Can You Eat A Squirrel?
You can absolutely eat a squirrel after it has been cooked. The animal’s meat is edible and safe, and is said to taste like chicken and rabbit but with a distinctive nutty flavor. Furthermore, the meat is quite light in color with an extremely lean and firm texture.
Assuming that you are getting your squirrel meat legal, yes, you definitely could eat squirrels out of your own back yard. If you are aware of squirrel hunting laws in your local area, then you should be aware if it is OK to eat a squirrel from your yard. If you are the type who is curious about whether or not it is okay to eat squirrel from your yard, realize there is always some risk involved with eating squirrel – or, really, any meat, for that matter.
The longer answer involves being cautious about what kind of squirrels you are eating, and how you cook and prepare your meat. After a bit of researching and studying on the topic of squirrels, we concluded that eating squirrel meat is safe for most of people, but it is not safe for everyone, as there are also certain downsides of this type of meat which we discussed in our previous sections. As a wild animal, it is important to keep in mind that squirrels may carry diseases and that if you do not properly handle and cook the meat, you are at risk for getting diseases.
| Can You Eat A Squirrel? | |
| You can Eat | You can absolutely eat a squirrel after it has been cooked. |
| Diseases | You can easily get diseases due to germs and bacteria. Mad cow is common and some diseases can affect your brain. |
| Taste | The meat of squirrel has a sweetness to its taste, and a subtle texture. |
As far as meat safety goes, unless there are prions present, and the meat is handled and cooked correctly, eating wild squirrel is safe. While squirrels may be carriers of diseases, like other wildlife, it may be safe to eat gray squirrels if cooked. It might not sound like the first food option, but squirrels have been eaten for hundreds of years, and when taken care of, they can be safe to eat.
A squirrel can be prepared just like most any other meat, with the only real concern being how to prevent it from drying out. You can capture and prepare your squirrel yourself, with some quick prep work, and you will find that it is not much different than what you need for hunting down a rabbit. Knowing what parts to avoid, when to go after squirrels, and how to properly prepare them, you will be able to enjoy a little squirrel meat. If you found a good place where you are allowed to legally hunt squirrels, you might wonder how to cook the squirrels.
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While you might not want to trap squirrels for dinner in your own yard, if you are a hunter, adding squirrels to the mix of animals that you take home could provide a little variety to your food plan.
You could try making a skillet dinner and baking the squirrels and vegetables together, or cooking the squirrels and vegetables separately and using oven-baked garlic potatoes and carrots for filling sides.
You can make chuck roast in a slow cooker, breaking up the connective tissues of the meat, and making a tender casserole with wine, broth, and tomatoes. If you are going to cook a few squirrels for a while, be sure to put the meat into an ice-packed cooler so that it can keep cold. If you are hunting squirrels during the winter, have a cooler handy to clean up after you are done quickly, and keep the meat cold, preventing the growth of bacteria or pests. To prevent contaminated meat from pests and insects, then hunting squirrels during winter is best.
Hunting squirrels in summer months makes it easier to get a hold of them, but comes with risks such as parasites that will either die off or disappear should you catch one during cold weather. While they do not hibernate, their food reserves and stockpile of fat could keep them going into winter.
Squirrels make very small targets, which end up being hard to detect, and killing them in order to preserve meat and cover requires a very accurate shot. It can be tough eating grey squirrels, as they are not easily caught, and hunting them can take great patience, even for experienced hunters.
There is nothing much to be worried about a backyard squirrels meat since they are familiar with our surroundings and do not eat anything nasty, far more the backyard squirrels eat the trees and feeders that most of people have set up for them. People who have tried the meat from a squirrel said that it tastes kinda like a wild rabbit that is commonly eaten, too, but more mild, with some sweetness. Squirrel is also tasty when cooked, but like most wild meats, be sure to thoroughly coat with butter or fat so that the meat, which is very lean, does not get dried out.
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If you are making a braised dish or using ground squirrel, cooking slowly in a liquid will ensure that the meat is both tender and juicy. Once you catch the squirrel, you will want to put some on the ground to allow you to safely bring the meat back home to the freezer. Because squirrels can carry bacteria and parasites, and prions that can cause illness, you should not consume any of the meat raw. Squirrels can carry parasites, toxins, and diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or Lyme disease, and you should thoroughly prepare and cook them before eating.
Even if you go out of your way to ensure the meat is clean and cooked properly, it is still concerning that squirrels – a rodent family – may spread diseases, whether directly or indirectly.
Sweet and nutty, squirrel is a very sustainable, tasty meat, which many people wish they could see more on their plates. Today, there are about five million squirrels in the United Kingdom, but most Britons would not consider eating a squirrel. Many Americans think that squirrels are the best meat out in the forest — but few Brits have ever tried them. The meat makes occasional headlines in restaurants like The River Cottage, or at Londons Cinnamon Club – but for day-to-day cooking at home, you are likely going to have to talk to your local butcher or farmer.
Not everyone has forgotten just how delicious squirrel and other wild game meats can be, however – and here at The Wild Meat Company, we are proud to be one of those champions of the squirrel. For instance, you could replace the chicken in your familys chicken-and-dumplings recipe with squirrel, throw squirrel into your vegetable soup, throw squirrel into your gumbo, cook squirrel into corn, potatoes, and grits, or whip up some hearty squirrel chili on cold winter nights.
If anyone has heart disease or has an intolerance for consuming cholesterol, they should avoid squirrel meat as much as possible, as squirrel meat has high cholesterol, which is not good to have, especially if you have heart-related issues.
Can you get sick from eating squirrels?
Like many warm-blooded animals, squirrels must battle parasites, ticks, mites, and fleas during the warmer months. Although handling or eating a squirrel won’t expose you to any ticks, doing so will put you in close proximity to them.
What diseases can you get from eating squirrel?
Eating squirrels can lead to unwelcoming situations. Like other animals, squirrels carry diseases and bacteria. Due to these germs and bacteria, you could easily get sick. Mad-cow disease is one of the common diseases carried by Squirrels. You can extract the same disease which can affect your brain which is fatal.
What does squirrel meat taste like?
The meat of squirrel has a sweetness to its taste, and a subtle texture. If you have ever eaten rabbit’s meat, then you might know the taste of squirrel’s meat. The meat of squirrel tastes almost similar to rabbit when crossed with chicken’s meat; it has a nutty flavor to it.