You can eat squirrel year round.
Try this recipe:
2 or 3 squirrels cleaned and halved
flour for dredging
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion chopped fine
1 stalk celery chopped fine
1 carrot chopped fine
2 cups beef stock (chicken stock can be substituted)
1/4 cup red wine
3 Tbsp Olive Oil (not extra virgin)
Salt and Pepper
Heat the oil in a heavy iron skillet over high heat.
Season the squirrel liberally with S & P and dredge them in flour and shake off excess. Quickly brown the squirrel on all sides. Remove from pan and set aside.
Lower heat to medium.
Add the vegetables and garlic to the pan. Cook vegetables until soft.
Deglaze the pan with the red wine. Make sure you get all the little brown crunchy bits dissolved in the wine.
Add the beef stock and the squirrel to the pan and simmer over medium heat until the liquid is reduced by 1/3 and the meat reaches an internal temp of 160 degrees. (That’s hot enough to kill any little nasties that may be in the meat.)
Serve beside garlic mashed potatoes and the veggie of your choice.
Serves 2
Yummy.
L
“You can eat squirrel year round.”
Then you’ve obviously never had a problem with botfly larvae in yer area. AKA ‘wooves’ or ‘warbles’. I’ve met old-timers who say they’ll eat an animal that’s infested but there’s no no way I’ll ever do it. Usually seen around here (mid-GA)in late summer and fall, cold weather either kills the parasite or the host critter.
http://entomology.unl.edu/images/botflies/botflies.htm
Also, be careful and wear latex gloves whenever coming in direct contact with any wild animal’s “innards”. Tulerimia isn’t any fun either!
http://www.massone.org/main/bioterrorism/tulerimia.htm