Skinning squirrel

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

Skinning squirrel , It is about that time again

my plan is to thin a few out

looking for tips or tricks to make the skinning easier

i was wondering about trying a hook blade on a razor knife so that it would cut without cutting so much fur

i don't so mush have a problem skinning them but i always seem to get a lot of fur on the meat , and it is a pain to get off


i cut the feet off first then slide the blade up the legs then cut down the middle of the belly after i pop the legs thru i can stand on the tail and pull and it pops loose fairly easily then i gut it , and wash it


tree rat , rotisserie style (said in best Shrek voice)

how do you like to cook yours

[Blammer]

This is how I do mine, but this is not me.

http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Video/?action=view&current=Mr.SQUACKS_0001.mp4

afterwards I take a flat bladed pruning snips, snip off the feet, cut off head, take a blade and quarter it so front and back are like 4 chicken wings, then cut out the back and toss the rest. I have 5 pieces of meet, prided I head shot or chest shot and missed the front running gear.
Two arms, two legs and back.

[KCSO]

Now I was taught to cut a circle around the belly and pull the skin off one each way. BUT this way looks even better and I think I will give it a try.

[clodhopper]

Probably works just as good on gophers.

[hoosierlogger]

I do mine the same as blammer. If you are worried about the loose hairs, dip the lil critter in water. it makes the hair stick together and you get less on the meat. If you clean enough you can skip the water. You will get good enough that you dont make a mess.

[Moondawg]

Which of the above menthods works best for skinning a possum? With the way the economy is going and the cost of meat, may want to start eating poss.

[WARD O]

I always bring a shoulder bag and some zip lock bags and do mine right after they hit the ground and are still warm and the skin comes off easily.

ward

[10x]

In my youth when I had a trapline I skinned and stretched several hundred squirrel a year. I would run a slit from the anus down each leg to the paw, snip the paw, and cut the tailbone leaving the tail attached to the skin. The skin would then roll off like a condom right up to the ears where the cartilage was sliced off at the bace of the ear. The whole effort took about 45 seconds. No fur on the meat. The squirrels that were grain fed were edible but the squirrels that lived in spruce and pine had a distinct odor of turpentine.
In the '60s those skinned and stretched squirrel brought 75cents to $1.75 at the fur auction.
and we only ate the ones we shot. The ones we trapped always had a gamey smell when we thawed them and skinned them.

[**oneshot**]

I put a slit across the middle of the back, hook 2 fingers from each hand inside and pull apart. You may have to finagle the legs a bit. What you should end up with is one half of an inside out squirrel in each hand with all the good stuff hanging in between. Cut off head, feet and tail. Then gut. This is best done while they are still warm.
It also works great on rabbits, just don't pull as hard.

[Marvin S]

There is a youtube video. Make a cut just below base of tail, cut front feet off, step on tail then pull on hind legs. Hide will come off like a jacket, step on hide then pull skin from hind quaters. Clip feet and head and pull through. Cut belly with game shear. Once you figure this way out you will never do it any other way.

[flounderman]

marvin about has it. You cut across under the base of the tail, cut the tailbone, but leave the skin atttached to the tail. make kind of a u shaped cut with the ends of the u angling towards the front. step on the tail and pull up on the hind legs. You can cut the front feet off first. pull until the skin has peeled to the head. there will be a vee shaped piece of skin on the belly. grab it at the point of the vee and pull it back and skin the back legs. You can hang the squirrel from this piece of skin, cut the head off leaving it in the skin, split the body cavity and gut the squirrel. then cut off the back feet and you have a clean squirrel. only hair will be where you made the cut under the tail. You should be able to dress a squirrel in less than 2 minutes with this method and have a clean carcass. this is the only good way to skin a squirrel. I have gutted the squirrel before cutting the head off, standing on the tail to hold the squirrel stretched, splitting the ribs to the pelvis and thru it. then starting from the pelvis remove the intestines working from tail to head and then cut the head off

[44man]

Keeping hair off the critters is a crazy job, never found a way.
I carry plastic bags and skin each squirrel while it is still warm. MUCH easier. I skin, then gut them. When back to the house I still have hair on them to wash off. They are made of super glue and the hair is a perfect match to stick! [smilie=l:

[41 mag fan]

I put a slit across the middle of the back, hook 2 fingers from each hand inside and pull apart. You may have to finagle the legs a bit. What you should end up with is one half of an inside out squirrel in each hand with all the good stuff hanging in between. Cut off head, feet and tail. Then gut. This is best done while they are still warm.
It also works great on rabbits, just don't pull as hard.


This works good until you get into an old sow or boar... then it becomes a little more ooomph is needed to skin them out. Very little hair is on the meat when they are young or still warm. But like me, I might be out in the woods for several hours after killing any, trying to get my limit.
Sometimes when you kill an old one it's best to carry a few ziplock bags and skin immediatley.



marvin about has it. You cut across under the base of the tail, cut the tailbone, but leave the skin atttached to the tail. make kind of a u shaped cut with the ends of the u angling towards the front. step on the tail and pull up on the hind legs. You can cut the front feet off first. pull until the skin has peeled to the head. there will be a vee shaped piece of skin on the belly. grab it at the point of the vee and pull it back and skin the back legs. You can hang the squirrel from this piece of skin, cut the head off leaving it in the skin, split the body cavity and gut the squirrel. then cut off the back feet and you have a clean squirrel. only hair will be where you made the cut under the tail. You should be able to dress a squirrel in less than 2 minutes with this method and have a clean carcass. this is the only good way to skin a squirrel. I have gutted the squirrel before cutting the head off, standing on the tail to hold the squirrel stretched, splitting the ribs to the pelvis and thru it. then starting from the pelvis remove the intestines working from tail to head and then cut the head off

Done this way for years also. About 2 minutes and I can have one completely skinned and gutted. Doing it this way i have found out it's best to have a partner to hold the legs, makes it lots faster that way.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

I'll pick any coarse hairs off, but don't really worry about those fine downy hairs you can hardly see. I boil mine until the meat falls off the bone for stew and dumplings, or boil until tender (but not falling apart) then batter/fry or bbq with sauce.

[44man]

I'll pick any coarse hairs off, but don't really worry about those fine downy hairs you can hardly see. I boil mine until the meat falls off the bone for stew and dumplings, or boil until tender (but not falling apart) then batter/fry or bbq with sauce.
Sounds good. There is just nothing better then squirrel any way you make it. I wish they weighed 10#! :grin:

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

i shot some a few years back that had been troubling an aunts feeders , they had so much fat on those hinds quarters it was 1/2 inch thick , fattest squirrels i had ever seen , but they looked the same as others after all that fat was peeled off .

[starmac]

I put a slit across the middle of the back, hook 2 fingers from each hand inside and pull apart. You may have to finagle the legs a bit. What you should end up with is one half of an inside out squirrel in each hand with all the good stuff hanging in between. Cut off head, feet and tail. Then gut. This is best done while they are still warm.
It also works great on rabbits, just don't pull as hard.

Pretty much how I always did it. When I was a kid dad showed me how to skin this way and it always worked well for me, but haven't lived in squirrel country for years now.

[shotman]

let cat do it he can do faster and you give him the head he is happy

[Marvin S]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUUR6lxnAME
You guys do it this way and you wont be sorry. It don't need to be done as soon as they are shot.

[375RUGER]

You guys do it this way and you wont be sorry. It don't need to be done as soon as they are shot.

I don't have any crocs. Is there a way to do it with regular boots?

[Marvin S]

I don't have any crocs. Is there a way to do it with regular boots?

If you need instructions using a particular footwear I probably can't help you.:razz:

[oldarkie]

thanks for the video blammer,looks like the best way i ever saw. ive used the cut across the middle method most of my life,and tryed the air compressor too,both leave alot of hair.has anyone tried a cup of vinegar in warm water toget the hair off? this works great for me for any hair removal on anygame. just submerge it and the hair floats right to the top.

[DLCTEX]

Which of the above methods works best for skinning a possum? With the way the economy is going and the cost of meat, may want to start eating poss.
To skin a possum hang in a tree with wire around each foot. Cut skin across rear from foot to foot, cutting around tail. peel skin with your fingers (peels easily) enough to grasp skin firmly with both hands. Jerk downward forcefully in a long pull. The skin will peel off the entire possum including ears, eyes, lips, and nose. When I was trapping in 1973-74 I could skin a possum in 30-40 seconds. The skin brought $1 green and I just knocked them in the head with a stick when spotlighting for coyote, fox, and bobcat.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I have skinned a few squirrel this season , except for the 2 i pulled the tail off of it worked well , one i cut to deep and the other the hide peeled right off the tail while i was standing on it and it looked like a rat

maybe that's why you wear crocks , cause work boots are to aggressive