Foodists

A Blast (and recipe) From The Past

Here’s a blast from the past. A few years ago we retired our old website, but it’s still there, hiding on our server. Today I was poking around it just for sh!ts and giggles and re-discovered a recipe for preparing squirrel taken from a 1950s edition of The Joy of Cooking. Long before we launched our blog, the old site was much more irreverent and tongue-in-cheek and we actually hid this rather unusual culinary surprise in our Profile page where we described our approach – to see if anyone was actually reading the stuff more than anything else. Oh the memories…

How To Prepare Squirrel Just Like Mom

Before we get started it is recommended that you don gloves to avoid possible tularemia infection. Grey squirrels are the preferred ones; red squirrels are small and quite gamey in flavour. There are, proverbially speaking, many ways to skin a squirrel, but some hunters claim the following one is the quickest and cleanest. It needs a sharp knife.

1. To skin, cut the tail bone through from beneath, but take care not to cut through the skin of the tail.
2. Hold the tail as shown on the left and then cut the skin the width of the back, as shown in the dotted lines.
3. Turn the squirrel over on its back and step on the base of the tail.
4. Hold the hind legs in one hand and pull steadily and slowly, as shown in the center sketch, until the skin has worked itself over the front legs and head.
5. While holding the squirrel in the same position, pull the remaining skin from the hind legs.

Proceed then as for Rabbit, cutting off the head and the feet and removing the internal organs, plus two small glands found in the small of the back and under each foreleg, between the ribs and the shoulders. Stuff and roast squirrels as for Pigeons, barding them, or use them in Brunswick Stew, or prepare as for Braised Chicken. Season the gravy with: Walnut catsup, and serve with: Polenta.

Enjoy!