Snowshoe Hunter
New member
Some of the finest meat out there.
What do grey squirrels taste like?
- Thread starter Cabin Fever
- Start date
Uncle_Steve
New member
I made chili once in the crook pot, even the dog wouldn't eat it, smelled reel bad. I haven't shot a squirrel since.
One of my favorite types of game to eat. Shoot the young ones during the summer part of the season and they aren't near as tough (to skin or chew).
For anybody with the notion that they don't want to eat a rat, consider this: My mom used to cook the heads and eat the brains.
For anybody with the notion that they don't want to eat a rat, consider this: My mom used to cook the heads and eat the brains.
mbowerma
New member
Squirrel is definitely in my top three or four for eating. The slow cooking part is paramount though young ones can be fried like chicken. I for lack of a better word "quint" them.
Cut the front legs off leaving the ribs and neck on the body.
Cut the hind legs off by trimming along the meatiest part of the hip leaving the ball on the leg. Then feel the top of the hips and find where the meat is and cut angled cuts to the base of the tail, move forward and cut to the last rib. You will toss the forward part with ribs attached and the hip joint and tail. It is easier for me to show than to tell.
My preferred cooking method is in a large covered skillet.
Take 5 of those "quinted" squirrels.
Flavor to taste Salt Pepper Mrs Dash however you like chicken with out the thyme.
Butter up the skillet bring it to medium heat and brown the squirrels. Then pour apple cider over the whole thing. enough to completely cover the meat. Cover skillet and simmer slowly for about an hour. Take off the cover and let the liquid reduce to a sauce. It may be one of the best things you ever ate.
Cut the front legs off leaving the ribs and neck on the body.
Cut the hind legs off by trimming along the meatiest part of the hip leaving the ball on the leg. Then feel the top of the hips and find where the meat is and cut angled cuts to the base of the tail, move forward and cut to the last rib. You will toss the forward part with ribs attached and the hip joint and tail. It is easier for me to show than to tell.
My preferred cooking method is in a large covered skillet.
Take 5 of those "quinted" squirrels.
Flavor to taste Salt Pepper Mrs Dash however you like chicken with out the thyme.
Butter up the skillet bring it to medium heat and brown the squirrels. Then pour apple cider over the whole thing. enough to completely cover the meat. Cover skillet and simmer slowly for about an hour. Take off the cover and let the liquid reduce to a sauce. It may be one of the best things you ever ate.
pelletgunmaster
New member
They taste great. I quarter them and then soak them in milk overnight, then rinse them off and cover them with flour. Deep fry. Sprinkle with seasoned salt and pepper. Serve with mashed potatoes and vegetables. With the grease from frying them, mix in milk and some flour - over low heat - to make some gravy and put that on mashed potatoes. Just thinking about it makes me want to go up to my camp and try to shoot one.
5.56YoteKiller
New member
Originally Posted By: pelletgunmasterThey taste great. I quarter them and then soak them in milk overnight, then rinse them off and cover them with flour. Deep fry. Sprinkle with seasoned salt and pepper. Serve with mashed potatoes and vegetables. With the grease from frying them, mix in milk and some flour - over low heat - to make some gravy and put that on mashed potatoes. Just thinking about it makes me want to go up to my camp and try to shoot one.
I like your recipe.
Are you from the South by any chance?
You sound like a Southern cook.
Do you make cornbread? I lived in Minneapolis for 3 yrs., and had to have family send Martha White cornmeal once a month.
The yellow course ground cornmeal up North sucks.
I like your recipe.
Are you from the South by any chance?
You sound like a Southern cook.
Do you make cornbread? I lived in Minneapolis for 3 yrs., and had to have family send Martha White cornmeal once a month.
The yellow course ground cornmeal up North sucks.
pelletgunmaster
New member
Thank you! I am not from the South. I'm from Lake George, NY. It's funny you ask that, though, because I got this recipe from my friend who is from Kentucky. Lol. And, no, I don't make cornbread, but now that you mention it, that would be great with this meal. That is a great idea. I'll look for the Martha White cornmeal.-- Thanks Again!
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t/c223encore
New member
Ever cooked one? did you smell that really nasty smell when they are cookin? THATS exactly what they taste like, Just as awful.
t/c223encore.
t/c223encore.
Mr. Ruger 204
New member
I don't like to waste meat but, i skin em cut all four legs off and toss the rest. I put them in a crock pot and season them just like a pot roast with potatoes. If you leave them in there long enough it takes the tough out of them. I have tried them fried but they are really tough, even cooked the way like them its not the best meal lol.
There are a couple of quirks to cooking squirrel so anyone will eat it. It has a similar taste and texture to dark meat chicken but less greasy. Like stated above it will be incredibly tough if not boiled before fried or baked or braised.
Step one while cleaning the squirrel behind the front quarters in what would be the arm pit there are several little scent glands that give a musky gamy taste. It is imperative to remove these they are not very large but you should be able to pick them out they almost look like little pieces of fat. Also pick off all the stuff that isn't meat, any of the silver skin and all that stuff.
Step two after quartering it (there isn't much left anyway) soak it in heavily salted water for AT LEAST 2 hours overnight would be ideal. The salt pulls out the blood which removes the gamy taste and helps tenderize slightly.
I fixed some for my wife this year who had never tried it and she actually liked it. I breaded them, pan fried them, added apple cider to the skillet, let them simmer until cider is evaporated (1 hour or longer) and then rebread and brown. They were really good. As I was growing up this was my favorite kind of hunting but I never would eat them because of the gamy flavor. After some trial and error with the above steps I would be willing to bet the people who say they don't like them would eat them.
Step one while cleaning the squirrel behind the front quarters in what would be the arm pit there are several little scent glands that give a musky gamy taste. It is imperative to remove these they are not very large but you should be able to pick them out they almost look like little pieces of fat. Also pick off all the stuff that isn't meat, any of the silver skin and all that stuff.
Step two after quartering it (there isn't much left anyway) soak it in heavily salted water for AT LEAST 2 hours overnight would be ideal. The salt pulls out the blood which removes the gamy taste and helps tenderize slightly.
I fixed some for my wife this year who had never tried it and she actually liked it. I breaded them, pan fried them, added apple cider to the skillet, let them simmer until cider is evaporated (1 hour or longer) and then rebread and brown. They were really good. As I was growing up this was my favorite kind of hunting but I never would eat them because of the gamy flavor. After some trial and error with the above steps I would be willing to bet the people who say they don't like them would eat them.
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TimM
New member
Originally Posted By: joemacThere are a couple of quirks to cooking squirrel so anyone will eat it. It has a similar taste and texture to dark meat chicken but less greasy. Like stated above it will be incredibly tough if not boiled before fried or baked or braised.
Step one while cleaning the squirrel behind the front quarters in what would be the arm pit there are several little scent glands that give a musky gamy taste. It is imperative to remove these they are not very large but you should be able to pick them out they almost look like little pieces of fat. Also pick off all the stuff that isn't meat, any of the silver skin and all that stuff.
Step two after quartering it (there isn't much left anyway) soak it in heavily salted water for AT LEAST 2 hours overnight would be ideal. The salt pulls out the blood which removes the gamy taste and helps tenderize slightly.
I fixed some for my wife this year who had never tried it and she actually liked it. I breaded them, pan fried them, added apple cider to the skillet, let them simmer until cider is evaporated (1 hour or longer) and then rebread and brown. They were really good. As I was growing up this was my favorite kind of hunting but I never would eat them because of the gamy flavor. After some trial and error with the above steps I would be willing to bet the people who say they don't like them would eat them.
+1
I grew up squirrel hunting in WV. I have eaten hundreds if not thousands of squirrels in my lifetime, joemac is 100% correct.
Step one while cleaning the squirrel behind the front quarters in what would be the arm pit there are several little scent glands that give a musky gamy taste. It is imperative to remove these they are not very large but you should be able to pick them out they almost look like little pieces of fat. Also pick off all the stuff that isn't meat, any of the silver skin and all that stuff.
Step two after quartering it (there isn't much left anyway) soak it in heavily salted water for AT LEAST 2 hours overnight would be ideal. The salt pulls out the blood which removes the gamy taste and helps tenderize slightly.
I fixed some for my wife this year who had never tried it and she actually liked it. I breaded them, pan fried them, added apple cider to the skillet, let them simmer until cider is evaporated (1 hour or longer) and then rebread and brown. They were really good. As I was growing up this was my favorite kind of hunting but I never would eat them because of the gamy flavor. After some trial and error with the above steps I would be willing to bet the people who say they don't like them would eat them.
+1
I grew up squirrel hunting in WV. I have eaten hundreds if not thousands of squirrels in my lifetime, joemac is 100% correct.
4eyes
New member
Originally Posted By: t/c223encoreEver cooked one? did you smell that really nasty smell when they are cookin? THATS exactly what they taste like, Just as awful.
t/c223encore.
Were talking GREY SQUIRRELS here, not those mutant gopher/grey digger things that Californians call squirrels
t/c223encore.
Were talking GREY SQUIRRELS here, not those mutant gopher/grey digger things that Californians call squirrels
t/c223encore
New member
Originally Posted By: 4eyesOriginally Posted By: t/c223encoreEver cooked one? did you smell that really nasty smell when they are cookin? THATS exactly what they taste like, Just as awful.
t/c223encore.
Were talking GREY SQUIRRELS here, not those mutant gopher/grey digger things that Californians call squirrels
Now thats funny. I know the difference between a Grey and a bushy tailed rat, LOL. yes I live in California but I don't live in no city.
t/c223encore.
t/c223encore.
Were talking GREY SQUIRRELS here, not those mutant gopher/grey digger things that Californians call squirrels
Now thats funny. I know the difference between a Grey and a bushy tailed rat, LOL. yes I live in California but I don't live in no city.
t/c223encore.
5.56YoteKiller
New member
Originally Posted By: pelletgunmasterThank you! I am not from the South. I'm from Lake George, NY. It's funny you ask that, though, because I got this recipe from my friend who is from Kentucky. Lol. And, no, I don't make cornbread, but now that you mention it, that would be great with this meal. That is a great idea. I'll look for the Martha White cornmeal.-- Thanks Again!
I KNEW someone from the South had something to do with your recipe.
If you can't find the cornmeal, shoot me a PM, and I'll mail you some in a Flat Rate box.
Here's how I make it.
1- Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.
2- An iron skillet works best, but muffin pans will suffice. (All good Southern cooks have iron skillets)
3- Put 2 table spoons of bacon grease in the skillet and put in oven until the grease starts to slightly smoke. When melted, roll the skillet around to distribute the grease on the sides of the skillet. This will help prevent sticking.
4- In the meantime, mix 4 cups of cornmeal, 1/4 cup of self-rising flour, 1 egg, and enough buttermilk to make the mixture the same as a cake mix would be.
5- After the grease starts smoking, remove from oven and pour the mix into the skillet.
6- Return to oven and bake until the top is slightly browned.
Buttermilk makes the cornbread.....delicious!!!
Martha White also make a buttermilk meal that really sets off the taste when buttermilk is also added to the mix.
I KNEW someone from the South had something to do with your recipe.
If you can't find the cornmeal, shoot me a PM, and I'll mail you some in a Flat Rate box.
Here's how I make it.
1- Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.
2- An iron skillet works best, but muffin pans will suffice. (All good Southern cooks have iron skillets)
3- Put 2 table spoons of bacon grease in the skillet and put in oven until the grease starts to slightly smoke. When melted, roll the skillet around to distribute the grease on the sides of the skillet. This will help prevent sticking.
4- In the meantime, mix 4 cups of cornmeal, 1/4 cup of self-rising flour, 1 egg, and enough buttermilk to make the mixture the same as a cake mix would be.
5- After the grease starts smoking, remove from oven and pour the mix into the skillet.
6- Return to oven and bake until the top is slightly browned.
Buttermilk makes the cornbread.....delicious!!!
Martha White also make a buttermilk meal that really sets off the taste when buttermilk is also added to the mix.
Honestly I dont think I've ever noticed a gamy taste or a funky odor, if they've been feedin on pine cones they'll taste like pine some, that is about it.
Rolled in flower and pan fried, served with fried taters and gravy, then count your fingers when you get done just to make sure ther all ther.
Rolled in flower and pan fried, served with fried taters and gravy, then count your fingers when you get done just to make sure ther all ther.
cathntr
New member
Squirrels are some of the best eatin there is weather its greys or reds. We usually just fry them like chicken and there isnt any nasty smell that comes from them. Also there isnt much to it when it comes to cleaning them either. We can skin one in about a minute with two people then all you gotta do is gut em. Nothing to it.
Atchman2
New member
I'm with GC. Raccoons are a way more destructive critter than squirrels. You just don't see them as much since they are night stalkers.
Raccoons LOVE corn! Well they love pretty much anything that is easy to eat; like my cat's food!
To be honest, I think I'd rather eat raccoon than squirrels.
Raccoons LOVE corn! Well they love pretty much anything that is easy to eat; like my cat's food!
To be honest, I think I'd rather eat raccoon than squirrels.