Comments on: How to cook a wolf. squirrel. http://nancynall.com/2008/05/30/how-to-cook-a-wolf-squirrel/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-cook-a-wolf-squirrel one writer's daily download Wed, 23 May 2012 15:02:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: David http://nancynall.com/2008/05/30/how-to-cook-a-wolf-squirrel/#comment-189204 David Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:58:11 +0000 http://nancynall.com/?p=1811#comment-189204 My copy of JOY of COOKING that someone gave me for Christmas in the 1970's (don't remember which edition that would be) has recipes for game, including squirrel. It includes pen-and-ink illustrations of the cook donning elbow-length rubber gloves, and then pulling the squirrel's pelt off all in one piece - essentially pulling the squirrel inside-out. It's not something I'm ever particularly interested in doing myself, but the teenaged me thought, "Coooooolllllll....." My copy of JOY of COOKING that someone gave me for Christmas in the 1970′s (don’t remember which edition that would be) has recipes for game, including squirrel. It includes pen-and-ink illustrations of the cook donning elbow-length rubber gloves, and then pulling the squirrel’s pelt off all in one piece – essentially pulling the squirrel inside-out. It’s not something I’m ever particularly interested in doing myself, but the teenaged me thought, “Coooooolllllll…..”

]]> By: jane resh thomas http://nancynall.com/2008/05/30/how-to-cook-a-wolf-squirrel/#comment-188874 jane resh thomas Sun, 01 Jun 2008 05:55:53 +0000 http://nancynall.com/?p=1811#comment-188874 When I was growing up in Michigan in the forties, my mother cooked almost everything my dad trapped or shot. Much of the game, including squirrels, was parboiled to make the meat more tender, dredged in cracker meal, and then fried in butter or Crisco. It was delicious. Besides squirrel, we regularly ate beaver, possum, coon, bear, deer, rabbit, muskrat, pheasant, coot, all kinds of duck, goose, partridge, snapping turtle, quail, and occasionally elk (from out of state), moose (ditto). The gamier, the better for me. Mother drew the line on only fox and mink meat. Nobody in my adult life hunts, so I miss the old time food. Living as I do in Minneapolis now, seeing only an occasional mourning dove, the slur on those lovely, graceful, sweet-sounding birds of Michigan pains me. What about a mourning dove makes it a wrong kind of bird? Hoity toity. Let us take joy in nature, in all its magnificent variety. When I was growing up in Michigan in the forties, my mother cooked almost everything my dad trapped or shot. Much of the game, including squirrels, was parboiled to make the meat more tender, dredged in cracker meal, and then fried in butter or Crisco. It was delicious. Besides squirrel, we regularly ate beaver, possum, coon, bear, deer, rabbit, muskrat, pheasant, coot, all kinds of duck, goose, partridge, snapping turtle, quail, and occasionally elk (from out of state), moose (ditto). The gamier, the better for me. Mother drew the line on only fox and mink meat. Nobody in my adult life hunts, so I miss the old time food.

Living as I do in Minneapolis now, seeing only an occasional mourning dove, the slur on those lovely, graceful, sweet-sounding birds of Michigan pains me. What about a mourning dove makes it a wrong kind of bird? Hoity toity. Let us take joy in nature, in all its magnificent variety.

]]> By: coozledad http://nancynall.com/2008/05/30/how-to-cook-a-wolf-squirrel/#comment-188854 coozledad Sun, 01 Jun 2008 02:43:48 +0000 http://nancynall.com/?p=1811#comment-188854 LA Mary: I don't think squirrels would be particularly bad food, especially given their diet of acorns and nuts. Apparently hogs fed strictly on mast are used to produce incredibly expensive ham these days. I think the problem for rodents is their tendency to drink from standing water. That's how they get the botfly larvae, which migrate from the gut. I've met people who grew up in Belize who got warbles as children, and they said it was sort of freaky, but not traumatic. After all, they were in Belize. LA Mary: I don’t think squirrels would be particularly bad food, especially given their diet of acorns and nuts. Apparently hogs fed strictly on mast are used to produce incredibly expensive ham these days. I think the problem for rodents is their tendency to drink from standing water. That’s how they get the botfly larvae, which migrate from the gut.
I’ve met people who grew up in Belize who got warbles as children, and they said it was sort of freaky, but not traumatic.
After all, they were in Belize.

]]> By: LA Mary http://nancynall.com/2008/05/30/how-to-cook-a-wolf-squirrel/#comment-188839 LA Mary Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:24:43 +0000 http://nancynall.com/?p=1811#comment-188839 My depression era dad used hunt squirrels and cook them. I've eaten squirrel. It's depressing just thinking about this. My depression era dad used hunt squirrels and cook them. I’ve eaten squirrel. It’s depressing just thinking about this.

]]> By: Michael Roberts http://nancynall.com/2008/05/30/how-to-cook-a-wolf-squirrel/#comment-188773 Michael Roberts Sat, 31 May 2008 16:36:43 +0000 http://nancynall.com/?p=1811#comment-188773 Boiled-then-fried is Hungarian pörkölt, and it is, bar none, the most lovely way in the world to prepare meat. (As long as you use onions and imported paprika, anyway -- without the spices, you may be right about it being vile.) It's certainly the way I'd prepare any game, including squirrel. But I've been told the problem with squirrel is you have to get all the hair off. I don't know nothin about that; we were auto-industry Hoosiers, not farm Hoosiers, and if IGA didn't sell it, it didn't need to be eaten. Boiled-then-fried is Hungarian pörkölt, and it is, bar none, the most lovely way in the world to prepare meat. (As long as you use onions and imported paprika, anyway — without the spices, you may be right about it being vile.)

It’s certainly the way I’d prepare any game, including squirrel. But I’ve been told the problem with squirrel is you have to get all the hair off. I don’t know nothin about that; we were auto-industry Hoosiers, not farm Hoosiers, and if IGA didn’t sell it, it didn’t need to be eaten.

]]> By: coozledad http://nancynall.com/2008/05/30/how-to-cook-a-wolf-squirrel/#comment-188763 coozledad Sat, 31 May 2008 13:32:26 +0000 http://nancynall.com/?p=1811#comment-188763 The few depression-era people I know relied on squirrels to round out their diet of pork intestines, collards and corn bread. They always mention the tedious job of hunting for warbles in the flesh before cooking. I'm a vegetarian, and listening to these people has convinced me I need to hoard a few cases of peanut butter before the next economic shitstorm. Here's a public health notice from you folks' neck of the woods. Warning: unappetizing. De-appetizing, even: http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12150_12220-26354--,00.html The few depression-era people I know relied on squirrels to round out their diet of pork intestines, collards and corn bread. They always mention the tedious job of hunting for warbles in the flesh before cooking.
I’m a vegetarian, and listening to these people has convinced me I need to hoard a few cases of peanut butter before the next economic shitstorm.
Here’s a public health notice from you folks’ neck of the woods. Warning: unappetizing. De-appetizing, even:
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12150_12220-26354–,00.html

]]> By: John http://nancynall.com/2008/05/30/how-to-cook-a-wolf-squirrel/#comment-188553 John Sat, 31 May 2008 01:16:09 +0000 http://nancynall.com/?p=1811#comment-188553 Twilight Zone reference, not Star Trek... Well, that is what I would say if I were either a TZ or ST geek! Twilight Zone reference, not Star Trek…

Well, that is what I would say if I were either a TZ or ST geek!

]]> By: joodyb http://nancynall.com/2008/05/30/how-to-cook-a-wolf-squirrel/#comment-188544 joodyb Fri, 30 May 2008 23:03:08 +0000 http://nancynall.com/?p=1811#comment-188544 Squirrel brains? wouldn't that be like snipe hunting? Squirrel brains? wouldn’t that be like snipe hunting?

]]> By: Catherine http://nancynall.com/2008/05/30/how-to-cook-a-wolf-squirrel/#comment-188535 Catherine Fri, 30 May 2008 21:50:23 +0000 http://nancynall.com/?p=1811#comment-188535 Shouldn't the headline be "To Serve Squirrels?" Or am I the only Star Trek geek around here? Shouldn’t the headline be “To Serve Squirrels?” Or am I the only Star Trek geek around here?

]]> By: Danny http://nancynall.com/2008/05/30/how-to-cook-a-wolf-squirrel/#comment-188518 Danny Fri, 30 May 2008 18:55:19 +0000 http://nancynall.com/?p=1811#comment-188518 Oh, crap, Sue. I gotta do this to my Russian co-worker now. That is hilarious. Oh, crap, Sue. I gotta do this to my Russian co-worker now. That is hilarious.

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