[mrsocks]

So Saturday morning I went out hunting and got two squirrel.
Tried to skin one and it totally was a mess. I cut too deep under the tail, and it became a mess when trying to skin it. I tried to do what i could to save it but couldnt.

The second one went much better.

Right off the bat i could see a clear difference in the color of the meat.
The one that I did cook was darker like pork before being cooked and the other (that didnt make it) was lighter in color like chicken. I cleaned it and noticed some blood clots between some layers of muscle. tried to wash out as much of that as I could.

Flour, salt and peppered them up and fried them in crisco.

The legs were dark meat and tough, but eatable but the back and under side of the ribs were light meat and good.

Some of my questions:

-Should i boil the darker squirrel first? I assume this one was older as it was bigger (it was also obviously a male too).
-The smaller lighter colored meat one was a female and had a weird scent when i shot it. Any idea what that was?
-I shot these with #6 (only thing we're allowed to hunt with is shotgun). -Should I clean and gut these ASAP since many of the inner organs are punctured by the shot?
-Also, they were stiffening up by the time i went to clean them (only an hour or so after being shot)
-Is there anything I should watch out for when preparing them? undercooking food poisoning, is there a sickness i should watch out for, etc..?

All in all, i would eat it again and good to know and see the process of what it involved in preparing it. Next time, I will try it with out any flour or seasoning to see what that's like.

I know this is more a hunting question, but figure with all the tree rat eaters, someone may be able to shed some more insight on these.

Thanks!

[kevin]

you beat me to it mrsocks. I participated in a squirrel thread a little while ago in hopes of bagging first one this season; went out once briefly but not luck. nice going! search for it because there was info on cooking.

[snowshoe67]

you should always boil,but you know a good cleaning all the endtrail gone wash clean and cook well. MMMM

[Cajunlady]

Great job on bagging your squirrels. Don't give up practice makes perfect. I didn't boil mine but did have it wrapped in foil when I cooked it. It didn't dry out and I stuffed it and mixed manyi herbs in with the stuffing and the meat was juicy.

[LaRemnant]

I wish WoodsCustom would come back soon, he is a wealth of info on all things hunting.

Next time, buy some trip wire and make some snare poles. Is there any way you could use a small pellet rifle and try a head shot? A lot of the times, when they hide behind a tree (funny when they do that!) sometimes they will poke their head around and stare at you. Perfect for target practice, as long as you intend to eat what you kill!!!

Also, did you try eating the brains too? I wonder what other uses they could provide...

[willyboy]

As long as the Liver it's not spotted or discolored.

[garret]

Originally Posted by LaRemnant

I wish WoodsCustom would come back soon, he is a wealth of info on all things hunting.

Next time, buy some trip wire and make some snare poles. Is there any way you could use a small pellet rifle and try a head shot? A lot of the times, when they hide behind a tree (funny when they do that!) sometimes they will poke their head around and stare at you. Perfect for target practice, as long as you intend to eat what you kill!!!

Also, did you try eating the brains too? I wonder what other uses they could provide...

best thing to do if they hide round the other side of the tree is place your jacket on a pole or on the ground on one side and sneak round the other, they dont know which way to go and it makes shooting them much easier

[Celticwarrior]

Peeling off the fur and skin is actually pretty easy. Field dressing takes some skill with such a small carcass though, and doing it without nicking the bowel or bladder is tough. You will probably screw up a few times before you do a perfect dress-out. My favorite recipe for squirrel (if it isn't being spitted over a fire) is to make it like buttermilk batter-fried chicken. Just like the "Colonel"! LOL

[Camdor]

Originally Posted by Celticwarrior

Peeling off the fur and skin is actually pretty easy. Field dressing takes some skill with such a small carcass though, and doing it without nicking the bowel or bladder is tough. You will probably screw up a few times before you do a perfect dress-out. My favorite recipe for squirrel (if it isn't being spitted over a fire) is to make it like buttermilk batter-fried chicken. Just like the "Colonel"! LOL

That is YUMMMMMMMMMMMMY!!!

Another thing I've been thinking about and wanting to try, having never made it, is bannock. If it is anything like other flatbreads I've made, I don't see why you could not make a batch and wrap it around your dressed game. Again, if it is like other flatbreads, it would help to add some texture to what could quickly become a somewhat boring meal in the field, but would also speed cooking as it would not only cook from the heat transfer of the roasting method but also steaming from the moisture within the meat itself.

Add some wild or packed-in seasoning like herbs and you could very well have a very delicious meal.

Just some thoughts

[SwampRat1]

The way i was taught to skin and clean them is to make a slit in the skin on the back. then using both hands, stick your fingers in and pull it apart till you get it down around the head and feet. then you just cut those off. then you carefully open up the body cavity and pull out all the entrails. as far as cooking, we usually make dumpings with them. though i have eaten them spitted over a fire to, which is very good. as long as your not going to be out for more than a couple of hours and the weather is fairly cool then i never worry about cleaning them till i get to the house. just be sure to wash them out real good, and since you have to use a shotgun, be carefull of bone fragments. if you miss any in the cleaning, you will find them in the eating. have fun and good luck on future hunts.