Danged squirrel pulled a knife on me...More dead squirrels - now with BK9 content.

I make a a cut thru the skin in the middle of the back big enuf to get two fingers of each hand in,then pull each way.Then lop off the head ,feet,and tail.Then gut the critter and quarter it,wash and soak in salt water.Young ones can be fried like chicken,but the older ones are pressure cooked before frying.

I had my mom make some squirrel and dumplings once while home on leave and my sister and 8 yo niece were loving it and told her it was the best chicken an dumplings they ever had.I said it was squirrel and you woulda' thought they were told it was long pig the way they acted.
 
For anyone interested, this little critter was treated with salt and pepper and pan-fried in a cast iron skillet in bacon grease. Served with bacon and frambled eggs, it was delightful. :D


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Beckerhead #42
 
It sounds delightful - nothin better than a cast iron skillet IMO either. I blacken redfish in one all the time.
 
I've never eaten squirrel, but I read that the ones whose diet consists of pine cones are pretty much inedible; creosote or something.
 
Squirrels in Iowa are just like most other wild creatures - corn fed. Tasty as all get out. Cast iron pan fried goodness. Season just opened on the first, gonna let some leaves fall and go snipe a few with the kid. Great sport.
Will be carrying an 11 instead of the 14 tho.
 
Good on you, Gingi. Working up the tasty animals with the steel and all that.
I'd let the summer slip away with me and forgotten that it was almost "that time" of year again.
Squirrel and dumplings sounds gloriously magnificent, fitting of a cousin-dish to my favorite: Squirrel gravy over biscuits.
 
HotSteel said:
I've never eaten squirrel, but I read that the ones whose diet consists of pine cones are pretty much inedible; creosote or something.
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Wouldn't know about that but it sounds unlikely to me. Anyway these squirrels live in hardwood forests and have lots of acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts, etc. to munch on and they taste great. :)


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Beckerhead #42
 
Hey Moose where do you get a squirrel cooker ?
Moosez45 said:
With any wild game (except larger game, deer, elk, bear, etc.), I soak overnight in brine.

With squirrel, I roll it like chicken, deep fried, boiled, or roasted, it all works for me. Squirrel and Dumplin's are one of God's best gifts to man, IMO.

You need at least a dozen to make a full pot.

Or deep fry them tree rats after rolling them in flour and seasoning. Make wonderful nuggets, too.

I got accustomed to cooking them over an open campfire. You need indirect heat, for at least 30 mins, and a "squirrel cooker" or something akin to it,

squirrel.jpg


You can bushcraft you one as well, if need be.

I find tree rats are a main staple of woods food, when the grocery store is more than a quick trip down the trail.....

Moose
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Snuffed a couple more squirrels tonight and decided to process both with the BK9 start to finish. Why not?

Thought this gray squirrel was of a decent size..
20120908ac01.jpg


... until I clobbered this fox squirrel and compared...
20120908ac03.jpg


Yes, that is a walnut still in the mouth of the fox. The fox squirrel needed a coup de grace - provided by a short rap with the spine of the BK9. That was quick and efficient.

As to processing, field dressing was pretty quick and easy. The initial incision was good and easy to make - nice pointy tip on the BK9. After that, it was just a matter of choking up on the spine and making it happen. Easy. Skinning was also easier than I expected but honestly, I don't use a knife any more than I absolutely have to for that. Parting the critters out was fast and simple. Think the most difficult part was removing that gross armpit gland they all have.

All in all, cleaning small game with the BK9 was MUCH easier than I anticipated though I expect to continue doing most of that sort of thing w/ my BK11. :D


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Beckerhead #42
 
Squirrel gravy and biscuits That reminds me of my younger days staying with one of my best friends. We would shoot the squirrels and his grand ma would clean them. Never seen anyone to this day quicker than his 80 year old grand ma! Then she cooked and quartered them in a brown gravy over some homemade biscuits.
 
1066vik said:
squirrels have brains?
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O-o-oh, yeah. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWU0bfo-bSY

I hate 'em, but they're smart.
A family of 'em got into my RV over this past winter and did lots of damage. I'd packed steel wool around the access hole where the shoreline power cord comes in, and one day I saw a wad of the steel wool laying on the front dashboard, visible through the windshield. I think it was the squirrel equivalent of giving me the finger.
 
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