Squirrel

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[email protected] posted this 25 August 2009

Here is my squirrel recipe. If I can get it to attach.If not forget it. Flashman

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KenK posted this 25 August 2009

Flashmans recipe

First one will need to procure some squirrels. Two large squirrels or three small ones is about right for the cast iron kettle I use. The hardest part of the job is skinning the squirrel. There is no easy way to skin a squirrel. Throw the hide away. The hair would give a funny texture to the stew. Also remove the intestines. That chore is not pleasant but necessary. Throw them away also. Clean up the carcass real good. Cut it into pieces, separating the legs from the body. Cut off the ribs and discard them, there are just to many little bones and even less meat. Now massage the pieces with salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne and any other spices one cares to use. Put the pieces in a pot and cover them with cheap grape juice. Add just enough apple cider vinegar to let one know it is in there. Let it all marinate over night.

Cooking.

In a cast iron skillet fry up enough bacon pieces to get some drippings. Add some olive oil. Set the fried bacon aside for later. Dredge the squirrel pieces through some seasoned flour and brown them in the bacon grease and olive oil. Once browned, transfer the pieces to a suitably sized container, add the saved marinade and bacon pieces. Add some potatoes, turnips,   ,carrots, onions, celery, parsley, or whatever. Add enough water to cover everything, Bring the whole shebang to a good boil on top of the stove. Once boiling, cover the pot and place it in the oven set at 200-212 degrees or at least hot enough to maintain a slow simmer. Go to church or do something else worthwhile for a couple of hours.

When you come home your house will smell like, ,well like squirrel stew. It is wonderful. Serve it with the wine you saved by marinating the squirrel in the grape juice.

    

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KenK posted this 25 August 2009

I'll give that a try. I admit I may use wine instead of grape juice though.

My mother cooked the best doves you have ever eaten, she simmered them in cheap fortified grape wine. I believe she specified MD 20-20

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tturner53 posted this 25 August 2009

Mad Dog?! That dog bit me real hard back in the day. Never dawned on me it was fer cookin'.

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JSH posted this 26 August 2009

Neat thread. I will comment on a couple of things. When cleaning these little tree rats, make sure and remove the glands from under each leg and look real close on the joints. The front legs by the wrist also have a gland that can go over looked. It will have some hairs left on it that are best just cut off behind it,bone and all. Easiest way to skin one is to start at the back legs. BTW you will find out how sharp your knife isn't. A single edge razor blade works well for me. Cut across from one back leg to the other on the belly side. Work this down toward the head. Make sure to work it back around towards the tail and don't cut the tail off of the hide. Once you get it peeled down around the back a little. Put a foot on the tail while holding the back legs and pull. It will go all the way down to the front shoulder pretty easy. A little bit of knife or razor work her and it will go down to the neck. It should peel off of the head also if you are inclined to keep them. Yes there are folks that say that is the best part. I myself don't like to eat somthing and have it looking at me. Once the hide is off, a good pair of poultry shears is a good thing to have. I just start at the back legs and cut the ribs off up as close to the back as posssible. I then use the shears to cut the back from the front and back legs then I split the front and back legs. A soak in some salt water over night,then I look for more of the little “kernals” of fat which are really scent glands. A google on how to clean a squirrel will give pictures of a lot of what I describe. A good head shot with a .22 or a small caliber sraight walled case is the best way. I refuse to clean or eat one that has been shot with a shotgun.. I forget the load, but the sons little Marlin 357 with the lee truncated nose 120 is a dandy squirrel getter. They all thoguht me to be nuts. After shooting several in the head with it last year, they quit laughing. One newb I took thought it to be all about the killing, just shoot at what ever you could see and hope for the best. When cleaning time came he said he didn't know how and wanted to see me do it a couple of times. Zip, zip, snip, snip, cut, cut and I was done. Easy enough he said. After tearing on in half and stringing guts all over the place he finally figured why I was on his azz about shooting them where he did. Next time out, he shot a lot more ammo and took a lot less squirrels, not near the marksman he thought he was,lol. jeff

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KenK posted this 26 August 2009

The way my dad taught me to skin a squirrel is to cut a slit in his hide right on the top middle of his back, just big enough to get both middle fingers in there.  Give it a hard pull and it comes right off.  An old tough squirrel might need to have the last little string of hide cut in two on his belly.

We always par-boiled them until tender and then floured and fried them.  Either that or drop dumplings into the broth when the squirrels were done.

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[email protected] posted this 07 September 2009

I've skinned hundreds of squirrels using every method desribed; finding they all work, sometimes easily sometimes not. It all depends on the squirrel, the wheather, time of year, alignment of the stars, your horoscope for that day, the state of the moon,and maybe even the stock market ups and downs. I just don't know all the reasons but I still like the line: There is no easy way to skin a squirrel!

Also i've shot a good many squirrels with a 45 cal. flintlock; now thats a squirrel gun. A 38 special with full wadcutters is another good one. A 30-30 is kinda wicked. The most practicle way though is with a good shootin' 22.

But above all don't let this issue get to serious, I wrote the recipe just for the punchline anyhow.

I might add if you use this recipe for roadkill possum ya might wanna marinate yourself in something a little stronger.

All in fun, Flashman

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KenK posted this 07 September 2009

I've got a couple old pecan trees in my back yard that the squirrels are really working over now.  The nuts haven't been any good for years so I don't really mind. 

The squirrels around here are covered in wolves this time of year and I can't bring myself to shoot one until after a hard freeze.  That always seems to be about when the squirrels get scarce too.

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Notlwonk posted this 07 September 2009

KenK wrote:  

The squirrels around here are covered in wolves this time of year  

You must have some REALLY big and REALLY tough squirrels down in Georgia.

:):)

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NoDakJak posted this 18 October 2009

I was raised in the Hickory country of south/central Iowa annd I'm here to tell you that squirrel hunting was usually great. My rifle of choice at that time was a Winchester Model 67 with iron sights and later a new marlin Model 89. Now it is a Model 52 Winchester with a scope. Hunting in western North Dakota is fantastic but in an area with few trees Squirrel hunting is less than desireable. I do believe that I may have to start making an annual pilgrimage to visit my sister. Look out Ken! Podunk Center, here I come! Neil

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Vernon Humphrey posted this 27 January 2010

Here in the Ozarks, we have squirrel heaven.

I like to pinch up the skin on the back just at the pelvis. Cut with a sharp knife, then insert your fingers, one hand to the squirrel's front, the other to his rear and RiiiiP!

Then cut through the tailbone, stand on the tail and pull up with the hind egs. Cut the hind feet off with side cutters and continue pulling until the squirrel's head and fore feet are the only unskinned part. Cut them off.

Slit the belly near the crotch and dump the innards. I carry an old Claymore bandolier with extra ammo, latex gloves, handy whipes, my side cutters and Kraft sandwich bags -- which are my carcass bags for the skinned squirrels.

After cutting the squirrel up, I brown him -- put the parts in a bag with flour, shake and fry briefly in a pan coated with Pam.

And finally my favorite squirrel receipe -- dump quartered squirrel in a pan, cover with mushroom soup and bring to a simmer. Let it simmer for an hour or so.

Bon apetite!

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runnin lead posted this 27 January 2010

Has anyone found a use for pine squirrels ?

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[email protected] posted this 14 February 2010

By Pine squirrels do you mean the little Red squirrels that are called Fairydiddles in W.Va.? If so, just throw em in the kettle with the rest of the squirrels. They are small but good eating.

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MT Bob posted this 19 February 2010

Out here in Montana the only kind of squirrel we have are the little pine squirrels, so I had to give them a try. If you get an old one they are really tough but a young pine squirrel is nice and tender and very tastey. I was raised on pen raised rabbits and the part we all fought over was the liver. I tried the pine squirrel liver and to my surprise it was even better than rabbit liver. Pine squirrels might be small but they are worth eating, even if all you eat is the liver. I like the recipe for mushroom soup simmered over the squirrels. Delicious.

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beerd posted this 23 February 2010

Bob,

 

You sound like an adventurous gourmet.

Ever try ground squirrel?

..

 

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Ed Harris posted this 23 February 2010

Notlwonk wrote: KenK wrote:  The squirrels around here are covered in wolves this time of year   You must have some REALLY big and REALLY tough squirrels down in Georgia. :):)

Warbles are bot fly larvae  http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/slansky/botfly/cutrwrb/cutrwrb1.htm>http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/slansky/botfly/cutrwrb/cutrwrb1.htm

More info here http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/slansky/botfly/index.htm>http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/slansky/botfly/index.htm

 

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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MT Bob posted this 24 February 2010

Hi Ed

I've tried richardson's ground squirrels and prairie dogs. I no longer eat either of the ground squirrel types in our area because bubonic plague has been detected in the rodent population. I do try to keep track of such things by staying in touch with MT FWP. As to edibility, young prairie dogs are really good if you can get them out of their skins with out tearing them to pieces. Old prairie dogs are greasy and incredibly tough. The richardson's ground squirrels are tastey enough but once again only the young ones are worth the effort to clean.

I like to hunt tree squirrels with a 32 H&R mag in a S&W 631 using a 100 gr. lyman GC semiwadcutter. It is loaded over 5 grains of 800X with a standard small pistol primer. It is great on squirrels and mountain grouse.

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runnin lead posted this 24 February 2010

The pine squirrels that I am refering to are a graish color & not including tail about 6” long, they are very bold & will get out on a branch a foot from your face & give you a good cussin out. I only tried eating them once, nasty, must have been old ones . Last time I even shot at one was about 20 years ago , scraped it with the fletching on a flu-flu arrow ,lost the arrow & found it the following year while elk hunting with my muzzleloader. It just would not shut up . I HATE them little %^$#&&^$ *^% , would like to shoot them all but the ones I had tasted nasty.
I will NEVER shoot a pine martin they LIKE to eat pine squirrels.

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MT Bob posted this 24 February 2010

That is a great reply. I laughed right out loud.

Those Pine squirrels are little and also extremely noisey if you are setting on a stand deer or elk hunting. You are so right!! And yes, they can be really tough to eat and some really have a strong gamey taste. The young ones though really are tastey. Thanks for the reply.

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[email protected] posted this 28 February 2010

Used to roast chipmunks over a fire while camping as a kid. Any thing I ever roasted over a fire as a kid was tough and half raw. Grinnys, as my grandmother called chipmonks, are a protected spiecies here in Pa. now. Thats good, I don't have to worry about eatin' the darn things . Some people call them groundsquirrels around here. They are handy to have around in the woods when hunting for entertainment value and as a second set of eyes and ears. They have a distinct warning cry and if they shut up something might be coming along. Spotted a couple of fox over the years that the grinnys alerted me to. Roasted a racoon over a fire one time. I think I still have a little brain damage yet from the experience. Used to remove warbles from our cats. It took the whole family and the niegbor kids to hold the cat down during the process. The cat didn't like it one bit when ya dumped the rubbing alcohol down the warble hole. A little squeezing and deft use of tweezers soon got the larva out. The cats usually dissapeared for a couple of days after the proccedure but they came home healthy. But if the whole family got together they would dissapeare again. My wife is making chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce for supper. Good thing we have about 3 ft. of snow on the ground and I couldn't get out to hunt or I'd be cooking some type of rodent.

All in fun, Flashman

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Coydog posted this 10 April 2010

Just to let you all know that there is a market on there skins. Check with the state laws before you try to sell them and check with a local fur buyer . Just a little extra money to do what we all like to do . By the way you skin them case . slit from the hind foot to the orther and around the anus and pull the tail bone. No need to waste the skin.

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