Squirrel Recipes

Fried squirrel is a popular dish in the South, but making tender fried squirrel in a hurry is next to impossible. Young-of-the-year squirrels can be pan fried and turn out tender, but older squirrels take a little more work. This recipe uses an electric pressure cooker to cook the squirrel, making it tender and ready for a quick deep fry.

4 squirrels
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
Water
Oil
1 light beer
1 bag Louisiana chicken fry

Place squirrels – cut into fore legs, hind legs and back pieces – in an electric pressure cooker. Douse with Cajun seasoning and add enough water to cover the squirrels. Cook under pressure for about 15 minutes, depending on the size of the squirrels (fox squirrels generally take longer). Squirrel should be tender but not falling off the bone. When done, remove the pieces and allow to cool.

Heat oil in deep fryer to 350 degrees.

Follow instructions on the chicken fry bag, but use beer instead of water. After squirrel pieces have cooled and firmed up, coat in the wet mix and then shake in the dry mix. When oil is hot, place squirrel in fryer until a golden crust appears, about 90 seconds. Remove from oil, place on paper towels to drain excess oil, cool, and serve with rice, smashed potatoes or any other dish.

12 squirrels, cleaned and quartered
2 yellow onions, roughly chopped
4 ribs celery, roughly chopped
8 cloves garlic, smashed
2 bell peppers, roughly chopped
2 jalapenos, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper
1 quart chicken stock
2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce
1 bunch parsley, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
4 cups long grain white rice, cooked

Place squirrels in a crock pot. Add the yellow onions, celery, garlic, bell and jalapeno peppers, bay leaves, 2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning and chicken stock. Cover and cook on high for 6 hours until the squirrel begins to fall off of the bone. Remove the squirrel and separate the meat from the bones, place the meat in mixing bowl, discard the bones, strain the broth. Add the warm cooked rice to the meat mixture as well as the green onion, parsley, 2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning and 1 cup of the reserved broth. Wearing gloves, mix until consistency is almost paste-like. Meat can be stuffed into hog casings and poached, rolled in breadcrumbs and fried or wrapped and fried in an eggroll wrapper.