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    Some receipts from this era attempted to give medicinal advice. Many dangerous, and in some cases, deadly, "cures" were given, reflecting the primitive knowledge of that time period. Don't assume everything you read here is safe to try! Recipes and Receipts posted here are for Historic Research Purposes, enjoy them, learn from them, discuss them!

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Wild Game Squirrel, Cooked 4 Ways

louisiana squirrel pie
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(from Mrs. Elliott's Housewife: Containing Practical Receipts in Cookery, by Sarah A. Elliott, 1870)

Ingredients:

squirrels​
salted water​
nice pastry to cover baking dish, and make a crust over the top​
a slice of bacon​
two hard boiled eggs​
cream​
black pepper​

Instructions:

Parboil the squirrels in salt and water, line a baking dish with nice pastry, put the squirrels in pieces through the pan, with a slice of bacon and two hard boiled eggs; fill the pan with cream, and season with black pepper, cover it with a crust, and bake it.​


fried squirrels
(from Mrs. Elliott's Housewife: Containing Practical Receipts in Cookery, by Sarah A. Elliott, 1870)

Ingredients:

squirrels​
salt & pepper​
meal or flour​
cream or milk​
sprigs of parsley​

Instructions:

After they have been cleaned, hang them up a day or night, cut them in quarters, sprinkle salt and pepper over them with a little meal, or flour, and fry them in hot lard. Take them out, and make a little thickening with flour and cream or milk, and stir it a few moments in the drippings they were fried in, with sprigs of parsley scalded in it. Pour the gravy over them and then the parsley.​


squirrel barbecue
(from Mrs. Elliott's Housewife: Containing Practical Receipts in Cookery, by Sarah A. Elliott, 1870)

Ingredients:

for each squirrel:​
butter​
1 gill of vinegar​
1 tsp. mustard​
salt & pepper​
1/4 tsp. sugar​

Instructions:
Parboil the squirrel and lay it in a spider with a piece of butter and turn it over often. Have some vinegar and mustard well rubbed together with a little salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar. When the squirrel begins to look cooked pour this over it and turn it frequently until as brown as you wish. One gill of vinegar, teaspoonful of mustard, and fourth of a teaspoon of sugar, pinch of salt and pepper, to one squirrel.​


broiled squirrel
(from Mrs. Elliott's Housewife: Containing Practical Receipts in Cookery, by Sarah A. Elliott, 1870)

Ingredients:

squirrels​
greased broiling iron​
drawn butter​
pepper & salt​

Instructions:

Parboil the squirrel whole for a few minutes grease the broiling iron put it on and turn it often over a hot fire. Season drawn butter with pepper and salt and moisten the squirrels with it. No gravy.​


Artwork by Pearson Scott Foresman, Public Domain
 
I’ve had squirrel twice once cooked for me and once when I harvested the animal. The first was a gravey over biscuits. Very gamie wild flavor. The second I shot, skinned and breaded/fried the critter. ALOT of work for little meat!! Gamie sagie flavor. But I enjoyed the experience of hunting cleaning and cooking. That being said I have not had squirrel since! You be the judge! To relay on such a small animal for meat blows my mind. We have it very good in our modern society. This brought back fun memories thank you!
 
Used to eat fried squirrel growing up. Not the tastiest dish. Fox squirrels were tougher than the greys but were larger with more meat. Hunting them early morning as a kid with my .22...staking out a hickory tree waiting for them to show up. You always wanted to get a head shot so you didn't ruin the meat. Some hunted with a shotgun, but I always thought that was cheating. LOL
 
I've eaten a lot of squirrel meat and never thought it was bad. We mostly had it fried like chicken. Once my brother (who was a good chef) added red wine to the skillet, and that was good. However, I preferred the taste of rabbits--but I HATED cleaning rabbits. One day it occurred to me that squirrels are pretty much the same as tree rats with fluffy tails and I lost my interest in them.
 
I hunted squirrel all my life. We were fortunate enough in Mississippi to have fox and red squirrel. The little grey squirrel was hardly worth hunting for the meat. My favorite way to eat them fried with gravy…delicious. As a meat hunter I hunted everything from Kodiak bear to the squirrels of my Mississippi and I prefer squirrel to everything.
 
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