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Old September 11, 2005, 10:28 PM   #1
lil_bro
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Squirrel help.

Hi, I have a couple of questions about skining and cooking squirrels.

1- What is a good way to skin squirrels so I don't get to much hair on the meat.

2-How can I make the squirrel meat more tinder.

Thanks for any help.

Michael.
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Old September 11, 2005, 11:17 PM   #2
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I par-boil my squirrel meat, then fry or what ever
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Old September 11, 2005, 11:23 PM   #3
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I dont know how you skin squirrels now, but I (after gutting) make a slice through the skin on the middle of the back then you can just grab the skin and pull in opposite directions. This way is very fast and it doesnt seem to leave any hair for me.

As for cooking the squirrel. I like to cook it up like fried chicken mmm squirrel gravy over mashed potatos is great. I also take and cut the squirrel meat into chuncks then dredge it in some sort of a coating...pretty much making squirrel nuggets
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Old September 12, 2005, 08:13 AM   #4
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Rinse the meat after your done skinning... no more hair.
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Old September 12, 2005, 09:27 PM   #5
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First, don't let it get old.

Second, soak it overnight in salt brine to plump it and make it juicy.

Next, cube it and sear it, then pop it into the pressure cooker. No pressure cooker? Get one. They're awesome, and keep your house cooler while making soups, stews, etc faster. (Reason is that you can raise the temperature above 212 degrees farenheit.)

Brunswick stew is better with more stewed squirrel.
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Old September 13, 2005, 04:25 PM   #6
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Thanks for all the help.

I will try all of the skining and cooking methods and see witch one works the best.


Thanks again.
Michael.
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Old September 13, 2005, 06:17 PM   #7
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Big Yac is on target. I chop off their legs just above the elbow/knees first. Then rinse well.

Soaking overnight in brine is ok, I find milk works better. The lactic acid helps tenderize the meat. Pressure cooker is the bomb (no pun intended).
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Old September 20, 2005, 02:30 AM   #8
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Yes the cut across the back and i hold mine under running water
while skinning Young are good anyway you use them . old
ones make good soup , very good fixed like chickin and noddles
or dumplings . Smell kind'a like a beef roast when boiled .
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Old September 20, 2005, 06:22 AM   #9
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Lots of good info on "woods rats" here. My favorite way to have 'em is to clean & par boil as above, then tear the meat from the bones, use your favorite pie crust, a bunch of your fav. veggies, a can on cream of mushroom soup, (no water) & bake that sucker! Mmmmm the best pot pie around.
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Old September 20, 2005, 10:32 AM   #10
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Damn, I wish I could bring myself to eat squirrel. All what you grow up eating, I guess, because I eat a hell of a lot grosser things. I bet they taste awesome
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Old September 20, 2005, 11:07 AM   #11
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Mmmm, makes me even more motivated to go squirrel hunting this weekend...

Chris
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Old September 21, 2005, 08:53 PM   #12
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They can also be fried like chicken. After soaking in brine all night, roll in flour and brown the outside over high heat. Then turn the fire down to a simmer, add water to cover the bottom of the pan and cover and let it simmer for a few hours. Check now and then and add a bit more water as necessary to keep things moist. The water and the flour from the browned squirrel will make a kind of gravy. Throw in some potatoes and onions about half an hour to 45 minutes or so before serving and you have a wonderful meal. Electric fry pans work great for this.
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Old September 21, 2005, 09:27 PM   #13
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I'll ask the wife About 3 months after we were married I went out squirel hunting.... when I hit the door of the house she asked me if I wanted em cleaned and cooked....

she cleaned em and made a pot of squirel and dumplings......the father in law came over for some too...

hehehehehe..am I lucky or what

or if you are going to fry em soak them bad boys in some buttermilk overnight

of course there was that time before we were married and she invited me over for dinner... but I had to help skin it first....lol
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Old September 23, 2005, 08:48 PM   #14
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skinning

This is a pretty good way.
http://members.localnet.com/~nickdd/
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Old September 24, 2005, 11:46 PM   #15
lil_bro
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Thanks for all the info.

Sorry for not geting back to y'all sooner.

Next time I get enough squirrels I will try all of the way of skining and cooking.

Thanks again for the info.
Michael.
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Old October 6, 2005, 05:56 PM   #16
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I cut through the skin all the way around the midsection and pull it off in both directions. when you get to the feet, tail and head cut them off leaving them inside of the inside-out skin. Then gut it, cut it in half (front/back) and soak in salt water before freezing or cooking.
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Old October 6, 2005, 05:59 PM   #17
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darkvibe - that is the way I do it as well. I have found that a pair of sharp pruning shears makes short work of cutting off the feet and tail and head. I have trouble keeping all of the hair from getting onto the meat - and that hair sticks to the meat like superglue. It takes me a bit of scrubbing of the meat to get the stray hairs gone.

I too soak in salt water overnight. I have used milk for soaking fish in, but never tried it on red meat.
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Old October 6, 2005, 06:36 PM   #18
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Here's a good site. Keeping the squirrel wet like I was taught helps keep the fur from getting on the meat.
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Old October 6, 2005, 06:56 PM   #19
butch50
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AHA!
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Old October 11, 2005, 09:59 PM   #20
Trip20
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Uhh... knzn - I tried that skinning trick in the video you posted... and lets just say it didn't work as easy for me as it does the dude in the video.

I'd hate to waste anymore squirrel screwing it up. Any tips on getting his method to work better?

I ended up pretty much rippin' the poor fella in half, spilling his insides everywhere. I was pretty upset, I salvaged what I could - but there definitely wasn't as much meat in the freezer bag as I'd hoped.
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Old October 11, 2005, 11:01 PM   #21
sm
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For Small folks with limited strength, steal a trick from Deer...Golf balls.

With Squirrels and Wabbits use big marbles, get a wad of skin and hair, insert Big marble (rocks work) with stout cord secure this "balled up wad" and pull. Two kids can pull against each other. One can can pull against one cord secured to truck, tree, tractor ...

Italian Dressing is another good marinade.

I still like to cut up in small pcs, paper bag with flour, and fresh ground pepper. Shake them pcs up in the bag, and use the Cast Iron Dutch oven with HOT oil to fry them suckers...

Scratch Biscuits , Gravy, Fried Squirrel, ...iced tea...I'm set.

"buzzzzz"

Baked Apple is done for dessert!

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Old October 12, 2005, 06:42 AM   #22
knzn
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Trip20:

The key to this method is to get a nice flap of skin going with the knife. When you step down it looks like you are stepping on the tail only, but you need a flap of skin under your foot as well. Get the hang of it and it really is as easy as the video.
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Old October 12, 2005, 08:13 AM   #23
Trip20
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Thanks knzn.

I think what I did was cut the skin a little too far around the sides of the squirrel. As I watch the vid a little closer - he doesn't really cut that large of a flap of skin in that his initial cuts do not extend very far around the side of the squirrel, and certainly the cuts are not long enough to make it towards the belly.

I think I made my initial cuts too long, and instead of the skin stretching/ripping around to the belly area, it curled and dug in to the first rib of the rib cage.

I'll give it another shot this weekend! Thanks again.
Bryan
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Old October 19, 2005, 06:30 PM   #24
Trip20
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Earlier today I was takin' a..... reading my new Field & Stream, and they had an article pertaining to this thread. Thought I'd post it in the off chance it'll help someone out.

Attached Images
File Type: jpg bushytail_skinning.jpg (90.2 KB, 193 views)
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Old October 20, 2005, 09:59 AM   #25
Steve499
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I use a small gambrel made from 1/4 inch rod sharpened on both ends. It's bent into a shallow W shape. I stick each end under the tendons in the back feet of the squirrel and hang it from a limb stub I've clipped off with pruning pliers. With the squirrel hanging upside down and the tail toward me I cut through the tail bone but leave the skin intact at the back. I get the knife point between the skin and the meat at the tail base and make a cut around the flanks on both sides which meets in the center of the belly and forward of the penis if it's male. Then I lift the squirrel from the limb and hold the gambrel, feet and legs in my left hand while I pull the tail skin at the base with my right just enough to get a peel started. Then I step on the tail and pull the skin completely off. I hang the half skinned squirrel back up while I brush the hair off my hands, then grasp it around the skinned chest with my left hand, take it off the limb and remove the gambrel. I carry a small pair of channel lock pliers which I use to grip the edges of the "pants" the squirrel still has on to start a peel all around at the top of them, then pull them down to the ankles but leave them attached. I can hang the squirrel back up by the wrong side out hind leg skin on the limb stub while I gut it.

I carry a haversack sort of bag when I squirrel hunt which contains plastic bags, my gambrel,pruning pliers and channel locks. When I shoot a squirrel, I skin it right then, cut it into pieces starting from the front while it's hanging and put the pieces in a plastic bag. I keep young and old squirrels in different bags for cooking differences. Often I shoot a second or third squirrel while I'm skinning the first one. The only thing I take home is the cut up pieces which only need rinsing off. I sometimes soak them in salt water and sometimes I don't, can't tell any difference in the meat but my Grandpa always did so it must have had some purpose.

The secret to having clean, hair free meat is to make all cuts (except that first one through the tail bone) from the inside of the skin outward and to have some method to hang the squirrel so you can brush your hands off to rid them of hair before you touch the meat. I personally don't like to skin a wet squirrel (sometimes they fall in a creek) because the wet hair seems to stick to my hands and be harder to brush off than it is when it's dry.

Steve
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