# Lifestyles & Discussion > Freedom Living >  Has anyone ever slow-smoked a squirrel?

## phill4paul

Without the hound around lost much of my garden, all the cantaloupes, to squirrels. So I figure it is time for some thinning, but don't want a good thing to go to waste. I figure I'll wait till the end of fall until they are fattened. I've had campfire roasted squirrel, but want to try something different. 
  So.. has anyone here had or tried slow-smoked squirrel? What kind of wood? Jokingly a friend suggested Pecan. Sounds good to me!

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## donnay

> Without the hound around lost much of my garden, all the cantaloupes, to squirrels. So I figure it is time for some thinning, but don't want a good thing to go to waste. I figure I'll wait till the end of fall until they are fattened. I've had campfire roasted squirrel, but want to try something different. 
>   So.. has anyone here had or tried slow-smoked squirrel? What kind of wood? Jokingly a friend suggested Pecan. Sounds good to me!



That has got to be a NC thingy.   I have a friend who eats squirrel and her husband smokes it in their smokehouse.  I believe they use cherry and apple wood.

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## phill4paul

> *That has got to be a NC thingy.*   I have a friend who eats squirrel and her husband smokes it in their smokehouse.  I believe they use cherry and apple wood.


  Lol. My Alabama kin ate a lot of squirrel. I'd imagine it has to do with a subsistence thingy. Aside from a month long survival trip I took upon myself several years ( who am I kidding..DECADES ) ago I haven't had any. But, alas, they have to be thinned and I don't want them to go to waste. Cherry and apple wood are some good smoking wood though. I don't have a "smoke house" only my new Weber. It works just fine though. I've already perfected my butts, whole chickens and ribs. I figured I'd add squirrel to the list.

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## thoughtomator

It was terribly hard to get the little guy's face to fit right in the bong, but yeah.

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## GunnyFreedom

> That has got to be a NC thingy.   I have a friend who eats squirrel and her husband smokes it in their smokehouse.  I believe they use cherry and apple wood.


I think we are friends with the same people there -- I was going to mention that I do not but I know someone who does...  They teach their son to shoot hunting squirrel.

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## donnay

> I think we are friends with the same people there -- I was going to mention that I do not but I know someone who does...  They teach their son to shoot hunting squirrel.


Yep.  They gave my hubby one Christmas some smoked venison and he went nuts over it.  They do know how to smoke their meats.

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## GunnyFreedom

> Yep.  They gave my hubby one Christmas some smoked venison and he went nuts over it.  They do know how to smoke their meats.


And my oh my do they know how to make some lamb!

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## phill4paul

> Yep.  They gave my hubby one Christmas some smoked venison and he went nuts over it.  They do know how to smoke their meats.





> And my oh my do they know how to make some lamb!


  OK. Now I'm jealous about your mutual friend.

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## brooks009

The best squirrel I have had was in a Gumbo. If I had some squirrel right now I would make a Gumbo or cook it in the slow cooker to soften the meat. Squirrel is tough and low in fat so I don't think it will smoke well but I never tired so don't really know.

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## phill4paul

> The best squirrel I have had was in a Gumbo. If I had some squirrel right now I would make a Gumbo or cook it in the slow cooker to soften the meat. Squirrel is tough and low in fat so I don't think it will smoke well but I never tired so don't really know.


  Well now, I hadn't even considered that. I do like some gumbo. As far as the fat I do understand this and is why I will wait for late fall to harvest. I'm really not anticipating a long smoke time given their size/ fat content. Maybe three hours at 225 degrees. Still, might have to consider adding to a gumbo the left overs. There will easily be a dozen.

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## donnay

> And my oh my do they know how to make some lamb!



You're making me hungry!  LOL!

Our friend is definitely the salt of the earth!

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## LibertyEagle

Dang.  Now you've made me want some deer jerky.  That stuff is great!

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## phill4paul

> You're making me hungry!  LOL!
> 
> Our friend is definitely the salt of the earth!


 Do me a flavor, donnay, and ask their smoking temp and time for squirrel. Also ask if they brine or rub. If they brine ask what their mix is.

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## donnay

> Do me a flavor, donnay, and ask their smoking temp and time for squirrel. Also ask if they brine or rub. If they brine ask what their mix is.



Will do.

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## kathy88

I have, but I didn't inhale.

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## phill4paul

> Will do.


 Thanks!

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## Dogsoldier

I'll take squirrel over deer anyday....My fav is wrapping in bacon and putting it on the grill...Doesn't hurt to boil it first to tender it up...Do that and its falling off the bone delicious.

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## Dr.3D

> I have, but I didn't inhale.


Where did you get papers big enough to roll it?

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## Dianne

Don't start getting gross on this site... OMG .... don't talk about eating squirrels , pretty please ?????

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## GunnyFreedom

Grocery store beef is probably more gross.

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## kathy88

> Where did you get papers big enough to roll it?


Two machetes and a campfire. Hot knives

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## tod evans

Squirrel and dumplings are always cooked in the pressure cooker at our house.

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## Todd

> Don't start getting gross on this site... OMG .... don't talk about eating squirrels , pretty please ?????


This reminds me of an interesting squirrel eating story.   

A friend brought fresh squirrel to a cook out to roast over our open fire pit.   He had not done a very good job of getting the skin and fur off of the meat.   While were cooking and getting ready to enjoy, one of the girls said what we were eating looked like  "Hairy Arm Pit".

I could not eat any more.

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## tod evans

"Tree-Rats" are really quite good if ya' fix 'em right.

Best part is if you hunt with pellets dinner for 8 cost under a buck...

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## Root

I've smoked a lot of meat, but I've never had squirrel.  If you have a "flavor injector" that might help it to stay moist. I'd probably inject it with a mix of apple juice, melted butter (or coconut oil), and maybe apple cider vinegar.  Wrap it in bacon and smoke with apple or maple wood.

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## phill4paul

> I'll take squirrel over deer anyday....My fav is wrapping in bacon and putting it on the grill...Doesn't hurt to boil it first to tender it up...Do that and its falling off the bone delicious.


  Thanks for the advise. Have a rep.

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## phill4paul

> I've smoked a lot of meat, but I've never had squirrel.  If you have a "flavor injector" that might help it to stay moist. I'd probably inject it with a mix of apple juice, melted butter (or coconut oil), and maybe apple cider vinegar.  Wrap it in bacon and smoke with apple or maple wood.


  Was considering injection. Sounds like a great plan there Root. +rep.

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## kahless

Curious. How do you know you are not handling or cooking a rabid or diseased squirrel?  

I have allot of woodchucks and squirrels around and often wondered if things got bad could they be a source a food.  I thought probably not since I have seen a few sick ones and a couple that appeared to be rabid.  But if I did not recognize the symptoms how would I know if what I caught was safe to eat?

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## oyarde

I have not put a squirrel on the smoker , but I have put partridge on there , chicken quarters and they turned out fine.

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## Root

> Was considering injection. Sounds like a great plan there Root. +rep.


Thanks.  I'd be interested to hear how it works out.

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## Arklatex

I hear they are most tender when slow cooked in a pressute cooker, my mom always talks about the squrriel mulligan her little hillbilly town would throw each year as a kid

I've had my fair share in a skillet - they are actually one of the most lean meats and highest protein per oz.. think about it they only eat tree nuts their entire lifes and are extremely active, 

I read awhile back squrriel meat is a trend in Great BRitian and the articlr said they were paying a pretty penny for the delicacy... next we need to discuss eating fish eggs  i love them!  Right from the bass to the skillet

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## donnay

> Do me a flavor, donnay, and ask their smoking temp and time for squirrel. Also ask if they brine or rub. If they brine ask what their mix is.



Okay Phill I finally got ahold of her and she said:

They brine it in salt water--good Himalayan salt or sea salt.  (about 12 hours)

The wood they use is:

"Cherry, hickory, pecan, apple or whatever is growing the closest."  Her favorite is cherry and apple.  (I did remember her saying that before).

As far as temps and time:

Her hubby does all the smoking so she wasn't sure of the temps and time--she said: "we smoke it until it is done."  She thinks about 5 hours for the smaller meats.  She said after you smoke the first one you will be able to better gage the time and temp.

ETA:  
Temp is:  200°F and 250°F.


I hope that helps you a little.

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## phill4paul

> Okay Phill I finally got ahold of her and she said:
> 
> They brine it in salt water--good Himalayan salt or sea salt.  (about 12 hours)
> 
> The wood they use is:
> 
> "Cherry, hickory, pecan, apple or whatever is growing the closest."  Her favorite is cherry and apple.  (I did remember her saying that before).
> 
> As far as temps and time:
> ...


 Thank you!. I had a feeling a brine would be involved.

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## donnay

> Thank you!. I had a feeling a brine would be involved.


You're welcome!  Brining is important for tenderizing your meat.  As a side note:  After brining make sure you allow it to dry for about an hour (or more) before smoking.  Otherwise the smoke will not work well.


I remember when my father would get a couple of pheasants, he would brine it in salt and brown sugar for about 12 hours.

We would smoke it with hickory and one hour before the bird was done he'd glaze it with some maple syrup. 

That was some yummy stuff.

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## GunnyFreedom

> Thank you!. I had a feeling a brine would be involved.


Yeah, it seems almost all game meat does better having been brined.

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## Root

> Thank you!. I had a feeling a brine would be involved.


I'd still inject it with something fatty to keep it moist during smoking.  Maybe more than once.

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## donnay

I found this information on the nutritional value:  http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/...roducts/4653/2

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## presence

I smoke everything on apple wood myself.  I start a fire in the hibatchi with apple wood sticks... let it flare up and die down a few times with a mist of water... once you have a damp bed of smokin' coals I think < 60 minutes @ 275 would do a squirrel in my setup.   No reason to go low temp... there isn't any thickness to the meat.

Personally though... 

Quarter and pressure steam cook for 35 minutes, then pan fry crispy in chicken fat, finish with hot sauce.  2 fat squirrels per guest.  No need to brine this way.

If you want your meat a little greasier... finish the squirrels on whole kernel corn.

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## kahless

> Curious. How do you know you are not handling or cooking a rabid or diseased squirrel?  
> 
> I have allot of woodchucks and squirrels around and often wondered if things got bad could they be a source a food.  I thought probably not since I have seen a few sick ones and a couple that appeared to be rabid.  But if I did not recognize the symptoms how would I know if what I caught was safe to eat?


^Anyone?

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## GunnyFreedom

> ^Anyone?


I know how to check rabbit -- spotted liver mostly -- not so much squirrel.

Best I can suggest are signs of poor health, ragged coat, uncoordinated or sickly movements, discharge from the eyes, nose, mouth ears, lethargy, things like that.  I'm not an expert unfortunately or I'd know more to tell you.

I was instructed in how to check rabbits for disease.  I know not to eat a rabbit that has a spotted liver.

Squirrels not so much.

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## presence

> ^Anyone?


If you find one with more than 2 ticks attached... I wouldn't eat it.  Tell tale sign of diseased animal.

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## Steely Dan

> Curious. How do you know you are not handling or cooking a rabid or diseased squirrel?  
> 
> I have allot of woodchucks and squirrels around and often wondered if things got bad could they be a source a food.  I thought probably not since I have seen a few sick ones and a couple that appeared to be rabid.  But if I did not recognize the symptoms how would I know if what I caught was safe to eat?


As a general rule of thumb you should only kill squirrels, deer, etc in months that end with "er" ie; September, October, November, December. The risk of worms etc is lowest in those months. Of course if it has sores or looks like an AIDS patient you shouldn't eat it lol. I haven't eaten any squirrel in a long time but I eat venison during hunting season. A good way to cook them for me has always been to put them on the grill or smoker for a little while. Enough to get the smoke flavor. And then slow cook it in the oven with potato's, carrots, and onion. The onion takes the wild taste from it. I can cook a shoulder roast from a deer and you'd swear it was beef roast. Just cook it at about 250 for 3 or 4 hours with onion slices and carrots and potato's and it will fall off the bone. I used to give the shoulders away until I learned to cook it that way.

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## steph3n

Stuff with jalapeno, wrap with bacon and put in the crock pot for a couple hours on high, then finish off on the smoker for 30 minutes after they are already done, you can also do it in reverse order, works well tastes great!

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## phill4paul

Well, never got around to smoking one, but I believe I've found the answer to my problem...

   Butter Milk fried squirrel w/ Southern Gravy.

   Ingredients

3-4 skinned and quartered young squirrels.
Buttermilk for marinating
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons salt
2 Tablespoons black pepper
1 Tablespoon Cajun seasoning
2 cups milk (for the gravy)

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## Anti Federalist



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## oyarde

I smoke salmon ,Chukars , Huns and chicken quarters sometimes . Quail , squirrel and rabbit I like to flour and pan sear then turn it down and make the drippings into gravy and let it simmer in there , serve with mashed potatoes when done. Deer roast I just cook in the oven with mushroom gravy , but it is great too in a turkey roasting bag with carrots , potatoes and onion like a beef roast .

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## Danke

I've donated squirrel and other dead rodents to my local Injun charity.

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