5 Tasty Ways to Cook Squirrel

Some people do nothing but crave steaks. I have heard those who say ribs are the greatest thing a man or woman (or whatever other genders there are) can eat. Of course, being Americans, many of us would argue the greatest meat contraption available is our beloved burger. But to me, nothing beats the delicate, sweet tender meat from a squirrel.

I have always been under the impression that the cuter an animal is, the better is tastes. My Korean wife also agrees, which is why she says so many people eat dogs in her home country. I know eating dog is a popular thing to hate on, but that is really closed minded. Chickens, cows, pigs and more are capable of surprising amounts of intelligence, so in my opinion, if you're going to eat one type of animal, you may as well eat every type of animal.

So, if we are to go off the assumption that the cuter an animal is, the better it will taste, it is hard to beat squirrel's. Although, I now have a sudden desire to deep fry whole sugar-gliders, but that is another article, and something I really need to try ASAP. Back to the point at hand however, squirrels are just adorable. There are countless Instagram pages dedicated to nothing more than the absolute adorableness which are squirrels. Oddly enough, there aren't a lot of recipes online, which is something I plan on remedying over the next few months.

This article is merely just suggestions on ways to cook squirrel, or types of food where squirrel makes a great substitute. By the way, if you've any great squirrel recipes of your own, please share them with me!

CHILI: A squirrel chili beats beef or pork chili's, hands down. I believe the unique taste of squirrel blends itself with the flavor of chili peppers much better than any other meat on the planet. Because sometimes squirrel meat can be tough due to the active lifestyles of squirrels everywhere, slow cooking it in a chili ensures the meat is nice and tender. Personally, I'd say black beans are your only choice when cooking a squirrel chili, as in some parts of the world, squirrel and black beans are as famous as peanut butter and jelly. Lastly, don't be afraid to throw squirrel brains in there with the meat. The brains have a great ground beef texture, and are really quite delicious.

BURGERS: When making squirrel burgers, you have to combine the squirrel meat with some sort of beef. I recommend a fatty area of the cow, so your squirrel burger gets plenty of fat. Without enough fat, burgers won't cook properly, and won't hold together, turning more into a crumble than anything. By combining around 50/50 beef and squirrel, you can get yourself a burger which has all the taste of a classic hamburger, but with a little kick that most people won't be able to put their finger on.

TACOS: Now, in my opinion, ground squirrel meat was made for tacos. The way the almost fat free meat crumbles when cooked means your meat crumbles perfect for your tortillas. Also, as I discussed with the chili idea, squirrel meat pairs quite nicely with spicy flavors, so you can add all the jalapeno, chili, poblano or whatever peppers you want to the meat for a truly tasty treat. I do recommend corn tortillas a bit more than flour, but then again, I am a street taco kind of guy. BONUS: Use squirrel the next time you plan on making Sloppy Joe's. I like to call my squirrel Sloppy Joe's Sloppy Natasha's.

PULLED SQUIRREL SANDWICHES: This classic BBQ technique is great for squirrel. Just smoke, pull apart, and add sauce! Now, this can be a bit of a pain if you don't have enough squirrels, but if you've got a couple dozen or so, you should be good to go. Personally, I think a Carolina Mustard style BBQ sauce pairs best with squirrel, however, I also really enjoy a Texas Hot style of sauce to go with it as well. I do find the overly sweet and smokey sauces don't provide enough of a flavor contrast from that sweet squirrel meat, however, this is my wife's favorite sauce for squirrel, so be sure to experiment with you and your loved ones to see what sauce is the favorite in your house.

JERKY: Squirrel meat is a bit tough if not treated the right way, which is why those who aren't the best in the kitchen may want to think about making squirrel jerky instead of cooking the meat. The really awesome thing about squirrel jerky is it actually takes less time to make up than jerky from beef because of the less fat. While consistency is roughly the same, the flavor is way more pronounced in squirrel jerky, and the sweet natural tang in the meat goes great with the salty and spicy jerky rubs of the world. While I normally avoid adding sweet to squirrel meat, when making jerky, I will break my rule and use a teriyaki flavoring fairly often. The sweetness of the squirrel slightly is decreased when dehydrated, but matches quite nicely with the sweetness of a teriyaki.

Well, that's it! Let me know your favorite ways to cook squirrel, if you've got em! And the next time someone asks you "what kind of meat is that", just smile and tell them "Rocky".