[45nut]

Killed 4 this morning. Wife wouldn't let me get in the woods at daylight, she wanted to sleep in. So I got in about 9 am had a blast. I really love squirrel hunting and find it a challenge and very rewarding. Still hunting to a good tree and waiting for the tree limbs to start shaking.

Mostly Fox squirrels in this particular wood. I saw 8 or 10 , shot at 6 and killed 4 with my Huglu O/U 20 ga. I find them so amusing and sometimes watch them too long until they get out of range, because once you kill them, then you got to clean them.

2 questions:

1. How do you skin yours?

2. Your favorite recipe.

 

[soundguy]

i cut feet off, nail head to board.. use sharp fillet knife or razor and skin / peel them like a catfish.

have pan fried them.. etc.

have poiled them with boulion then picked meet to add to rice..

depending on how gamey they are.. however.. addthiir meet to a stew or veg soup sees to be the best if they are gamey...

that's just me...

 

[aa1911]

I slit the hide all the way around in the middle and pull apart and over the arms/legs. I cut the arms/legs off and head/tail and then chunk the main portions apart.

I wash well, roll them in a bit of flour and then pan fry them or otherwise I just pull the meat off after a good boil and add them to soups, stew, whatever.

Or if you prefer, the crockpot is a great way to get some tender squirrel, lots of liquid and let them go for half a day or whatever.

 

[45nut]

My Dad's method was spit the skin in the middle and pull both ways. Boy that is hard for me to do alone.

I read about a method where you cut through the tail bone from underneath by the anus and step on the tail, grab the bugger by the hind legs and basically undress him. Pull the skin to the head, then get your fingers underneath the skin on the legs and pull that to the feet, then cut off heads and feet and yer done.

Only problem is, as I age, the ground gets further and further away from me! Back in high school, I made a squirrel skinner out of 10 ga hot rolled & 1/4" round stock.

I do like the nail idea, that way I can do it without having to bend over so much.

BTW, these babies are going to be boiled, de-boned and put into my "chicken" jambalaya

 

[garydude]

If you have a pressure cooker give it a go. I simmer the squirrel meat in canola or olive oil until brown, then add about an inch of water, pressure cook it for about 20 minutes, then throw in veggies (potatoes celery carrots, onion) then pressure cook again for about 15 minutes. When that's finished I add one can of cream of mushroom soup. Finished product is a fantastic vegetable/meat stew.

 

[carver]

My Dad's method was spit the skin in the middle and pull both ways. Boy that is hard for me to do alone.

I read about a method where you cut through the tail bone from underneath by the anus and step on the tail, grab the bugger by the hind legs and basically undress him. Pull the skin to the head, then get your fingers underneath the skin on the legs and pull that to the feet, then cut off heads and feet and yer done.

Only problem is, as I age, the ground gets further and further away from me!

That's the way I do it. And yeah, the ground is getting further way each year. I use the steps in front of the house. Sometimes the wife will be my holder, but on those days when the wife isn't available, and the steps are still to close to the ground, I use this method:

By the way, do you like chicken, and dumplings? If you do try the squirrel in that pot instead of the chicken! I love it!

 

[Country101]

This looks pretty handy. I'd mount it with a rope so you could hook it over a branch.

http://www.huntershelper.com/tools.shtml

 

[CHW2021]

Put the squirells on the smoker for a while, bone them out and then put em in your gumbo, I hate dealing with the bones.
I do this with duck/andouille gumbo and the extra flavor from smoking sets it off. Use a dark roux.

 

[gun runner]

What does squirrel taste like?

 

[Country101]

squirrel........


It's a darker meat. Pretty tasty the few times I've had it. I cant hardly get my wife to cook it. If she would, I would eat more of it.

 

[45nut]

lookie here

If I do this very often I'll get this!!

or this here

 

[carver]

lookie here

If I do this very often I'll get this!!

Yeah, these things are neat! But this one will cost you $30 plus S&H. The one I posted is free, and it does the same thing! However, I would not mind having one that doesn't move around so much. Got to work on that!

 

[Roadkil]

I clean them by cutting at the base of the tail and skining up the back a bit then I place the tail under my foot and continue up and pull the front legs out. Then I skin the back legs off.

One of my favorite and easy squirrel recipes:

http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/showthread.php?t=80967\

 

[carver]

I like my squirrel, and dumplings! Fried is good to! I have ate them roasted over an open fire, but the dumplings is the way to go for me!