Great squirrel recipe!

[maddog]

For all you boys that are out whackin the "limb chickens", here is one of the best recipes I have ever found for squirrels, particularly a great way to use up the older ones.


www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/wild-chef/2012/02/new-england-style-cream-based-squirrel-chowder


The only thing I did different was to add 1-2 cans of whole kernel corn, and subst. the half and half for a can of condensed milk.

WARNING! You'll eat til ya make yer self sick! ;D

Also, you can cut the recipe in 1/2, cause the original makes a LOT of chowder!


maddog

[Decatur]

That sounds good. Thanks!

[kirch86]

I think I am going to have to try this one out! Thanks for sharing

[maddog]

With as many squirrels that have been shot in the contest alone, I'm ressurecting this post from a year ago. Used up 11 old squirrels, and have already had 2 bowls full. Even Dexter, my little dog loves the stuff.





maddog

[Jamie Brooks 1John5:13]

Oct 27, 2012 6:59:36 GMT -5 maddog said:

For all you boys that are out whackin the "limb chickens", here is one of the best recipes I have ever found for squirrels, particularly a great way to use up the older ones.

maddog

Thank you maddog!

I didn't know that shooting squirrels would be so much fun!    I had never shot one until this week.   I ate them when I was a kid and liked them, even the brain.  

If I'd ever shot a deer before, I'd probably be passing on the squirrel right now, but I just can't stop popping them.    I'll focus on deer in a few weeks after I have a good mess of squirrel.  

Hey, is this real or am I imagining it?  I've noticed that when cleaning the squirrel, the skin comes off easier if I wait a while after the kill.  If I clean quickly, they're tougher to skin. 

[Russ Koon]

Jon, I always found it to be the exact opposite....cleaning was MUCH easier when done immediately, and it seemed to me the taste was also milder. I liked them either way, but getting the hide off allowing the meat to cool more quickly seemed to improve the flavor.

I began cleaning them immediately more as a matter of convenience and time management, back when I worked nights and could hunt mostly in the mornings. I had always previously brought them home whole, and the task of cleaning them after they had been dead a couple hours and the day was getting warm, coupled with me being tired after a short sleep and rising early to be in the woods, made it a bigger and more unpleasant chore.

I began carrying a couple of breadsacks in a pocket. They fold to almost matchbook size and weight, and each will carry a couple of cleaned squirrels easily, and will hang reliably from the belt if wrapped twice around it. The meat cools more quickly even on a warm morning that way than it does when insulated by a furry skin in a package containing warm innards.

I was surprised at how much easier the skinning went when it slid freely over the underlying meat rather than sticking to it.

I was also pleasantly surprised at how many times I had to hurry and finish the job because another had begun cutting before the last one was in the sack. I had been walking off into "undisturbed" woods with an uncleaned squirrel hanging from my belt for years, when I would have been better served by spending a couple minutes where I picked up the last one, quietly going about the business of cleaning it and putting it in the bag.

And the best part, after getting home, they were ready for a quick rinse and a nice soak in some salted water in the fridge, while I was ready for a shower and a nap.

[Jamie Brooks 1John5:13]

Nov 6, 2013 12:04:38 GMT -5 Russ Koon said:

Jon, I always found it to be the exact opposite....cleaning was MUCH easier when done immediately, and it seemed to me the taste was also milder. I liked them either way, but getting the hide off allowing the meat to cool more quickly seemed to improve the flavor.

I began cleaning them immediately ...

Thanks Russ!

I'll try it.  I don't think that I'm finished hunting them this year.   I'm going to try that chowder too.

[Jamie Brooks 1John5:13]

I made some squirrel chowder today. Haven't tasted it yet. There's a lot of it; I sure hope the kids like it.

[maddog]

Thought I'd let you guys know, if you make a big bunch of the chowder, you can freeze it in tupperware bowls, then just thaw out what you need. 80-90 secs in the micro wave and it tastes like you just made it. It will stay good for 6 mos. or so, in the freezer.


maddog

[Russ Koon]

Just reading this post again after a long absence. I meant to add last time that my kid brother's first ex's mom made some "squirrel and dumplings" that everyone raved about.

I think he's still got the recipe somewhere, I'll check with him. Best I can recall, it was a pretty simple recipe without a lot of other ingredients, and was a fairly basic water-based stock with a good bit of pulled squirrel meat and some small dumplings. saw one recipe later that sounded similar and was titled "Friccaseed Squirrel", but I can't vouch for the flavor of that one as I just read it and never got around to trying it.

Pretty sure it would also be a good one to freeze and use portions later as described above. I'll check with li'l bro' and see if he has the recipe or can recall it. I think he made it a few times himself.

I'm thinking about a pellet gun for squirrels, too. My favorite woods has become surrounded with houses and highways, making it increasingly worrisome that a bullet fired upwards will come down doing some mischief somewhere. And it's not a real big property, so the idea of the nearly silent shooting also would probably be helpful. And I still can't find any ammo for the Ruger 1022T, anyway.

[tedch]

Nov 6, 2013 12:04:38 GMT -5 Russ Koon said:

Jon, I always found it to be the exact opposite....cleaning was MUCH easier when done immediately, and it seemed to me the taste was also milder. I liked them either way, but getting the hide off allowing the meat to cool more quickly seemed to improve the flavor.

I began cleaning them immediately more as a matter of convenience and time management, back when I worked nights and could hunt mostly in the mornings. I had always previously brought them home whole, and the task of cleaning them after they had been dead a couple hours and the day was getting warm, coupled with me being tired after a short sleep and rising early to be in the woods, made it a bigger and more unpleasant chore.

I began carrying a couple of breadsacks in a pocket. They fold to almost matchbook size and weight, and each will carry a couple of cleaned squirrels easily, and will hang reliably from the belt if wrapped twice around it. The meat cools more quickly even on a warm morning that way than it does when insulated by a furry skin in a package containing warm innards.

I was surprised at how much easier the skinning went when it slid freely over the underlying meat rather than sticking to it.

I was also pleasantly surprised at how many times I had to hurry and finish the job because another had begun cutting before the last one was in the sack. I had been walking off into "undisturbed" woods with an uncleaned squirrel hanging from my belt for years, when I would have been better served by spending a couple minutes where I picked up the last one, quietly going about the business of cleaning it and putting it in the bag.

And the best part, after getting home, they were ready for a quick rinse and a nice soak in some salted water in the fridge, while I was ready for a shower and a nap.

I've come across this same approach in other places I've been looking at and videos I've been watching.  I think it appears as a personal hunting approach but those comments I've seen posted have all said they were glad they changed to an approach of skin and cool down as fast as possible.

Interesting discussion.

TedCH