Squirrel hunting/eating questions

[AtlasDM]

Hello everyone. I just had a couple questions about a squirrel I shot and cleaned in my yard the other day.

So I've had this big squirrel making a mess out of one of the nut trees in the back yard and a couple days ago I finally got him. I was aiming for a head shot standing unsupported and I ended up hitting him in the shoulders. The bullet passed straight through both shoulders and when I skinned him the meat looked pretty badly bruised and I couldn't wash the dark red blood out of it. I was sure if it was safe to eat or not so I just pitched it. Was I right to toss out the damaged meat? I've never done my own skinning/butchering before. Also, I followed a fried squirrel recipe I found online and the taste was amazing... but the meat was so tough I couldn't eat it. Is there any secret to tender squirrel meat? I see people talking about it but mine was horrible.

 

[Rhoadmar]

Make a marinade of apple cider vinegar then cook it slow over low heat. I've eaten bullet bruised meat, no side erkjgbnjhbgbkjnj.

 

[GustavHalbach]

A pressure cooker will tenderize an old squirrel too. Just brown him in the pan first and then pressure cook him. Not bad at all.

-G

 

[ELMO]

I like to soak skinned squirrel, cut up in a bowl, covered in salty water in the fridge for a day. This will draw out some of the blood shot meat and also draw out impurities. I don't fry squirrel anymore, I have a smaller pressure cooker that I use. I brown the meat in it, then pressurer cook it for about 20 minutes. I usually pull the meat off the bone and add barbacue sauce to it...Makes a great sandwich.

 

[bwframe]

Squirrel and noodles for me.

 

[Tnichols00]

The minute I am done cleaning my squirrels I take them inside scrub them off, (I have a kitchen scrubber I use only for squirrels) that takes any hair or dirt off that might have got on. Then I drop them in some water with a kosher salt and it seems to take the blood right out.
After about an hour or two they are usually ready

 

[AtlasDM]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I'll see if I can get another one this evening or tomorrow and I'll let you know if I have any better luck.

 

[snorko]

Squirrel and noodles for me.

Someone please make that a sig line!

 

[patience0830]

There are several ways to a tender meal of squirrel. The first, and fastest, is 15 minutes in a pressure cooker at 10lbs of pressure. Only the oldest of Fox squirrels will take longer. A young squirrel may turn to mush with this treatment though.

Pulled from the bones and made into bbq or soup this works very well.

Second method involves about an hour and twenty minutes in boiling water. If it's still hard to stick a fork in some of the pieces, cook them a little longer.
Again, bbq, usually on the bone around here, is good. Sweet baby rays diluted about half with water and simmer the pieces in it about another ten minutes. Another option is to lightly bread the boiled pieces with egg dip and some cornmeal and Mrs. Dash and fry in hot oil.

Third method is low and slow.
Crock pot on low with taters and onions and parsnips.
Or a low oven, say 250 degrees. Basting occasionally with something you like.

Last method is kinda labor intensive. Start by boning the meat then grind. I use the meat grinder attachment on the kitchenaid mixer. add a couple of eggs and italian seasoning to taste and shape into 1" meatballs. You can add a little hamburger to the mix if you want but I find it unnecessary. Bake in a pyrex dish to about 160 degrees. Serve with a quality marinara and pasta.

 

[AtlasDM]

Alright, I got another one Friday morning and soaked in salt water for about six hours, then I cooked it using the "low and slow" method as I've seen some call it. The meat was very tender and similar to the dark meat on a chicken as best as I can describe it. Next time I'll use some different spices I think but over all it was pretty good. Thanks for all the help everyone.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

My grandma used to boil them and then pull the meat off the bone and shred it by hand. She'd then put the meat in a crockpot with BBQ sauce, and we'd eat it like pulled pork.