squirrel meat

[greybeard]

I never hunted for squirrels in Sept., I always waited until at least Oct., and sometimes Nov. so the weather was cooler.

In this heat, how do you keep the meat from spoiling.

When I used to Sept. goose hunt I had a set up where I could get them into a cooler quickly...

Since I hunted squirrels in cooler weather I gutted them immediately and most times skinned them when I was leaving and put them into a cooler, but in Sept. I wouldn't want to wait long to get the meat on ice... .( For many years I have carried coolers in the car for all game so it would be kept cool for the ride home..... I breast most birds)

[Suilleabhain]

Insulated soft picnic bag, they make some small ones, with an ice pack.

[Skillet]

I take a soft sided lunch cooler with a frozen water bottle. I gut them, rinse them with cool water from a thermos, pat them dry, and throw them in the cooler. The cooler fits 4 gutted squirrels, and fits nice in my backpack.

[greybeard]

I was discussing eating squirrels with a non hunter and was asked ..... Are suburban squirrels safe to eat since most lawns are treated with fertilizers as well as insecticides.

I never ate a backyard squirrel, so I guess that I never gave it too much thought.

I know that it's a strange question, but wondered if anyone had an idea if the lawn chemicals would taint the meat. The squirrels around here are always digging into peoples lawn and eating whatever....

[jusputtn]

In this heat, how do you keep the meat from spoiling.

Build a fire, have them for lunch. Can't enjoy them any fresher than that.

[Jennifer]

I don't worry about putting them on ice or immediately dressing them even when there is warm weather. They'd need to be warm for quite some time to spoil. That said, do what you are personally comfortable with. The most important thing is safe food handling when preparing them to eat.

I was discussing eating squirrels with a non hunter and was asked ..... Are suburban squirrels safe to eat since most lawns are treated with fertilizers as well as insecticides.

I never ate a backyard squirrel, so I guess that I never gave it too much thought.

I know that it's a strange question, but wondered if anyone had an idea if the lawn chemicals would taint the meat. The squirrels around here are always digging into peoples lawn and eating whatever....

There are all sorts of levels of 'safe'. This is a personal decision. In terms of toxic residues within the squirrel's body-- yeah! I bet there are some. If they are worse than commercially farmed produce or meats I cannot say, but you probably ingest a lot more chemical reside on commercial vegetation (and processed vegetation such as wheat, soy, corn, etc) than you'd get from eating a city squirrel or two.

Now then, the taste of the meat can really differ! I have eaten city/town dwelling squirrel before, and the diet of the squirrel seems to make a big difference in the meat. I'll take a woods-squirrel any day for flavor.

[Elmo]

While I still won't eat city squirrel, I would imagine they aren't that much different from wood squirrels. If you really stop to watch a city squirrel carefully, they're not really feeding out of trash bins. They're still munching on acorns. Only the occasional peanut handouts are different. You see squirrels in city parks but never in an alley behind restaurants waiting for the trash.

[Paula]

be brave Elmo, eat one

[Jennifer]

While I still won't eat city squirrel, I would imagine they aren't that much different from wood squirrels. If you really stop to watch a city squirrel carefully, they're not really feeding out of trash bins. They're still munching on acorns. Only the occasional peanut handouts are different. You see squirrels in city parks but never in an alley behind restaurants waiting for the trash.

Oh, I agree! They really don't eat much trash. They'll eat handouts, but yes for the most part they are eating nuts and a lot of seed from birdfeeders, which isn't bad. My experience was that the extra fat actually made them taste worse. I'm not sure what it is about squirrels... the fatty ones are not as good (to me)!