Anyone try eating ground squirrels?

crapshoot

crapshoot

Well-known member
Bushy tailed grey ground/rock squirrels ?

Rock-Squirrel-Pictures.jpg
 
Have ate the grey and fox varieties, not bad, but takes a few to make it worth the effort. Made gravy for biscuits with the grease also. Never ate the brains, my grandfather and many other elders always said that was the best part. Some would even get mad if you shot them in the head.
 
In the western states, ground squirrels can carry the plague.
And yes, it can be transmitted to people.
Here in SW Idaho the population is still recovering from a couple of years ago. It's recommended not to touch them, let alone eat them.
 
The plague comes from the fleas on them, not the meat.

As long as the nest is cooked throughly it should be safe. Like I n most animals the brains and internal organs are most likely to cause a problem.

I’ve eaten a lot of fried squirrels back in the day when squirrel hunting was right up there if not more popular than deer hunting.
 
From what I've seen on TV shows, tree squirrel meat seems to be a lot lighter color like chicken thigh.
These ground squirrel meat is darker more like dove breast.
 
old cat said:
Not ground squirrels here. They are tree dwellers here. Eat them all the time. Also eat their brains.
Click to expand...
Whenever I was a kid my grandma cooked squirrel a lot. She would boil them until they were tender then fry them and add them to some pan gravy. She also cooked my pa's separately for whatever reason. The way you could tell them apart is if you opened the pot and the squirrels had a head then they were pa's. If they didn't have a head they were for everyone else. He would crack the skull with a nut cracker then suck the brains out.
 
Eaten a bunch of Gray Squirrel of the tree variety. No ground or rock squirrel here in NY. I do enjoy hunting squirrels with my 22 rimfire and enjoy the meat. I have zero desire to eat the brain though! Nope, nuh-uh!
 
There was a homeless guy in Alaska eating squirrels to survive. He moved out of the area after he cleaned out all the squirrels then sold his 22 for a bag of dope. Deep thinker there.. lol
 
Hunting squirrels (fox and greys) is typically the beginning of learning to hunt and becoming a stalker/woodsman in the eastern part of the country. Most every kid I knew got started into the outdoors that way. It was kinda a right of passage before you moved on to deer.

Most beginners hunter with shotguns, more experienced hunters used rifles in 22 rimfire. My grandfather and my neighbor was both WW2 veterans and grew up poor so they had to actually hunt to eat at times. Those guys was amazing mentors that taught me to be a killer at a young age, I'm still reaping the benefits from them every time I step into the field.

My mom and grandma would always pressure cook them first then brown them in a cast iron skillet. Fresh squirrels and brown gravy was outstanding table fare.

We don't have ground squirrels but I wouldn't hesitate to eat one in a pinch!
 
Back
Top