"Sensitive" question about skinning squirrels

First of all, skin them first. The skin comes off easier when they're still warm and you'll have MUCH less hair to rinse off your meat when you get them home.

Secondly, everything is pretty small and unobtrusive. Make a small cut just below the ribs and open the cavity from there. Reach up inside, pulling everything out. Work your way down, cutting away everything that isn't meat. Notice "cut away", not simply hacking it up. Breaking open all sorts of internal organs can make meat taste "off". Size of the animal doesn't matter, breaking open a bladder, stomach, etc, gets "goo" all over your meat.

As for cooking, I like to remove the meat from the bone and slow cook them with veggies in stew.

https://youtu.be/sMEq9gNn_Zw

A detailed video

Once you get the hang of cleaning them (provided you can get enough for some good meals), you can enjoy some of the best tasting game there is. That video is great. Now I am hungry for some squirrel.

The way I've done it is you make an incision behind the neck, then start ripping and peeling the skin off the meat. I would suggest finding the best section to cut first LOL, my grandpa told me how and I was just winging it.

Anyway the most important lesson of the whole experience to me, what the importance of not getting the fur on the meat. Once the fur hairs stick to the meat, there is no way to get it off, it will be on there forever LOL.

I like to boil them in water for 1/2 hr or an hr before frying them up. I do it because my grandma told me that's how she always made them tender.

Don't throw away the carcass around the ribs, neck, back etc. After you fry the legs, fry the remaining carcass too as it has a lot of meat left on it. I would say even more meat than what's on just the legs.

I made the mistake once of using 7 squirrels including the ribs in a pot of Brunswick stew. Little stinkin' "toothpicks" sticking you with every mouthful.

Throw the rib cage away. There's almost no meat on it anyway.

Start by holding back feet in one hand & step on a couple inches of the tail cut through skin at base of tail between Tait & legs. Press hard on tail with foot & pull up on back feet until skin is at his nose. Pick up squirrel hold around waist pull skin off of back feet. Start removing inards as explained in earlier post until you get to male part . wit squirrel in one hand back feet sticking out top of hand Nellie up cut m p loose from top of pelvis none then insert blade under pelvis bone right in center ,pull up on blade splitting bone making removing rest of inards in one piece . It gets easier wit practice you should be able to clean 1 per minute

MM,

Skinning is the challenging part. I skin mine like Grumpy does, but I invented skinning board. I attached two strong clips toward the top and a few inches apart to a piece if 5/8" plywood 18"x18" (approx). I lean it against a tree then sit on my stool (I'm old) to do my cutting. I clip the hind feet into the clips with the tail out and do the cutting. Not only does this help me avoid having to squat, but it holds the critter in place while I cut. Also, I use pliers to grip the skin on the lower legs...you may have noticed that Grumpy had a bit of difficulty getting a grip on the skin. I don't have a strong grip so pliers really help. I also use a pair of pruning shears to cut off the legs and head. Gutting? OK, here's the deal. Don't be overly concerned about perforating this or that organ. Sure, you try not to cut more than the belly skin, just like skinning deer, but if you do just wash it good. When you cut the squirrel in pieces you'll wash them again then soak them in salt water overnight in the fridge, then rinse again before cooking. I gut the squirrel by holding him in my left hand and cutting the cavity open with my right. He never touches the ground. If you don't get all the parts off, like his genitals, you can trim that off later in the sink at home when you are dissecting. I take a cooler with me and a gallon of water. After field dressing and gutting the squirrel, I rise them off some then put them in the cooler a cover with the remaining water. My squirrels are always very clean and you get better with practice. And they are delicious!

I've found that the rib meat on squirrel is like the rib meat on wild rabbit......strong tasting and influences the taste of ll the other meat cooking in the same pot. I always remove the ribs meat, generally cutting off the legs and pulling the back straps. Squirrels also have some relatively large glands under their frond legs(think human armpit) that should be removed first if you are going to cook the squirrel whole. I also prefer to skin my squirrels as soon as possible after shooting them as they skin much easier warm and freshly killed as they do after the cool off and stiffen up. In the late fall or winter I will skin and dress them immediately after the kill and cool them down in the snow. These are always the best eating.


As for the sexual organs on any animal, they are just another part that needs to be removed. Nuttin' to be sensitive about.

Backstraps and back legs.
Allows bullet in front shoulders if head isn't visible.

Actually, prefer my squirrels shot in shoulders.
Rather dislike critters with blown up heads.

Tolerate it only on groundhogs, and usually try to avoid doing it (but as a pest you take the shot you're given).

Game critters I try to keep photogenic, even if there's no camera around.
For me, I think it more respectful.

Others can blast the brains out of their game, that is their choice (no condemnation from me, unless they take pics and think that's cool beyond forensics).

Skinned while warm, pass over stove burner quickly to remove stray hairs, cook like chicken wings or de-bone, marinade, then grill. Great tasting game!