I’m glad Countertop is dedicated to helping me overcome my inherent issues with the idea of eating squirrel. Given that I seem to be collecting friends who view squirrels as delectable lunchables, I may have to give this a try at some point.
The subject of my very first post, Loretta, was a recent convert to the idea of eating squirrel. She had been converted to it by my friend Carrie, who I had previously been pursuing before Bitter. She is the sister of a friend of mine, who also also speaks highly of dining on tree rat.
So we really have quite the squirrel eating happy family going on here at Snowflakes in Hell, so I will have to reconsider my belief that squirrels not fit for human consumption.
Just remember: like almost all wild meat, squirrel is very lean, so it’s easy to overcook. Done right, it’s good stuff.
We hunted squirrels all the time. I’m not fond of squirrel, myself. And yes, it’s very easy to overcook.
Go down to the Rez at Four Corners, and try some prairie dog. The Navajo boys usually catch them with a noose and snap their necks. Then they roll them in mud (not dressed or skinned) and bake them in the fire. When done, you crack open the mud, and it takes the hide with it, leaving the clean cooked meat in the open. Makes a good lunch while out watching the sheep/goats/horses.
I’ve seen giant, fat squirrels as big as cats. Albeit, they were suburban squirrels and probably got fat from eating garbage.
If you ever had some of my grandmother’s from scratch squirrel dumplings, you would be convinced of two things. Squirrels can be mighty tasty and I was blessed to be born into a family of great cooks.
Young, tender squirrels can be fried like chicken. The older, tough ones need to be boiled for dumplings or stew.
Also, like any other animal, their taste will also be a product of their diet. Squirrels from an area that is largely evergreen/pine covered that provides them with evergreen/pine food do not taste so great. However, squirrels from hardwood habitats that eat mostly acorns will have a much better taste.
Sebastian, I’m one of the ‘lurkers’ who reads your site almost daily but never comments. Let me tell you, as a born and raised fifth generation Southerner, squirrels are nasty creatures. They really are rats with bushy tails. Have you ever seen one real up close and personal? You wouldn’t eat it if you did, trust me. They are filthy disease ridden creatures, stay away. Keep up the good work, your blog rocks.
As a Yankee from the backwoods of New Jersey who has been adopted by a long line of Southern inlaws from the swamps of South Georgia and the high society of Savanaha, I’ve got to vehemently disagree with Sean.
(well, not the part about being a rat, but the part about being tasty).
The first time I took my wife to dinner at my parents’ house, Dad cooked Squirrel Stroganoff.
Thirty years later, we’re still married.
;-)