Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation those backyard squirrels

the little critters are starting to look like dinner.

Used to eat them when I was a kid, as we did a lot of squirrel hunting. As I got older, I started to realize just how much they resembled a rat, and lost my appetite for one. Now, if times get really hard, and the deer are all wiped out, I might change my mind. But, until then, I'll keep refrain from eating them.

We've only got the little chipmunks up here.

Would take a lot, to feed a family of 4 !

We have grey squirrels and the larger fox squirrels. I've never eaten a fox squirrel, but would imagine the old ones would pretty tough.

Thinking you could smoke/bbq them whole like a chicken.

Probably be pretty tasty with Alabama white sauce.

Did they ever stop? Couple of Hmong guys I work with claim that I'm wasting my time skinning them. They just gut them and burn the fur off.

Nothing wrong with squirrel. When I was younger I usually hunted them till I had between 75 and 100 in the freezer. They are good eating. Last year I killed 35 off my bird feeder out the back door. I like fox squirrels better than gray to eat. Just have to simmer the big ones a little longer in the gravy to get them tender.

I love hunt hunt gray squirrels. They were the first game I hunted as a kid. I'm 66 now, and still enjoy hunting and making a good meal of squirrels.

Hell yes!

I’d skin them, into the pressure pot until tender, season liberally, then onto a hot grill for color and crisp, and serve with white sauce!

Saw this recently...

Cut up that squirrel

I usually shoot some when the herd out back gets to numerous. Skin them, then vac seal. When I get enough, I shoot a rabbit, and use that and the squirrels to make a pot of Brunswick stew.

Have a buddy in the same town I live in who regularly harvests squirrels from his yard. He and his kids eat every one.

I wish I was better at skinning them, though I haven’t tried some of the quicker methods that pop up in videos. That will have to change after the plague is over.

I’m not man enough for all that. I’ll waste a few more minutes skinning them, then.

Fox squirrels are considered an invasive specie here, with no protection. Squirrel is perhaps my favorite meat, cooked a number of ways. So I do my best to stem the tide of the invasive specie...

A buddy of mine up north would would keepem whole and smoke them and that was some of the best I had ever tasted.

love me some fried squirrels; when deer season finishes up i spend a good bit of time sneaking around in the timber after them.

sounds interesting...but it seems they would be prone to dry up and toughen without wrapping in bacon...? (a/k/a larding)

Fry the young ones and stew the old ones.