughened pads on the bottoms of the paws and the leg joints or a protuberant spine and shoulders can signify an older animal in poorer condition.
There are also some cooking recipes listed on this site as well. Generally, anything you can do when cooking a rabbit you can do (or improvise) when cooking a squirrel.

I go by size of the squirrel and the size of the stones a boar is toting.

We only cook them two ways.

Boil them until tender, pick the meat off the bones, thicken the broth with milk and cornstarch, add the meat back to the gravy and then add dumpling dough by the spoonful.

Boil until tender, dredge in flour and pan fry until browned.

Man you southern boys sure like your rodents (Squirrels). In other posts western posters talked about eating woodchucks! I guess it's true that you can tell how tough a man is by what he eats! I must be the biggest sissy in Maine! I don't eat rabbit, deer, moose, ducks, turkeys, or anything that tastes gamy. I'm strictly the meat cooler type of guy. Don't laugh, some of us just have very queasy stomachs that's all.

I like my squirrels corn fed and fat, red squirrels are the way to go. Q http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x319/Q-harley/deer%20pics/100_0152.jpg

I like my squirrels corn fed and fat, red squirrels are the way to go. Q

Good you posted the picture. What you call Red Squirrels, we call Fox Squirrels in Pennsylvania and Colorado. Pennsylvania also has the similarily sized (or slightly smaller) Grey Squirrels that are more abundant there. What is called a Red Squirrel in Pennsylvania is much smaller (about a half pound) and is closely related to what is called a Pine Squirrel in Colorado. These are examples of the differing common names for the same species and differing species having the same common name in different parts of the country - the reason biologists use the latin genus and species names.

I thought the species name for all of them was "tree rats?" :confused: :D

Ya'll got my curiosity going so I looked up Fox Squirrels. The ones around here don't look anything like the one pictured above. According to this... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Squirrel , they are all Sciurus niger.

As described in the article, the ones around here are black, usually with some white markings. I hardly ever see them in trees, they are usually working around in a pasture near the trees/fence.

Ya'll got my curiosity going so I looked up Fox Squirrels. The ones around here don't look anything like the one pictured above. According to this... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Squirrel , they are all Sciurus niger.

As described in the article, the ones around here are black, usually with some white markings. I hardly ever see them in trees, they are usually working around in a pasture near the trees/fence.

Both the Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) and the Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger) exist with different color phases being predominant in different parts of the country. The common name "Fox Squirrel" probably originated in an area where the reddish phase was common and Leonard Lee Rue III in "Complete Guide to Game Animals" speculates that Linnaeus, who assigned the latin species name "niger" (black), probably encountered only the black phase.

Th Fox Squirrels in the trees in my yard in Colorado look just like the one in Q-harley's picture. The grey squirrels on my Pennsylvania farm have a similar base color, but the rusty colored areas are white and they have a slightly different shaped head. Fox squirrels in my area of Pennsylvania are very scarce, but resemble those in my Colorado yard.

Of note is the Grey Squirrels in Washington D.C. have become genetically isolated and inbred (? like the politicians there?) producing a very high proportion of white or albino individuals.

(Moderators - feel free to delete my political comment if found offensive rather than humorous)

:D We've got the same problem on Ottawa, and I don't mean squirrels.

Bye
Jack

These would be gourmet squirrels...if you could get enought of them.Qhttp://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x319/Q-harley/deer%20pics/100_0317.jpg

Q... If I am not mistaken... flying squirrels? Never heard of anyone eating them!

Kind of a pun ekock, I don't eat them. Anything in short supply here in Southern Missouri is considered...gourmet. Yes they are flying squirrels. Last winter, I had them inside the house(attic). I don't mind feeding them outside I just don't want them in my house.They might eat good though.Q

Parboil the skinned and washed carcass. Bone out the meat. Add 1 can cream of chicken soup per squirrel and one pound of mixed vegetables per 2 squirrels, slow cook until veggies are tender. Serve as stew or over biscuits or toast.

Huntinbull

Tried a simple one this weekend.

Cut the squirrel into serving sized pieces (basically, it's quartered).

Soak in the 'fridge overnight in a weak vingar/water solution.

Remove the next day, pat dry, and add to a pot (best if the post is only 1/2 full..so pick your pot accoding to the number of squyirrels).

Add minced garlic, onion, and seasoning (incluse rosemary)...I'm in S. Louisiana, so i added some crab-boil.

BOIL 15 to 20min. (covered) with just enough BEER to cover.

LEt it cool IN THE BEER. Gives you enough time to fire up the BBQ and get it hot (and you want it HOT). Besides, meat boiled and let cool in liquid tends to "suck up" the liquid.

Remove squirrel..pad dry...rub with salt/pepper, and oil (I used olive oil, but I bet bacon drippings would work well).

Slap the pieces on the. BBQ. It's mostly cooked, so the BBQ is to add that outer bit of char and finish the cooking job..

Flip once (will only take 5 to 7 mn.)...add BBQ sause to the up side,

I'm in S. Louisiana, so i added some crab-boil.

I love that stuff. It is a little tuff to find here. Never tried with squirrel? It is good mixed with the beer to boil bratworst though! My kids "say" to hot! I say"shut up and finish your plate".

My next squirrel will "enjoy" a hot tubb in this stuff :) .

The season opens early September here. The fat ones happen mid October or a little later sometimes.

I'm thinking "crok pot" about now!

Cheezywan

Q... If I am not mistaken... flying squirrels? Never heard of anyone eating them!
I like mine in a stew at the end add instant mash potatos to thicken ...with honey cornbread

We used to hunt the big nut groves in Southern Ohio when I was a teenager, mild winters and lots of food. I recolect some of the squirrels were as big as cats. Our favorite recipe was to fry them up in a egg and flour batter like you would chicken.

Here in NY I have lots of chubby grey squirrels that nest in the oaks. Haven't taken to hunting them yet but they are very plentiful.

I haven't hunted or eaten a squirrel in over 25 years. That's about to change!

Q - We have squirrels here in NY that look like the one in your photo but they have tuffted ears.....and an attitude. We have quite a few gray squirrels here too. I haven't hunted them .....yet.... but used to hunt them a lot as a teenager in Ohio. Mom would bread them and fry them up like chicken.

In SC we have grey squirrels and fox squirrels, the black ones and the grayer one... looks sort of like my beard, more gray than dark but some of both. I don't kill the fox squirrels because they are so few.

In NC there is a white squirrel. It is not an albino but a strain of the gray. MO and other places have colonies too.

I seperate mine by size, the bigger spend time in a pressure cooker.

Skin, gut and wash squirrels then dis-joint (4 legs, breast and back). Soak over-night in baking soda and water in frig then wash again. Freeze em or cook em.

#1 Put 2-3 jointed squirrels in large cast iron pot, cover with water, adding bay leaf, pepper corns and salt. Cook till meat falls off bone. Drain and discard liquid. Add a quart of chicken stock, 1/2 cup chopped celery, 1 stick of butter, 1 cup cubed carrots and bring to a light boil. Open a can of Popp'N Fresh biscuits, cut each into quarter and drop in. Simmer covered for 30 minutes+ and serve.

#2 Soak jointed squirrel in butter milk over night in frig. Season flour with salt & pepper in a gallon zip-loc bag, take squirrel from milk to bag and shake. Have about 2"s of oil (peanut is best) in a deep cast iron skillet at 350 degrees and place squirrel from bag to oil. Cook about 6-8 minutes per side then set aside to drain. Slowly pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of oil (keep poured off oil) trying to keep as much of the solid matter in the pan (esence of de' gravy). Add 1 chopped medium onion to pan and wilt, then add flour from bag until most of oil is absorbed. Brown same as you scrape sides of skillet. Mix 1 pt of milk with 1 pt of water and pour all in, stirring constantly and bring to a boil. Season with salt&pepper to taste. Add water if necessary, you want a thin gravy. Reduce heat, return squirrel to pan, cover and simmer on low heat for one hour, checking to avoid sticking to bottom. Serve over grits, rice or egg noodles. (also good with rabbit)

I have eaten hundres of them,,both in Michigan and here in Florida. I quarter them, flour them, fast fry them to get them brown, then put them in a covered dish and add water and put them in a 350 degree oven for a couple of hours,,checking occasionally to be sur there is still liquid in the pot.When they are almost done the liquid shoud have turned to gravy fom the flour. The meat will literally fall off the bone. The process is called braising,,same method as used in making Swiss Steak. I also use this method for pheasand and venison. Have never had one soul turn their nose up at any of it.Have used the same recipe with armodillo.
Will spend the month of Feb putting a batch of these critters into the freezer