I admit that rodent eating has been a long time hang-up – even an obsession . That I share a country with squirrel eaters disturbs me; but personally knowing squirrel eaters fills me with a sense of unease too deep to quantify. But the plain fact is: Mizzur-uhns eat squirrels. (Which is all the more reason to never leave the safe boundaries of New England)
Eating squirrels is bad enough, but Mizzur-uhns live in a culture that accepts such behavior as normal and even encouraged! We should probably consider ceding the whole damned state back to France…
Here’s the Missouri Department of Conservation website on “ettin them thar varmints”: A Squirrel Cuisine:
People who frown on squirrels as food can be placed into two groups—those who can’t stomach the thought of eating an animal that’s furry and cute and those who have eaten squirrels but found them less than appetizing. The first group will probably never enjoy eating squirrels. The second can be won over if hunters avoid these mistakes.
[snip]
I have eaten squirrels that tasted gamy, though tasted bad is a more accurate description. The squirrels had been shot through the abdominal cavity and poorly cleaned. Any meat will taste bad if allowed to marinate in gut contents and urine, and that is exactly what happens when gut and bladder contents touch the meat, be it squirrel or any other game animal.
[snip: Don't forget that this website is run by the State of Missouri!]
More squirrels than not are placed on the dinner table with hair clinging to the meat, which is unappetizing to say the least. Skinning squirrels is difficult, regardless of how you go about it, and hair is easily transferred to the meat. My skinning method, however, handles the problem.
Ok, enough… This can go on all day and I want to cut to the most important part of the article – the recipes!
That particular section contains such delicacies as: Squirrel & Dumplings, Barbecued Squirrel (You knew that was coming…), Squirrel Spaghetti, Squirrel Italian, and, of course, Pan fried squirrel.
But here’s my fav:
Squirrel Salad
- Boil 6 squirrels until tender.
- The last five minutes of cooking time, add 3 eggs still in their shells.
- Remove squirrels and eggs from pot and let cool.
- De-bone squirrels. Peel eggs. In a food processor, grind meat and eggs separately. Place in a large bowl and with a spoon or fork, mix in mayonnaise or sandwich spread and pickle relish to desired consistency and taste.
- Serve on toast or crackers with your favorite garnish.
You just gotta wonder what squirrel eaters would choose as a favorite garnish. Anyway, if you have no plans this weekend, why not pot up a batch of Squirrel Salad and invite your first cousins over for a rodent feast that’s guaranteed to please! (That is, as long as you have a tall stack of country music CDs and plenty of Pabst Blue Ribbon on tap)
August 7, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Georgians eat squirrels, too. Squirrel dumplings were occasionally featured in the household I grew up in. The squirrels were not allowed to marinate in their own guts and urine, and all hair was removed. It took a lot of squirrels to make a batch, and you had to be careful not to bite into some buckshot.
My grandmother would make the dish but would not eat it because “squirrels are just rats with furry tails”.
I no longer eat squirrels or possums or coons, but it’s nice to know that I could in a pinch.
August 8, 2007 at 2:37 pm
>>Georgians eat squirrels, too.>>
It’s a freakin’ pandemic.
>>My grandmother would make the dish but would not eat it because “squirrels are just rats with furry tails”.>>
Smart woman!
>>I no longer eat squirrels or possums or coons>>
Good man!
>>but it’s nice to know that I could in a pinch.>>
Steady on!
September 26, 2007 at 4:29 pm
To the blog writer: you don’t know what you’ve missed. I do sympathize though, I refuse to eat anything made with tofu (bad experiences just seem to linger).
Squirrel actually tastes surprisingly good. As one poster stated it does take several to make a worthy meal, however. I’ve eaten other rodents as well. Nutria (large muskrat invasive introduced from South America), muskrat and woodchuck. All taste more or less the same to me, though with varying degrees of flavor. Woodchuck is tougher though could have been an old animal. I have “redneck” family spread across the country (including the northeast) so I’ve been able to enjoy a varied selection of wildmeats growing up. Rabbit is a personal favorite (NOT a true rodent but a lagomorph). Never liked the smell of possum myself nor have I tried coon.
January 25, 2008 at 11:29 pm
u sissy boy