pan fry squirrel or shoe leather?

[Blammer]

I like to squirrel hunt and like to eat them too.

Unfortunately my culinary skills when it comes to pan frying the treetop whitetails is poor.

I hear a lot about pan frying them but don't know the method or recipe that doesn't end up rivaling shoe leather for texture.

Can anyone give me specifics on how to?

How much oil? Seasoning? Temperature? Time? etc..

thanks

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I've never had luck pan frying them either.

I grill them on a pretty hot grill, searing them mostly...then to the crockpot they go.

I've thought about using a pressure cooker, but never followed through.


edited: I moved this thread to the cookin' recipes area

[Traffer]

You can experiment a little. We used to brown them and then just slow cook them in a little water. Otherwise they are very tough little buggers. One of my favorites is a squirrel stew. I had a friend back when who's mother was from Poland and could really cook.
In our early 20's being lazy guys we would take her the squirrels. She would skin, butcher them, make stew and freeze it in plastic bags. Wow was that good. I like to add home made dumplings to squirrel stew. I don't have a recipe, since I haven't had any to eat in quite a while. I would just google generic stew recipes and substitute squirrel for the other meat. And remember it takes longer to cook. Enjoy. Let us know about your progress in it. I think that squirrel is one of the best eating critters ever. The only problem is that they are little and thus labor intensive.

[MyFlatline]

Lightly dredge in flour and spices, Fry to golden brown, put in pressure cooker for 10 minutes , absolutely tender..

I quarter them also before frying.

[Jniedbalski]

I tried backing them and rabbit and they where always very tough. My wife's grandmother made me rabbit and squirrel fried like chicken. The best I ever had . She used a cast iron skillet filled 1/4 to almost half way full of oil or shorting. Let it get hot. my wife always checks the temp by putting a little water on her finger and flicking it over the skillet. If it pops loudly it's hot if it only makes a little noise it's not hot enuf. Take a few eggs add a little milk and add salt pepper garlic powder onion powder or what ever spices you want . Dip your meat in the egg mixture then dip in flour. You can use a regular skillet if you don't have a cast iron. Then just fry untill golden brown. You can add the spices to the flour instead of the milk egg mixture if you like the breeding a little spicey both ways work.

[Hannibal]

I tried backing them and rabbit and they where always very tough. My wife's grandmother made me rabbit and squirrel fried like chicken. The best I ever had . She used a cast iron skillet filled 1/4 to almost half way full of oil or shorting. Let it get hot. my wife always checks the temp by putting a little water on her finger and flicking it over the skillet. If it pops loudly it's hot if it only makes a little noise it's not hot enuf. Take a few eggs add a little milk and add salt pepper garlic powder onion powder or what ever spices you want . Dip your meat in the egg mixture then dip in flour. You can use a regular skillet if you don't have a cast iron. Then just fry untill golden brown. You can add the spices to the flour instead of the milk egg mixture if you like the breeding a little spicey both ways work.

Your wife's grandmother and mine must have learned from the same teacher. My grandmother treated them the same way. The only advice I would add is experiment to figure out how to cook them just 'done' and not over-cooked and make sure if you are going to fry squirrel to only use young ones. If it's a big 'ol red squirrel with a gnad sack the size of an unhulled black walnut, best save him for the crock pot. Otherwise, you'll be chewin' until your jaws are sore.

[MyFlatline]

Another way is to stuff the chest cavity with sausage, wrap in bacon and bake at low temp. for a couple hours.

[MT Gianni]

I have never seen a squirrel big enough to eat. I have baked rabbit brushed with vegetable oil and Italian spices. I might give that a try.

[MaryB]

Marinate first, use something with some acid(wine, vinegar, beer...), flour, pan fry in 1/2 inch of oil until the thickest part reaches 165 f for temp. It will not be as tender as chicken but good eats! Drain off most of the fat and make a pan gravy and mother it!

[WebMonkey]

brine in 50/50 salt sugar for a day or two if you just want to pan fry.
helps the drying out/toughening.

[Hannibal]

I have never seen a squirrel big enough to eat. I have baked rabbit brushed with vegetable oil and Italian spices. I might give that a try.

It's akin to the quail situation. Better have a dozen or more, else they aren't worth the time and trouble, IMHO. I only eat the back from the ribs to the rear legs and the rear legs. The dog gets the front half raw. He seems to like the arrangement.

[10-x]

Always cut them up, par boiled for a few minutes, then fried like chicken. Ok.

[Traffer]

These are Central Wisconsin Squirrels. Plenty of meat on em.
211244


I have never seen a squirrel big enough to eat. I have baked rabbit brushed with vegetable oil and Italian spices. I might give that a try.

[Edward]

I throw them in a microwave pressure cooker and the cook them fried/breaded/baked even (hotwings) tender better than chicken ,just kill lots they go fast :bigsmyl2:

[GEOMETRIC]

My aunt aunt use to parboil them first. She wouldn't let you bring a rabbit in the house but she loved squirrel because her husband liked squirrel.(my aunt was sort of eccentric) She ate them, head & all. You can't feed a family of 4 with one squirrel but they are as big as most game birds, bigger than many. The way my family cooked them & the way I cook them is to first cut them up & soak them in salt water a couple hours, then fry them in batter like fried chicken until brown. You can eat the young tender ones at this point if you like. Then in another large cast iron skillet, saute onions, bell peppers, mushrooms & whatever else you like. Make gravy in the pain with the squirrels, lots of gravy, then add the veggies, cover & cook on low heat until tender. That usually takes a couple hours. Serve over grits or rice. Rabbits & marsh hens (clapper rails) are good the same way.

[Hannibal]

My aunt aunt use to parboil them first. She wouldn't let you bring a rabbit in the house but she loved squirrel because her husband liked squirrel.(my aunt was sort of eccentric) She ate them, head & all. You can't feed a family of 4 with one squirrel but they are as big as most game birds, bigger than many. The way my family cooked them & the way I cook them is to first cut them up & soak them in salt water a couple hours, then fry them in batter like fried chicken until brown. You can eat the young tender ones at this point if you like. Then in another large cast iron skillet, saute onions, bell peppers, mushrooms & whatever else you like. Make gravy in the pain with the squirrels, lots of gravy, then cover & cook until tender. That usually takes a couple hours. Serve over grits or rice. Rabbits & marsh hens (clapper rails) are good the same way.

I knew a man who would skin-out the head of squirrels and once cooked in a pressure cooker, he'd eat the brains and eye balls. :shock:

I'll stick to the back and back legs.

[brewer12345]

I usually braise them, stew them or make squirrel pot pie. The last goes quick in my house.

[ascast]

Braze what you can. Slow cook in a bit of water and cover to keep moisture in, pot cover or foil. Bacon wrap is OK too.

[GhostHawk]

Mama was born in New Orleans, raised in west texas. I grew up eating squirrels. Grandpa was pretty good at it. He taught me a few things, momma too.

Don't pan fry that tree rat, slow and wet is the secret.

Momma would make Roux, tomatoes gravy, oyt 2 cut up squirrels down in that stuff and let it simmer from 9 am till supper time. Served with either rice or mashed taters, your choice of veg it is a meal fit for a king. Flavor, texture, gravy, it has it all. It is one of my favorites, but I have not had any in 20 years. I hung up my guns and get by with store bought chicken.

Slow and wet keeps it from cooking too fast which turns it into shoe leather.
Keeps it from drying out. Heat slowly breaks down the long muscle fibers until you get to where you pick up a leg bone and half the meat falls off back into the pot. Where at our house it was perfectly acceptable to take the spoon and fish it back out.

The only thing better than squirrel cooked that way is to mix it up, add rabbit, venison, grouse, duck, whatever is available.

But it has to have at least 1 squirrel in it.

[GhostHawk]

Hannibal my sister brought a friend home for supper one night, Squirrel was on the menu. She did fine till she saw mom go look for and find a head, and start sucking bits out of it. At which point she kind of lost it.

Did not help when dad pointed out that it was out of her woods that I found those particular squirrels. She did admit though that the flavor was awesome.

[starmac]

I haven't lived where I could get a mess of squirrel for YEARS.
That said, I do not know the whole process, but my wife fried them in batter ans smothered them in gravy, viddles just don't get any better.
I used to hunt in deep East Texas and Louisiana and some of them guys would almost fight you if you cut the heads off, they liked the brains and cheek meat, me I never liked something looking at me while I was cooking it.
Squirrel and dumplins was some good eatin too.

[Beagle333]

Pressure cook for a few minutes and then roll in some flour and pan fry. It's good eatin! But yes, better if prepped a few minutes in the pressure cooker.

[Moleman-]

Last place we used to live had a BBQ place that would sell a gallon of their sauce for $20. We'd slather them up that that and let them sit overnite, then slowly cook them on the charcoal grill adding more sauce. That or my wifes uncle pressure cooks or boils them, then takes the meat off and then breads and fries them. His fried squirrel is the best I've had. Reminds me I need to thin out the tree rats where we deer hunt.

[Hannibal]

You cook any piece of meat too **** long it's gonna be like chewin' on an old boot.

[Traffer]

I haven't lived where I could get a mess of squirrel for YEARS.
That said, I do not know the whole process, but my wife fried them in batter ans smothered them in gravy, viddles just don't get any better.
I used to hunt in deep East Texas and Louisiana and some of them guys would almost fight you if you cut the heads off, they liked the brains and cheek meat, me I never liked something looking at me while I was cooking it.
Squirrel and dumplins was some good eatin too.
Yup, I lived in a foster home when I was a kid and with some eastern European immigrants (old folks). They made fish soup. I liked it until the eyes of the fish floated up in my bowl. Nope...no more fish soup for me.
However, I really believe that when cooked right it is hard to beat squirrel meat.

[GEOMETRIC]

My aunt didn't eat the eyes but she did eat the brains & make a little doll out of the head. When I was a teen, there was a black guy that lived across the marsh. We called him old Sam but he was only 35 when he died. He wasn't big but he was incredibly strong. He could pick the front end of Pops F-150 pickup clear off the ground. He lived in the creek catching shrimp & fish in a cast net. He would boil salt water catfish & whatever else he could catch in a pot in his fireplace until the meat would fall off the bones. He gutted them but left shin, head & eyes on the fish. He then pored rice in the pot & ate everything, bones & all, when the rice was done.

[Duster340]

So glad I saw this thread. Use to hunt and eat lots of squirrel many years ago... Then, work and life limited my access to the woods other than deer and turkey season. Saw a ton a squirrels while sitting in my deer stands last week. This thread got me hungry again, not just for squirrel meat, but also hunting them! Gonna dust off my old 22 now. :)

[MaryB]

Got a half dozen big fox squirrels this fall, not many hunt them anymore around here so the population has recovered. Fat corn fed squirrel was pretty dang tender!

[skeettx]

Cast iron skillet,
fill with water
Bring to a boil
Put the quartered squirrels in
Place on a vented cover
Boil the water off
and add butter to skillet
and brown the critters
Let us know how this turns out for you
Mike

[paraord]

Mrs. Paraord makes takes the quarters and any other meat chunks off the carcass, dips them in egg, then flour, then fry up in a cast iron pan with oh a half inch of oil or so in it? Ill pay more attention to the process next time instead of the end result! Hopefully I can get home soon enough tonight to get out and do a little small game hunting in the next few days.

[w5pv]

You've got it Mary,there are some folks that just don't know.We have a few fox squirrels but mostly cat or grey squirrels.Either are tasty table fare when cooked correctly.

[gbrown]

As a kid, long,long time ago, we would get hens and roosters that could be pretty tough. About the same as squirrels and rabbits. My mom and dad had lived in Lake Charles, La. before WWII, and my mom had learned some French dishes over there. One was Fricassee. You can do it with any tough meat. Fry up the meat pieces, set aside and make a good, dark roux and add mirepoix (Cajun Trinity of equal amounts of onion, bell peppers and celery). You can saute the mirepoix if you like. Use whatever spices you like. I use garlic, rosemary and thyme.
Add the fried meat and push to the rear of the stove over a low fire, just enough to simmer it. Let it cook for a couple of hours, and it is a fall off the bone meal. You can serve it over mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice, if you like or eat it without the starches. Also, you can take a big rabbit or a couple of squirrels (3 if small) and dredge in flour, salt & pepper, fry them and then put it all in a pressure cooker--meat and drippings. Add a can of chopped tomatoes, about 1-1/2 cups mirepoix, couple of tsp of garlic powder or some fresh garlic, tsp of rosemary and tsp of thyme, and a tomato can and a half of water. Pressure cook at 15 lb for 20-30 minutes, and again, a fall off the bone meal.

[Leslie Sapp]

Sort your squirrels - smallest will be young tender ones. Quarter them. Salt, pepper, dredge in flour. Fry all ( tender and tough ones)as you would chicken, until it's golden brown.
Eat the tender pieces immediately, before anyone else can scarf them up. Throw the tough pieces into a pressure cooker, barely cover them with water and pressure cook them for 20 minutes. They'll come out tender enough to slurp the meat off the bones.

Daughter is home on leave, we just finished cleaning several she shot this afternoon. Looks like most of these are going to be "stewing squirrels":mrgreen:

[Driver33]

I usually quarter an pressure cook my limb chickens an when done I debone it an freeze it. Then when I want limb chicken an gravey I will set a bag out the night before to thaw then in the morning will roll the pieces in flour an salt and pepper an pan fry till golden brown

[Soundguy]

Pressure cooker with rice.

[Walkingwolf]

Growing up we always browned them then threw them in pasta sauce for a couple hours. Meat is tender, and falling off the bone.

[40-82 hiker]

As mentioned already, parboil and then fry (but don't fry too long).

Or, better yet, make squirrel and dumplings! My absolute favorite way to eat squirrels when I lived back east.

[Pigboat]

My Dad used to soak them overnight in a salt water brine, rinse them good and pan fry. As said before, over cooking is sure to turn them into tough pieces of leather.

We used to have them when Mom wasn't home because, bless her heart, she was of the opinion that everything had to be cooked until there was no juices left to run out.

[EMC45]

I like squirrel. I have baked it (not a big fan), crock potted it (Good eating) and BBQed it up with sauce on the grill. Just like a chicken BBQ. I want to get out there now and get a bunch and do up some Brunswick stew.

[RGrosz]

When I was young along the Little Sioux River, I used to hunt them all the time. Still did till I got caught up in trying to make my 1st wife happy. Mom always cooked them for us till I was married. Then I started fixing them. I'd just cut them in 5 pieces and fry them in a good hot cast iron skillet with some oil for a while. Then reduce the heat and fry them a while longer slow with some water in the pan. Oh I forgot to tell you I'd roll them in flour. When they were almost done, I'd make some flour gravy. Since my first wife left me, and I met my final wife, she isn't so keen on eating them, and we moved to where they don't run near as numerous. Miss the Hunting of them and sometimes wish we had more around so I would fry me up another batch.
Rob