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Post by trapperdave on Jul 23, 2015 18:53:19 GMT -5
anyone use them? Thinking of trying it on some of our tough as nails fox squirrels and turning them into bbq this fall
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Post by drs on Jul 24, 2015 4:32:24 GMT -5
If I harvest an "old-tough" Squirrel, I normally just par boil Squirrel portions in water until tender. Then dip pieces in a mixture of milk and flour + a little pepper. Never used a pressure cooker for preparing Squirrels but have used it on occasions, for Venison roasts.
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Post by maddog on Jul 24, 2015 5:34:11 GMT -5
In the last two years, I've probably pressure cooked over 40 squirrels. 10 lbs. of pressure for 30 minutes generally will do the trick. I have had 2 squirrels though, that after 30 minutes, you still couldn't get the meat off the bone....they went straight to the trash barrel!  The nice part is, you can do the pressure cooking, then put the boned meat in zip lock bags, put it back in the freezer and get it out whenever you want to make something. That's what I do when I'm making limb chicken chowder. maddog |
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Post by duff on Jul 26, 2015 9:20:55 GMT -5
In the last two years, I've probably pressure cooked over 40 squirrels. 10 lbs. of pressure for 30 minutes generally will do the trick. I have had 2 squirrels though, that after 30 minutes, you still couldn't get the meat off the bone....they went straight to the trash barrel! The nice part is, you can do the pressure cooking, then put the boned meat in zip lock bags, put it back in the freezer and get it out whenever you want to make something. That's what I do when I'm making limb chicken chowder. maddog That sounds good. I don't have a good recipe for squirrels and am over run with them. Do you just toss them in with water? Any spices or orher tricks? |
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Post by maddog on Jul 26, 2015 9:43:06 GMT -5
Well, here is a good recipe. hunt-indiana.com/thread/43837/great-squirrel-recipeAs far as in the pressure cooker, plain water, or you could add some salt and onion flakes, onion salt, or onion powder. Something else that is great is squirrel pot pie. Make it from any chicken pot pie recipe, and just subst. the squirrel for the chicken. maddog |
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Post by trapperdave on Jul 26, 2015 16:53:50 GMT -5
how much water do you put in?
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Post by maddog on Jul 26, 2015 18:02:25 GMT -5
Depends on the size of your pressure cooker, plus how many you squirrels you are doing. I'd say 1/3 to 1/2 full, enough water to cover the squirrels you are doing.
maddog
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Post by Russ Koon on Jul 27, 2015 11:18:20 GMT -5
Sounds like this might also be a viable option for camping, at least while vehicle camping or maybe canoeing.
I expect temperature regulation would be difficult with a campfire, but I could imagine a campstove doing the job well. Ever use one in such an environment?
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Post by maddog on Jul 27, 2015 12:00:00 GMT -5
No I haven't, and probably wouldn't. If I had real old ones in camp, I'd bag them and freeze them in water, when I got home. In camp, I'd just parboil them until I could stick a fork in them, then bread and fry until the batter was crispy.
maddog
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Post by Russ Koon on Jul 29, 2015 10:09:44 GMT -5
That does sound like a more campfire friendly solution.
I recall once when the wife was hunting with me during archery deer, and we came back to camp early in the evening because it began raining. We were camped next to an open shelterhouse in a campground that was otherwise deserted. Kinda made ourselves at home and built a small cooking fire just off the edge of the concrete floor of the shelterhouse, but protected by the eaves from the light rain. I had killed a big old "herd bull" of a fox squirrel with an arrow just before the rain began, and figured as I skinned him out that we'd be lucky to be able to cut the gravy from that old rascal.
But the wife recalled her mom steaming some tough old roosters when she was a kid, and when that squirrel seemed to be about two-thirds done by her judgment, she added some water to the iron skillet and covered it with the iron lid that made a pretty good seal, though of course not pressure tight. We guessed on how much longer to simmer it with the skillet moved to the edge of the fire and got lucky with our guesswork, because in about another half hour or so, we had the best squirrel I ever ate, tender as chicken and tasting perfect!
Lots of guesses involved it that lucky experience, though, so I though maybe there would be a more dependably repeatable way to duplicate the same results.
I had read about parboiling some tough meats before frying, but had never tried that. Sounds like it might be the solution I should try next. Best if it's one a rank amateur can't mess up too easily 8^)
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Post by drs on Jul 29, 2015 10:20:54 GMT -5
That does sound like a more campfire friendly solution. I recall once when the wife was hunting with me during archery deer, and we came back to camp early in the evening because it began raining. We were camped next to an open shelterhouse in a campground that was otherwise deserted. Kinda made ourselves at home and built a small cooking fire just off the edge of the concrete floor of the shelterhouse, but protected by the eaves from the light rain. I had killed a big old "herd bull" of a fox squirrel with an arrow just before the rain began, and figured as I skinned him out that we'd be lucky to be able to cut the gravy from that old rascal. But the wife recalled her mom steaming some tough old roosters when she was a kid, and when that squirrel seemed to be about two-thirds done by her judgment, she added some water to the iron skillet and covered it with the iron lid that made a pretty good seal, though of course not pressure tight. We guessed on how much longer to simmer it with the skillet moved to the edge of the fire and got lucky with our guesswork, because in about another half hour or so, we had the best squirrel I ever ate, tender as chicken and tasting perfect! Lots of guesses involved it that lucky experience, though, so I though maybe there would be a more dependably repeatable way to duplicate the same results. I had read about parboiling some tough meats before frying, but had never tried that. Sounds like it might be the solution I should try next. Best if it's one a rank amateur can't mess up too easily 8^) That's the cooking method my Grandmother used when cooking a tough Fox Squirrel. She'd brown the Squirrel pieces then place some water simmer until tender. Delicious !! |
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Post by HillBillyJeff on Aug 5, 2015 15:29:01 GMT -5
I have pressured some older ones then used them in squirrel and dumplings. Crock pots overnight work well too.
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Post by maddog on Aug 5, 2015 17:47:36 GMT -5
Yes! What HBJ said maddog |
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Post by omegahunter on Aug 6, 2015 10:42:04 GMT -5
anyone use them? Thinking of trying it on some of our tough as nails fox squirrels and turning them into bbq this fall I use a crock pot (slow cooker) on my fox squirrels and turn them into pulled BBQ. |
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Post by tedch on Aug 28, 2015 13:58:15 GMT -5
In the last two years, I've probably pressure cooked over 40 squirrels. 10 lbs. of pressure for 30 minutes generally will do the trick. I have had 2 squirrels though, that after 30 minutes, you still couldn't get the meat off the bone....they went straight to the trash barrel! The nice part is, you can do the pressure cooking, then put the boned meat in zip lock bags, put it back in the freezer and get it out whenever you want to make something. That's what I do when I'm making limb chicken chowder. maddog Very intersting. I suppose this would be a good use of the pressure cooker. Beeing a noob.... so, how do you know when you do have a "tough squirrel"? TedCH |
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Post by maddog on Aug 28, 2015 17:49:27 GMT -5
maddog[/quote]Very intersting. I suppose this would be a good use of the pressure cooker. Beeing a noob.... so, how do you know when you do have a "tough squirrel"? TedCH[/quote]  This will give you an idea on "old" = "tough" maddog |
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