Whether or not you name them bark burners, tree rats, or limb chickens, squirrels are good for greater than irritating you throughout deer season. They make scrumptious desk fare when correctly skinned, cleaned, and cooked.
The flavour and texture of squirrel meat falls someplace between rabbit and rooster. It has a brilliant delicate taste that isn’t in any respect gamey. The very best squirrel recipes make it virtually unimaginable to inform you’re consuming squirrel in any respect. Squirrel meat can be utilized as an alternative to rooster in lots of well-liked dishes, particularly in soups, stews, and casseroles. So, if you wish to introduce sport meat to choosy eaters, squirrels are among the best methods to do it.
The best way to Pores and skin and Reduce Up a Squirrel
It may be exhausting to check getting dinner out of a passel of squirrels. They don’t appear like the shrink-wrapped meat most individuals choose up from the grocery retailer on their manner residence from work. Nonetheless, there’s no purpose to be intimidated. Cleansing and butchering a squirrel is a fairly simple course of.
When you aren’t certain the place to start, we break it down right here into 9 easy-to-follow steps.
There are about as some ways to pores and skin a squirrel as squirrel hunters. Right here’s one other step-by-step video that does a implausible job of breaking down precisely methods to break down a squirrel.
Traditional Rooster-Fried Squirrel Recipe
As a lifelong Southerner, I reside and breathe the notion that chicken-fried something is probably the most scrumptious meals on the planet. That is doubly true in relation to fried squirrel. Like with most chicken-fried dishes, this one pairs completely with nation gravy.
Substances
- 4 medium squirrels, skinned and quartered
- 3 cups buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon Tabasco (or sizzling sauce of your alternative)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Vegetable oil for frying
Directions
- Poke holes throughout squirrel items with a fork.
- Marinate squirrel in buttermilk and Tabasco for at the least 2 hours (ideally in a single day).
- Combine flour and seasonings in a big zippered storage bag.
- Take away squirrel items from buttermilk and permit extra to drip off.
- Drop two items of squirrel into the seasoning bag at a time and shake till nicely coated.
- Take away coated items to a wire rack and permit to relaxation for 5 minutes to permit the coating to stick to the meat correctly.
- Warmth ½ inch of oil in a big forged iron frying pan over medium warmth till sizzling.
- Fry squirrel in small batches within the oil with sufficient area between them that the meat doesn’t contact.
- Prepare dinner on one aspect till golden brown (about 10 minutes), then flip and cook dinner on the other aspect. The inner temperature needs to be at the least 160 levels Fahrenheit.
- Take away cooked items to a plate or baking sheet lined with paper towels to empty off extra oil.
Squirrel and Dumplings
Aged squirrels might be fairly powerful from years of skittering about on tree limbs. A pleasant lengthy bathtub in a sluggish cooker is among the finest methods to maintain it tender.
Do-it-yourself dumplings are the perfect, however you’ll be able to substitute a can of jumbo biscuits if you wish to go the tremendous simple route. Simply minimize every biscuit into quarters earlier than dropping them into the broth.
Substances
- 3 to 4 complete squirrels, skinned and cleaned
- 4 cups rooster broth
- Salt and pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cans cream of rooster soup
- 2 cups frozen blended greens
Do-it-yourself Dumpling Substances
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup melted butter
- ¾ cup milk
Directions
- Combine soup and rooster broth.
- Place squirrels in a sluggish cooker and canopy with rooster broth combination. (If there isn’t sufficient to utterly cowl the squirrel, add extra broth or water till the items are submerged.)
- Add bay leaf and salt and pepper to style.
- Prepare dinner on low for six to eight hours (or excessive for 3 to 4 in the event you’re pressed for time).
- Take away squirrels (and bay leaf) from broth and permit them to chill sufficient that they gained’t burn your fingers.
- Decide the meat from the bones and return to the sluggish cooker.
- Add blended greens.
- Combine dumpling substances whereas cooking squirrel and broth on excessive till bubbly.
- Drop heaping tablespoons of dumpling combination into sizzling broth.
- Simmer lined till dumplings are cooked by way of (about 20 minutes)
Carolina Squirrel Brunswick Stew
“Brunswick stew is what occurs when small mammals carrying ears of corn fall into barbeque pits,” Georgia humorist Ray Blount, Jr. as soon as quipped. Whereas conventional Brunswick stew options rooster or pork, it seems that Blount was in all probability onto one thing. It tastes completely scrumptious when made with squirrel meat.
Substances
- 4 complete squirrels, skinned and cleaned
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 6 cups rooster broth
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes
- 2 cups frozen blended greens (corn, peas, carrots, and inexperienced beans)
- 2 cups frozen lima beans
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
Directions
- Prepare dinner onion and garlic in a big inventory pot over medium warmth till tender.
- Add squirrel, broth, and seasonings.
- Convey to a boil.
- Scale back to a low simmer and cook dinner for 2 hours.
- Take away squirrel from the pot and permit to chill.
- Utilizing your fingers, debone the squirrel and return the meat to the pot.
- Add greens and barbecue sauce to the pot.
- Simmer for at the least 20 minutes earlier than serving (1 to 2 hours for finest taste).
Different Nice Squirrel Recipes
When you want extra inspiration, listed below are another scrumptious recipes that flip common limb chickens into culinary masterpieces:
Learn Subsequent: Squirrel Searching Suggestions and Ways
Remaining Ideas on Cooking Squirrel
Squirrel meat is a flexible, mild-flavored sport meat excellent for hearty, home-cooked meals. These recipes showcase the culinary potential of this often-overlooked and under-appreciated sport animal. When you style these dishes, you’ll be making common excuses to seize a .22 rifle and head to the woods.
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