Reconsidering my position on squirrels...
For those of you who've known me a while, you know I absolutely do not like the Eastern Gray Squirrel one bit. They scatter pecan shells all over my back yard and throw them at me when I'm outside. They eat my tomatoes! Death to the squirrels!!
Well I may have to reconsider my positions on squirrels. You see, squirrels are delicious.
Don't look behind the cut if you're squeamish! Graphic photographs of a squirrel being made into food.
I shot this squirrel using a .22 caliber air rifle. It was a head shot, very clean kill. I would imagine she died almost immediately, considering the type of ammunition I used. (Hunting ammunition designed to expand on impact.)
The problem with the squirrel is the stickiness of the meat. Squirrel fur adheres to it immediately and is nearly impossible to remove. To avoid getting too much fur on the meat, I'm utilizing the 'sock' method of skinning. Step one, cut the tail off at the base, and cut a flap in the skin behind the tail, leaving the tail attached.. to the flap. Does this make sense? No? There are dozens of videos on the Youtube explaining the process.
Step on the tail and pull up on the hind legs...
The skin should peel off like a sock. Notice how I'm already getting hair on it.
I apparently did something wrong with the initial skinning procedure. There wasn't enough skin left on her belly to pull on so I had to get in with the knife and remove it the hard way. Look at all the hair.
One foot, two foot...
Hair all over everything. Seriously, can you tell I've never done this before?
And we make the initial incision...
...being very careful to puncture nothing!
Here you can see the heart and the lungs, which are a brilliant pink! Beneath that are the remnants of the peritoneum, the liver and the intestines. Some of these parts are apparently edible, but this is culinary journey I am not ready to take.
So everything goes in the trash!
And here we have a cleaned squirrel. The red spot near the top is the point where the squirrel's back broke. This may be due to the squirrel's fall and impact on a corrugated steel roof after being shot. At this point she's pretty much meat.
Most squirrel recipes call for poaching the little tree rats for an hour or so. I decided to make squirrel gravy, so this seemed like a good first step. I've added onions, garlic, fresh parsley, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns to the poaching liquid.
One hour later, it's a pretty sad looking squirrel!
Yes, it sort of tastes like dark chicken meat, but it has more connective tissue. That gives it an unctuous quality that would make it an excellent addition to a stew. I believe that squirrel is quite possibly the best choice for a dumpling stew, superior to chicken as it retains its moisture after a long cooking time, and it makes a flavorful broth that is richer and more complex than one made with a bland corn fed broiler.
To make the gravy, I made a roux of (ahem!) bacon fat and flour, browned it and added the poaching liquid. I let that reduce by half, then added the meat and a handful of green onions.
Do you think after going through all of that work I'd make biscuits from a can? Hell no! I made a salad of fresh tomatoes and olive oil to go with it. The acidity of the tomatoes really helps cut through the richness of the squirrel.
If anyone is going to freak out at me over this I'll be happy to defend this act in the comments section.
Well I may have to reconsider my positions on squirrels. You see, squirrels are delicious.
Don't look behind the cut if you're squeamish! Graphic photographs of a squirrel being made into food.
I shot this squirrel using a .22 caliber air rifle. It was a head shot, very clean kill. I would imagine she died almost immediately, considering the type of ammunition I used. (Hunting ammunition designed to expand on impact.)
The problem with the squirrel is the stickiness of the meat. Squirrel fur adheres to it immediately and is nearly impossible to remove. To avoid getting too much fur on the meat, I'm utilizing the 'sock' method of skinning. Step one, cut the tail off at the base, and cut a flap in the skin behind the tail, leaving the tail attached.. to the flap. Does this make sense? No? There are dozens of videos on the Youtube explaining the process.
Step on the tail and pull up on the hind legs...
The skin should peel off like a sock. Notice how I'm already getting hair on it.
I apparently did something wrong with the initial skinning procedure. There wasn't enough skin left on her belly to pull on so I had to get in with the knife and remove it the hard way. Look at all the hair.
One foot, two foot...
Hair all over everything. Seriously, can you tell I've never done this before?
And we make the initial incision...
...being very careful to puncture nothing!
Here you can see the heart and the lungs, which are a brilliant pink! Beneath that are the remnants of the peritoneum, the liver and the intestines. Some of these parts are apparently edible, but this is culinary journey I am not ready to take.
So everything goes in the trash!
And here we have a cleaned squirrel. The red spot near the top is the point where the squirrel's back broke. This may be due to the squirrel's fall and impact on a corrugated steel roof after being shot. At this point she's pretty much meat.
Most squirrel recipes call for poaching the little tree rats for an hour or so. I decided to make squirrel gravy, so this seemed like a good first step. I've added onions, garlic, fresh parsley, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns to the poaching liquid.
One hour later, it's a pretty sad looking squirrel!
Yes, it sort of tastes like dark chicken meat, but it has more connective tissue. That gives it an unctuous quality that would make it an excellent addition to a stew. I believe that squirrel is quite possibly the best choice for a dumpling stew, superior to chicken as it retains its moisture after a long cooking time, and it makes a flavorful broth that is richer and more complex than one made with a bland corn fed broiler.
To make the gravy, I made a roux of (ahem!) bacon fat and flour, browned it and added the poaching liquid. I let that reduce by half, then added the meat and a handful of green onions.
Do you think after going through all of that work I'd make biscuits from a can? Hell no! I made a salad of fresh tomatoes and olive oil to go with it. The acidity of the tomatoes really helps cut through the richness of the squirrel.
If anyone is going to freak out at me over this I'll be happy to defend this act in the comments section.