when to eat squirrel

Lobo0311 · 09-27-2009, 09:28 PM

I think a lot of folks think it's best to wait till the first freeze due to the fact right now in much of the country they'll still be a little on the skinny side. I'm waiting a little longer for some cooler weather and teh better shot ops due to lack of leaves, here in KS they're fair game from june to feburary.

Cross Hair · 09-28-2009, 07:26 PM

Smoked Squirrel is ok...

It gets a bit chewy after being smoked and the wife found them very creepy looking smoked. I think I agree with her on that one too.

Fried squirrel with gravy and mashed taters is about as close to downhome heaven as it gets in my book guys! It also makes good barbecue... I put squirrel in crockpot, cook down, de-bone, shredd, and add back to crockpot with some bbq sauce to slow simmer.... thats also the ONLY way I eat racoon.

ArkansasHunter · 09-28-2009, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaeger

well here was the plan. Bow hunt (deer) early wed morning. about 9 am cut out to wharton st forest. Small game is the only gun season open right now in NJ, and my buddy has never NEVER been hunting. So I figured I would break him in right with a 2 day pack in camping/hunting trip. We will be bringing in the bare essentials. 1 gal of water each..(camel backs) minor food. granola bars/jerky etc. 1 tent, and shotguns. he bought a mossberg 500, 12 and im taking a H&R 20 single tat ive had for 25 years. So should be a fun outing regardless.

I ain't ever goin with you if thats all the food and water you take LMAO!!!!
I guess when you hike in, your limited to what you can carry.
I'm just mess'in around...A.H

Preet · 09-28-2009, 07:42 PM

Squirrel doesn't sound bad at all. Just make sure it's cooked thoroughly.

Emergency Survival

tappedandtagged · 09-28-2009, 07:46 PM

The whole thing about waiting for the first frost is from what I understand due to parasites and fleas. The fleas will be on the lil buggers all year regardless of how many frosts there are so that one's debunked. And the parasites, well, if they're in the squirrel, why would they come out when it got cold??? You kill parasites by properly cooking the meat.

So, if you wanna eat squirrel, just cook it well and you're good to go. Proper hygiene goes without saying when you're dressing the squirrels.

single shot · 09-30-2009, 10:09 PM

May 15 till January 1 in Oklahoma. Thats the open season. Crock potem' - deboneem' add a little cream cheese to the meat and make green chili monteryjack Squirrel Enchilladas.

Paper · 09-30-2009, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rimfirenut

We canned some last year and they turned out excellent!! Almost as good as canned venison..

That sounds GOOD!!!

I typically soak them overnight in the fridge in a salty water to pull the blood out (even on head shot with a .22) and then I like to stick them in my pressure cooker for about 15 minutes. Then I let the meat cool and the meat will pull right off the bones..

I then use the meat for just about anything, but my favorite is Old Country Gravy, with squirrel meat, over noodles..

cubesmoothie · 10-02-2009, 02:30 PM

Fried squirrel legs & gravy is really good with biscuits. Similar to lean chicken drummies.

ArkansasHunter · 10-02-2009, 02:38 PM

It's suppose to get down around 44 this e'nin so I just may go squirrel hunt'in in the morn'in.
That squirrel, gravey and bisquits is sound'in perty good...A.H

rl69 · 10-03-2009, 07:33 PM

never seen wolves in squirrels. we have a spring season here in east TX.

G. Green · 10-03-2009, 07:54 PM

My Granny used to fry them whole with heads on, looked like a really small fried person! But they were great! Biscuits and gravy and fried squirrel. She loved the brains, used to crack'em on the head with a spoon and go to town.

NHmsj · 10-03-2009, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G. Green

My Granny used to fry them whole with heads on, looked like a really small fried person! But they were great! Biscuits and gravy and fried squirrel. She loved the brains, used to crack'em on the head with a spoon and go to town.

I have heard of squirrel being prepared that way before. I have even seen pictures of whole fried squirrel. Not my thing, however. I like eating squirrel to be sure, but with those skinned-out rat heads looking at me? No thank you! I have also heard of people liking the brains, too. Funny thing is, I never felt that squirrels ever had that much in the way of brains to begin with! lol!

msj

Purdy · 10-04-2009, 04:40 PM

Squirrel season used to open in mid May when I was a kid. I'd go hunting early in the AM then go to school. The young ones were kinda small but tender. I hunted them until thy dened up in the late fall. Seeing them was easier after all the leaves were gone.

jaeger · 10-06-2009, 01:49 PM

Well I took my buddy on this little adventure and man was it a blast. Thank go for ICE. Before we left I bought 2 boxes of zip lock bags and we filled a 72 oz cooler full of ice. We left Tuesday morning. didnt get to bow hunt so I figured I would just take it with me just in case.. The first day we walked for about a half a mile and came up on a dry creek bed. We bagged 4 squirrels within 10 mins. Took them back and skinned them up. Bagged and iced 2 of em just incase we didnt get any the next day. But later that afternoon we got another 3. Cooked them over a fire and man were they good. Just used some season-all and salt/pepper. The next morning I woke up and took a little walk before day break. Once the sun broke there was a nice little doe about 50 yards down the fire trail. She met the business end of my new barnett predator. 375fps and she dropped on the spot. So that kinda ended our trip a little early because we had to bring her back to the house and cut er up. All in all a great trip.

GlockMeister · 10-06-2009, 02:34 PM

Since squirrel is all year round, could someone post the times of the year to eat rabbit, and the other edible delicacies of mother nature? Thanks...

I remember reading something on here about when the months end in er? But can't remember.

and with squirrel, is there anything to watch out for? Anything common with them that they might have or carry?

Cross Hair · 10-06-2009, 10:17 PM

With most any game if you look at the liver while you are cleaning it, it will tell you alot of information. Trust me, you will know a bad liver (indicating sickly animal) pretty easy. Our ancestors never had a hunting season... only empty stomachs!

Anything prepared and cooked properly is generally safe to consume no matter what the season is.

Long Rifle · 10-22-2009, 12:21 AM

Squirrels are perfectly fine to eat anytime of the year. There is no health threat from botfly maggot (sometimes called wulls or wolves). There is no certain time of the year that they cannot be bagged and eaten for any reason other than whether or not it is legal to harvest them. I live in South Mississippi and sometimes early season squirrels do have a botfly infestation on the skin but it does NOT affect the quality of the meat or in anyway endanger the hunter or any person who might eat the squirrel. I have personally eaten many squirrels with botfly boils (wolves) and there is nothing wrong with them. In fact, I just had some three hours ago that had a few boils and I'm still here.

SEMPER FI

Long Rifle · 10-22-2009, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G. Green

My Granny used to fry them whole with heads on, looked like a really small fried person! But they were great! Biscuits and gravy and fried squirrel. She loved the brains, used to crack'em on the head with a spoon and go to town.

I just cooked some this evening, some with the head still on. I have always heard from old timers that the head was the best part. I have tested this theory twice before but just to be sure I tried it one more time tonight. I boiled the heads for a couple of hours prior to frying them with the rest of the squirrels. My conclusion remains that there cannot possibly be a more awful and disgusting taste/texture/smell than cooked squirrel brains. Maybe some people can do it. Maybe we've lost something over time, I dunno. But I will never put a squirrel brain in my mouth again, you can bet that.

Purdy · 10-22-2009, 06:42 PM

Don't think I'd eat the brains, might get "mad squirrel" disease. ROFLMAO

09-27-2009, 09:28 PM	#21
Lobo0311 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Northeast Kansas Posts: 633	I think a lot of folks think it's best to wait till the first freeze due to the fact right now in much of the country they'll still be a little on the skinny side. I'm waiting a little longer for some cooler weather and teh better shot ops due to lack of leaves, here in KS they're fair game from june to feburary. __________________ If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?

09-28-2009, 07:26 PM	#22
Cross Hair Long Tail Squirrel Hunter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Central Illinois... Middle of Nowhere Posts: 1,305	Smoked Squirrel is ok... It gets a bit chewy after being smoked and the wife found them very creepy looking smoked. I think I agree with her on that one too. Fried squirrel with gravy and mashed taters is about as close to downhome heaven as it gets in my book guys! It also makes good barbecue... I put squirrel in crockpot, cook down, de-bone, shredd, and add back to crockpot with some bbq sauce to slow simmer.... thats also the ONLY way I eat racoon. __________________ *Most of my life I've spent hunting,... the rest of it I've just wasted*

10-02-2009, 02:38 PM	#29
ArkansasHunter Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: South Arkansas. Posts: 17,215	It's suppose to get down around 44 this e'nin so I just may go squirrel hunt'in in the morn'in. That squirrel, gravey and bisquits is sound'in perty good...A.H __________________ IN GOD WE TRUST NRA MEMBER

10-03-2009, 07:33 PM	#30
rl69 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: brookeland tex Posts: 1,292 Images: 4	never seen wolves in squirrels. we have a spring season here in east TX. __________________ get your facts first and then you can distort them as much as you please IN GOD WE TRUST

10-06-2009, 02:34 PM	#35
GlockMeister Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Northern Illinois Posts: 9,676	Since squirrel is all year round, could someone post the times of the year to eat rabbit, and the other edible delicacies of mother nature? Thanks... I remember reading something on here about when the months end in er? But can't remember. and with squirrel, is there anything to watch out for? Anything common with them that they might have or carry? __________________ "The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion." "Edmond Burke"

09-28-2009, 07:42 PM	#24
Preet Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 7	Squirrel doesn't sound bad at all. Just make sure it's cooked thoroughly. Emergency Survival

09-28-2009, 07:46 PM	#25
tappedandtagged Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Southwest Arkansas Posts: 840 Blog Entries: 1	The whole thing about waiting for the first frost is from what I understand due to parasites and fleas. The fleas will be on the lil buggers all year regardless of how many frosts there are so that one's debunked. And the parasites, well, if they're in the squirrel, why would they come out when it got cold??? You kill parasites by properly cooking the meat. So, if you wanna eat squirrel, just cook it well and you're good to go. Proper hygiene goes without saying when you're dressing the squirrels.

09-30-2009, 10:09 PM	#26
single shot Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: N.E. Oklahoma Posts: 105	May 15 till January 1 in Oklahoma. Thats the open season. Crock potem' - deboneem' add a little cream cheese to the meat and make green chili monteryjack Squirrel Enchilladas.

10-02-2009, 02:30 PM	#28
cubesmoothie Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 27	Fried squirrel legs & gravy is really good with biscuits. Similar to lean chicken drummies.

10-03-2009, 07:54 PM	#31
G. Green Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: NE OK Posts: 464	My Granny used to fry them whole with heads on, looked like a really small fried person! But they were great! Biscuits and gravy and fried squirrel. She loved the brains, used to crack'em on the head with a spoon and go to town.

10-04-2009, 04:40 PM	#33
Purdy Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Montana Posts: 430	Squirrel season used to open in mid May when I was a kid. I'd go hunting early in the AM then go to school. The young ones were kinda small but tender. I hunted them until thy dened up in the late fall. Seeing them was easier after all the leaves were gone.

10-06-2009, 01:49 PM	#34
jaeger Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: NJ Posts: 567 Images: 3	Well I took my buddy on this little adventure and man was it a blast. Thank go for ICE. Before we left I bought 2 boxes of zip lock bags and we filled a 72 oz cooler full of ice. We left Tuesday morning. didnt get to bow hunt so I figured I would just take it with me just in case.. The first day we walked for about a half a mile and came up on a dry creek bed. We bagged 4 squirrels within 10 mins. Took them back and skinned them up. Bagged and iced 2 of em just incase we didnt get any the next day. But later that afternoon we got another 3. Cooked them over a fire and man were they good. Just used some season-all and salt/pepper. The next morning I woke up and took a little walk before day break. Once the sun broke there was a nice little doe about 50 yards down the fire trail. She met the business end of my new barnett predator. 375fps and she dropped on the spot. So that kinda ended our trip a little early because we had to bring her back to the house and cut er up. All in all a great trip.

10-06-2009, 10:17 PM	#36
Cross Hair Long Tail Squirrel Hunter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Central Illinois... Middle of Nowhere Posts: 1,305	With most any game if you look at the liver while you are cleaning it, it will tell you alot of information. Trust me, you will know a bad liver (indicating sickly animal) pretty easy. Our ancestors never had a hunting season... only empty stomachs! Anything prepared and cooked properly is generally safe to consume no matter what the season is. __________________ *Most of my life I've spent hunting,... the rest of it I've just wasted*

10-22-2009, 12:21 AM	#37
Long Rifle Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: South Mississippi Posts: 6	When to eat squirrel Squirrels are perfectly fine to eat anytime of the year. There is no health threat from botfly maggot (sometimes called wulls or wolves). There is no certain time of the year that they cannot be bagged and eaten for any reason other than whether or not it is legal to harvest them. I live in South Mississippi and sometimes early season squirrels do have a botfly infestation on the skin but it does NOT affect the quality of the meat or in anyway endanger the hunter or any person who might eat the squirrel. I have personally eaten many squirrels with botfly boils (wolves) and there is nothing wrong with them. In fact, I just had some three hours ago that had a few boils and I'm still here. SEMPER FI

10-22-2009, 06:42 PM	#39
Purdy Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Montana Posts: 430	Don't think I'd eat the brains, might get "mad squirrel" disease. ROFLMAO