World Champion Squirrel Cook Off Saturday 

It’s way too early to predict a Super Bowl winner or this year’s National Champion college football team, but the big show of odd eats and outdoor cooking will decide the best chef of the woods at the World Champion Squirrel Cook Off at the J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center in Springdale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Sept. 12.

“Just like always, the event is 100 percent free to attend,” Joe Wilson, founder of the cook off and spokesman of the Ozarks, said. “We’re here to promote just how much fun the outdoors can be, and that includes all the characters as well as the cooking.”

This is the fourth year the AGFC nature center has hosted the event, welcoming Joe and dozens of cooking teams to dish out some of the finest fixin’s for judges and attendees alike.

“When we say world champion, we mean it,” Wilson said. “We’ve had teams from all over the country compete and we’ve even had a few representing Australia, Mexico, Germany and the Netherlands. All types of food are entered into the competition and everyone is welcome. Once you work with squirrel, you learn that it’s just about perfect for any cooking style. We’ve even had some dishes cooked up by two Jewish ladies that were fantastic. You’re really only held back by your creativity and willingness to work with wild game.”

This is the fourth year the AGFC has hosted the event at the Ozark Highlands Nature Center at 3400 North 40th Street in Springdale. The partnership is the perfect combination of conservation and community in northwest Arkansas and has introduced thousands of new visitors to the AGFC facility.

Roughly 30 three-person cooking teams will fire up grills, smokers and other cooking implements beginning at 9 a.m. and will present their dishes to a panel of judges beginning at noon. Complete rules are available at www.facebook.com/squirrelcookoff.

Wilson and the AGFC have worked with the Ozark Regional Transit Authority to make attending this year’s event easier than ever.

“Parking has probably been the only thing we’ve heard a negative comment about with the whole event, but last year was much better with the completion of nearby construction projects,” Wilson said. “This year, we have a map published to the event’s Facebook page to make it even easier for people to get to the event. And just like everything else at the event, parking is 100 percent free.”

Of course the squirrel-cooking competition wouldn’t be complete without its long-time side contest, the World Champion Squirrel Skinning Competition. Clifton Jackson, a biologist in the AGFC’s Wildlife Management Division and the name behind Cooper Firearms’ Jackson Squirrel Rifle, has won the skinning event for the last four years in a row.

“We’ve heard Clifton may not be able to make it this year due to a death in his family, so this might be the year someone else has a shot at the title,” Wilson said. “We’ll have to see how it pans out Saturday.”

Another popular side dish to the cooking competition is the annual “World’s Hottest Squirrel Eating Competition” where a few brave souls are challenged to eat a whole squirrel smothered in what Wilson calls “lava sauce.”

“I’ve seen people tear up just from looking at that sauce, and it’s pretty common for only one or two contestants to even be close to finishing the meal,” Wilson said.

A ton of smaller side events will be on hand, and families will be able to visit AGFC staff at the nature center to learn more about conservation and the role wildlife plays in our daily lives. And of course, there will be plenty of food samples to pass around.

“Man, this is a celebration of food, and all of the teams are encouraged to whip up a little something extra for the crowd,” Wilson said. “And for those who aren’t brave enough to sample squirrel, Townsend Spices is bringing their cooking trailer and whipping up 1,000 pulled pork tacos for everyone to enjoy. No one should leave here with an empty stomach on Saturday.”

Visit www.facebook.com/squirrelcookoff for the latest developments on what’s sure to be something to chatter about for years to come.

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CUTLINES:

GNAWTY BY NATURE
Cooking teams at the World Champion Squirrel Cook Off take pride in coming up with unique names. AGFC photo.

MAP
The Ozark Regional Transit Authority will be running busses from three different parking areas to ferry people to the nature center.

ENTRY FOR JUDGES
Cooks will begin cooking at 9 a.m., and have their finished entries ready for judges beginning at noon. AGFC photo.