Easy recipe for tough squirrels???

Kaianuanu

New member
Me and 2 of my friends have been nailing squirrels in our suburban backyards for a few days and now i have 5 cleaned up in the fridge, but i should be able to get about 3 or more before i cook them. The first time i tried it was monday, i basically just browned 1 chopped up squirrel, then stewed it in some chicken noodle soup. It tasted great but came out tough and really chewy. My friends are not hunters so i dont want to give them a bad experience in eating wild game I also would rather chop it up as i think seeing an intact squirrel carcass on their plate may put them off. So, i need help finding a recipe that will tenderize the tough meat i have, will suppress any gameyness, and is really easy(for me) to cook. My mom will cook anything i shoot but rodents.

PS: maybe some garlic recipes???
 
Try to boil them first in salt water or pressure cook them. That usually softens them up. I've never personally tried it, but I've read many times that enzymes in milk or buttermilk will break down a tough steak and tame any strong flavors. Squirrel shouldn't be much different. Maybe marinate them in milk for 4-6 hours.
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOREYTry to boil them first in salt water or pressure cook them.

Yep, cook them with some onion and/or celery in the pot until they are falling off the bone. Then separate the meat, throw away the bones, and look up your favorite chicken pot pie or chicken casserole recipe. Substitute the squirrel meat for the cooked chicken, and follow the remainder of the recipe.
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Originally Posted By: fw707Originally Posted By: ARCOREYTry to boil them first in salt water or pressure cook them.

Yep, cook them with some onion and/or celery in the pot until they are falling off the bone. Then separate the meat, throw away the bones, and look up your favorite chicken pot pie or chicken casserole recipe. Substitute the squirrel meat for the cooked chicken, and follow the remainder of the recipe.
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Yep.

Also,if you are busy like most. Instead put them in a crockpot with the above stuff and walk away for half a day of so.
 
If you guys have never owned one, you owe it to yourself to get a small pressure cooker. They take a little learning, but they can tenderize the toughest meat. I can cook a chuck roast in 45 minutes of pressure and can mash it with a fork. Just sear the meat in the pot, cover it with liquid, and bring up to pressure for the desired time. I make potroast in it and put raw potatoes, carrots, and onion in it and they are soft in 8 minutes under pressure. I bet squirrels would fall off the bone within 20-30 minutes. I'm going to try some ribs in it soon and see how they turn out.
 
Thanks for the help guys, I read what you said about boiling it so i figured i'd just do a recipe where i'd be cooking it in some water, so i did a basic squirrel stew recipe and it turned out amazing! Its not falling off the bone, but its about as tender as you'd expect stewed chicken to be, not tough or chewy at all. Nor does it have any gaminess to it. FYI: in this recipe you dont brown the meat at all. Its much more flavorful than any chicken stew i've ever had though. I did the recipe in the link below, i didnt use any bay leaf like it says, but i used about double the seasonings it recommends. I also let the meat soak in garlic-salt water for about a half hour before, then, before i poured the stock/sauce on the strained meat and vegetables, i sprinkled garlic salt over it. Not bad for a 16 year old kid with very little cooking experience, huh?


http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1926,158174-254197,00.html
 
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Originally Posted By: ARCOREYTry to boil them first in salt water or pressure cook them.

This is always what my mom did and they were always tender.
 
put them in the crock pot until they fall off the bone then you can put in with dumplings or make patties with the meat a little egg and flour fry em in bacon grease its just like mothers milk that was the way grandpa liked em
 
I cooked up a mess of fox squirrels last nite.I presoak in cider vinegar water.Hard boil for bout a hour.Wife did the roll around in egg thing.Breaded em and fried em up.All tender and tastey.Finish the rest off for dinner tomorrow.Nothing like fried squirrel if done correctly.Field care,and I use a small vegatable brush to clean most all the hair off.If you use the front shoulder there is a gland under the arm pit.Pull that off.As well as you will see 3 little hairs growing out toward the arm joint.Take your fingers and pinch them off at that round bump.Just some little things no one either knows about or just cooks em with em on.But they are glands you don't want.Enjoy!
 
Immerse them completely in water and get them completely wet before skinning, then skin them the "easy way", and you'll never need to worry about hair on them again.
 
I cook them like ribs. Soaked in salt water to get rid of the blood. Season them like you would a good spare rib, Slow cooked (baked) in water seasoning onion and celery, covered with foil. Once the are tender, pour off the water add your favorite BBQ sauce cook them for a few minutes longer to get a good soak on the BBQ sauce. If you quarter them they are alot less offensive in appearence to non game eating folks.
 
The best way to cook them for someone the first time is to make stew. Do just as GC said while skinning. Boil them in salt water (I like to use at least 4 tree rats, but 6 is better) for about a hour, then de-bone the meat and put it in a crock pot with veggies of your choice. I use potato's (cut cottage style), corn, baby carrots, minced onion, and a package of brown gravy mix and let it stew all day. I can guarntee you if you don't tell them, they won't know its not beef stew...
 
We'd be lost without the pressure cookers around here. We've even canned deer and beef roast w/broth in qt. size jars. Got company, grab 2 jars. If we've been hunting, etc. and come home or go to the camp and it's supper time, just pop open a jar, brown up a bit of oil, flour & a little brown gravy mix in a skillet & then dump in the jar of deer or beef chunks w/broth, mix & heat till gravy thickens up,& it's done! Fry up some 'pan fries' or 'onion-smothered' potatoes, add some hot rolls and we're eating high on the hog in just a few minutes! The "side" choices are endless too. Don't want fried potatoes? Rice, creamed, boiled, stewed, scalloped,or baked potatoes(8 min. in the microwave), a salad, peas, beans, corn, steamed okra or asparagas, pop it in the microwave, it's all good and quick. NOTHING takes the place of a pressure cooker and they come in all sizes. It's the best thing since sliced bread! Get ya some and you'll be a happy camper!----Ben Jimmy
 
+1 for pressure cooker.
I use cheap red.wine with 12 mintes of pressure cooking. Then you can use any recipe after trender. Try quick fry and simmer in hot wing sauce.

Pressure cooker is about $20 at wally world
 
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