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Post by brokennock on Sept 13, 2023 6:54:43 GMT -7
Locality makes a difference in squirrel eating and discussion. Here in New England when you tell me you are eating "red squirrels" I figure you need about 50 per man and that you like the taste of pine. We have mostly grey squirrels, a few fox squirrels and then, red squirrels. The red squirrels are barely twice the size of our chipmunks, primarily live and feed in pine woods, and are a deer hunter's nemesis. Once they start alarm barking at something, they go on for hours 😒 🙄. As far as the chicken comparison goes, we'll, it is a little more nuanced than that. Too many people compare everything to chicken. Different folks like different parts of the chicken. I'm not a big fan of chicken to begin with, and really only like the thighs and wings. Rabbit is like chicken breast, not enough fat, easy to cook to being too dry. Squirrel is more like dark meat chicken, the thighs and legs (but better than chicken legs), it isn't as dry and has a lot more flavor of its own than rabbit or chicken breast. As always, what you chosen critter; squirrel, rabbit, chicken/pheasant, has been eating makes a big difference in how it turns out on your plate.
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Post by spence on Sept 13, 2023 7:09:18 GMT -7
spence what do squirrel taste like? Are they white mild meat like rabbit or something else? In my area we have two types of squirrel, the gray and the fox. Describing taste is not easy, but I'd say both types have a somewhat stronger taste than chicken, even the chicken legs. Some would say they have a "gamy" taste. If so, it's pretty mild. Both types tend to be a bit tough if they are older, so long slow baking works well to tenderize them. Baked with potatoes and onions, they are a longtime favorite of mine. Spence
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Post by paranger on Sept 13, 2023 7:24:10 GMT -7
We have gray, fox, and pine (red) squirrels, which are colored similar to fox but smaller and tend to hang out in coniferous areas.
Can't say I have personally detected a difference in taste, but then I'm no squirrel connoisseur...😁
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Post by spence on Sept 13, 2023 7:37:30 GMT -7
Bushfire, here's gray squirrel baked in a clay pot. Spence
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Post by Black Hand on Sept 13, 2023 9:46:59 GMT -7
We don't have the meaty squirrels that Spence finds. I find our Pine squirrels taste like a cross between venison and pork (not like turpentine as some claimed).
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Post by hawkeyes on Sept 13, 2023 9:50:49 GMT -7
For me I can't distinguish a taste between the two, eat both and like both so it's a win and they are equally fun to hunt.
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Post by artificer on Sept 13, 2023 12:39:08 GMT -7
spence what do squirrel taste like? Are they white mild meat like rabbit or something else? Hi Bushfire, We ate a lot of game growing up to stretch the food budget. Not sure how others regard squirrels, but we never considered them a white meat. Pheasant and Quail were the only game we considered white meats. I'd say squirrels were a mild dark meat and certainly not as gamey as ducks and geese we took. Where I grew up near the Mississippi River, the overwhelming majority of squirrels we ever saw were the larger red fox squirrels, though there were some smaller grey squirrels. Funny thing, though, is the first squirrel I ever took in Iowa was a grey squirrel, but it was the last one I took as I grew up there. Here in the Virginia Piedmont (flat lands between the land closer to the ocean or mountains) all we ever saw were grey squirrels though. We jokingly call them "Tree Rats." Gus
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Post by artificer on Sept 13, 2023 12:50:55 GMT -7
Locality makes a difference in squirrel eating and discussion. Here in New England when you tell me you are eating "red squirrels" I figure you need about 50 per man and that you like the taste of pine. We have mostly grey squirrels, a few fox squirrels and then, red squirrels. The red squirrels are barely twice the size of our chipmunks, primarily live and feed in pine woods, and are a deer hunter's nemesis. Once they start alarm barking at something, they go on for hours 😒 🙄. Here in Virginia when still or stalk hunting deer, I swear the deer and squirrels have a special compact we humans don't know about. We normally won't shoot squirrels when deer hunting, as we don't want to scare the deer away. I can't begin to describe how LOUD and how much racket small grey squirrels make, especially after the leaves have fallen. I've forgotten how many times I was just sure deer were moving by all the noise being made, only to find out it was one or more squirrels. So it seems like the squirrels have some kind of deal with the deer to make all the noise to distract a human hunter. LOL Gus
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Post by bushfire on Sept 13, 2023 14:24:44 GMT -7
Thank you for the replies gentlemen, as someone who loves hunting and eating game it's fascinating to hear.
We don't have anything very comparable other than rabbit. I usually brine it for 24 hours and then fry it or slow cook it into pies and stews.
Ill have to add squirrel hunting to my list when I get to the states.
I think I can smell and taste that morsel through the photo Spence!
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