SQUIRRELS

Animals I used to see only in the wild--and then, only rarely--seem to be adapting quite well to city life. The other night while driving home, I saw no less than three red foxes crossing Riverside Drive, less than two miles from downtown Tulsa. And raccoons have been garbage cans around town for years.

But few critters have adapted themselves to cities as well as the gray squirrel. If you have a bird feeder in your backyard, I'd be willing to bet that squirrels are raiding it daily. And if you have an apple or nut tree in your backyard, chances are squirrels are grabbing more of the fruit than you are.

With all this meat and protein wandering around creating havoc, you would think more folks would be harvesting the little critters. But few people I talk to have ever eaten a squirrel, and those that have were less than impressed.

There's a couple reasons for this. For one thing, the age of a squrrel has a huge bearing on how you should cook it. And, for another, squrrels are surprisingly tough to skin and dress properly, particularly the old ones.

Aging Squirrels

Older squirrels can be tougher than shoe leather of not cooked properly, while young ones can be prepared in a number of ways. Small squirrels that skin easily are young.

The scrotum on older males tend to be large, blackened, and wrinkled, and have little hair. Scrotums of younger males are usually covered with hair, and are smaller and smooth.

Nipples on older females are larger and dark, while those of younger females are smaller and lighter in color.

Skinning Squirrels

If you want to tan the pelt, squirrels can be case skinned. This takes more time, and can be pretty hard with an older squirrel. Here is the method I normally use:

1. Make about a two-inch cut across the back, and about halfway between

the head and the tail.

2. Insert the fingers of each hand under the skin, and pull in opposite directions. this isn't easy to do; it takes quite a bit of effort.

3. Cut off the feet, head, and tail as the skin reaches those areas.

4. To dress them out, slit the belly skin starting at the vent up to the rib cage. be careful not to puncture the entrails.

5. Cut through the chest wall through the ribs, and through the pelvic girdle that lies over the rectal area. The entrails, anus, and genitals can now be pulled downward the vent.

Cleaning and Cutting Up Squirrels

No matter how you skin a squirrel, you'll end up with some hair on the meat. Washing the carcass in cold running water immediately after skinning will help some, but You will likely still have to pick off some hair.

Trim away any shot-damaged meat. Soaking the squirrel overnight in a salt water or vinegar-and-water solution will improve its flavor, especially for older squirrels.

Squirrels and rabbits are normally quartered. Pressing or twisting down on the rear legs dislocates the hip joint. The real legs are then cut away.

The front shoulders are removed by cutting down between the shoulder girdle and rib cage. If it's a young squirrel, these pieces can be used for frying.

That leaves the back, rib cage, and neck. The larger meat on the back can be boned out and used for frying, if young. Or you can cut away the back, rib cage, and neck, dice it, and use it for soup stock or stews.

For older critters, the entire carcass is used for stews, but you should still quarter it as above.

You can also boil the whole carcass for a couple hours until done, then remove the meat from the bones. The meat can them be ground to make sandwiches, or diced and used in casseroles.

Next, I'll have a few recipes.

Onward and upward,
airforce