eating squirrels

[greybeard]

Since I was young I was told never to eat a rabbit before first frost. Generally, I followed the same rule for squirrels. Does anyone know if waiting is necessary?

[G-Man]

nope its not had bunswick stew(squirrel) sunday

[Jennifer]

Not at all! As long as you are not eating the brains (don't laugh, they do down south sometimes) and cook the same way you do chicken, it's totally safe. Enjoy!

[apertureguy]

I had heard the same thing as a kid...something about waiting for the frost to kill the worms they might be carrying.

However, I am pretty sure that might have all been hogwash. My brother was a great one for telling tall tales like this.

I expect they will be fine...and I never heard of anyone eating brains though.

[Doc]

...and I never heard of anyone eating brains though.

How long would it take to get enough squirrels to have a squirrel-brain dinner?

[biggamefish]

I have heard you dont't want to shoot them before the first frost also. Never the eating part though. I have taken a few squirrels and they have big grub like worms in their fur. After skinning them though there is no sign of that worm/grub thing. I have eating those squirrels also but that might explain a few things to my friends. I would think like everything if you cook it right you will be fine.

[Jennifer]

Here's an old article about squirrel brains (for real!):

http://www.nytimes.c...els-brains.html

About lumpy squirrels...

The lumps are the larval form of a type of bot fly (thank heavens that this type does not target humans!). They are often called warbles or wolf-worms, regionally. Dad always called them warbles. They are sort of gross to think about, but pose NO health risk to humans and they do not taint the meat or otherwise render the squirrel inedible as long as you cook all of the meat properly. I have head that some people actually eat the grubs but that is a little too much even for me, unless I am in a survival situation!

The myth behind the 'first frost' is that the first hard freeze usually kills these larvae and squirrels are less likely to have warbles in the cold/freezing months.

Edited September 16, 2011 by Jennifer

[Culvercreek hunt club]

My Grand father use to have me check all the livers on the rabbits to check for white spots. Always found a few each season. He would never eat those and I have not idea what it was. Squirrels i have also heard the larva thing. But you know what....I am not eating ANYTHING with worms in them....Ain't happening as long as I have some other option to fill my belly.

I tok bluegills out of a lake down towards Cooperstown. There were small white larva in the flesh of the fillets. I called the DEC and asked what it was (Happened in the days before Google...lol) They told me there are no parasites in fish in NY that if cooked properly would hurt humans......They made some of the best compost for the tomato plants

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Well I guess Gradpa knew what he was talking about

"Tularemia is a bacterial disease of rabbits that is transmittible to man, usually through openings in the skin. Hunters who notice small white or yellow spots on the surface of the rabbit's liver when they are field dressing it should discard the entire rabbit immediately. During the early stages of the disease the liver can appear normal, though the infected rabbit may behave oddly, move slowly or be easily captured. It is a good idea to wear rubber gloves when dressing a rabbit and it is important to always cook rabbit meat thoroughly. Tularemia is transmitted between rabbits by fleas and ticks. Rabbits die from the disease, so it is not a problem once there has been a good hard frost and the temperature remains cool. A hard frost kills ticks and fleas which carry the disease, and a rabbit infected prior to the freeze will normally die within a few days of contracting the disease. "

[bushnell]

Culver I had never heard of that disease. You would think that information like that should be published somewhere to just give the hunters a heads up. I have eaten quite a few rabbits over the years. Now I have gotten some pretty bad rashes (believed to be poison oak or sumac) on my hands after skinning rabbits. One has to wonder if maybe the rabbits were carrying that disease and I was having a reaction to it. But yes wearing rubber gloves is a must when field dressing a rabbit.

[G-Man]

yep i heard that about rabbits , and bear carry something to ..your supose to look at the liver i think....

[Jennifer]

Absolutely check your rabbits if you rabbit hunt-- I could have sworn that the information about Tularemia in rabbits was in our hunting guide years ago, but I have no way of checking. I should check our current one and see!

I do know they told us about it in my hunter's education class but that was many years ago.

To be honest, I cannot tell which spots are 'okay' and which are not, so I don't mess with bunnies anymore. I rarely see them anyhow.

Slightly off topic, but I had to grin at the thought of never eating anything carrying a parasite-- not trying to give anyone a hard time, but parasites within freshwater fish are extremely common-- there's only a few species of many that we see when cleaning a fish. It's why it's so important not to eat freshwater fish raw unless you are in a true survival situation.

I can honestly say I'm more worried about some of the processed food I eat than I am about eating a dead, well cooked bug, but I can absolutely respect and understand sentiments otherwise!

[Buckstopshere]

My grandmother loved to eat squirrels and always wanted me to bring her some. She really didn't care so much about eating venison, grouse, turkey or waterfowl...she loved squirrel meat. Could be because my grandfather was an avid squirrel hunter. Boy, she could cook squirrel! Makes me hungry just thinking about it. Too close to dinner time.

[greybeard]

Culver, You're right... Tularemia was the reason I was told to wait to eat the rabbits until after the frost,. I heard about that in the 60's when I started hunting.

[greybeard]

Culver, You're right... Tularemia was the reason I was told to wait to eat the rabbits until after the frost,. I heard about that in the 60's when I started hunting.

[apertureguy]

Wow...that's a nasty I hope to stay clear from.

I'll have to remember that one.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Pardon my spelling guys but I think black bears can actually get trichinosis just like pigs. That is the whole reason for thouroughly cooking it. I don't think thee is much danger from commercially produced pork now a days with the medicines they use but it is still a hazard in wild pigs and I think bears too. Not sure G-man if thee are liver spots associated with that disease or not.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1937058/pdf/hsmhahr00005-0085.pdf

I love Google...lol

[SteveNY]

How long would it take to get enough squirrels to have a squirrel-brain dinner?

haha, it sounds funny, but squirrels actually have a good amount of brain in them.

Here are a couple good squirrel cooking videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbBINl-AE1I

There are hundreds of videos on youtube of squirrel cooking.

And for skinning them, this guy has it down pat:

[Enigma]

That's how I do it and its the only way to skin a squirrel! Well not really but the fastest and cleanest absolutely.

[jusputtn]

Notice he's had that knife a very long time. It looks like the blade has been sharpened down to half its width. Bet he could shave with it.