Cleaning Squirrels

[midwestfisherman]

With small game season coming up I thought I would ask, what is the best way to clean a squirell? I'd like to hear how others do it.

[FREEPOP]

I take a knife and ring him around the middle and then pull the rear half down to the legs. Then I stand on the tail and pull the top off and then finish the rear legs. About a 4 minute job per.

[Bow Hunter Brandon]

Does that pull the bone out of the tail or could you still save them?

[FREEPOP]

At the point of standing on the tail you can stand on the back feet and do the same thing. It will expose the tail bone and you can skin it out at that time. I have done several tail bone removals.
As with any animal, the sooner that you skin the animal, the easier it is.

[deepwoods]

I do something slightly different. I start by pulling the fir off from around the squirrels butt. I then cut through the base joint of the tail cutting the bone and the tendons but not through the skin on the back of the squirrel. Be careful not to cut it completely off! I then cut the skin in a line down the back of each leg about 1 1/2" or so. Next I stand firmly on the tail and pull up on the rear legs. The hide pulls up over the squirrels body and head like a sweater. I then cut off the head and the feet with snippers. Then I pull down the remaining hide that is on the rear legs down like trousers and snip off the feet as well. The last thing I do is split the squirrel open with my knife to gut it and then soak in water. This only takes a few minutes.

Good luck hunting.
Joe

[Hamilton Reef]

I lay the squirrel on its stomach and cut a "V" starting at the base of the tail (each side of the tail) forward of the legs about three inches just to start a later rip line. I then cut through the base of the tail from the underside, but not through upper hide. Stand on the tail, lift up by pulling on both legs. The squirrel will peal all the way past its head. Cut off head which has 2/3 of the hide with it. Then go back and peal the "V" and hind legs. I like this method, because when it works there is no hair on the meat. I clean 35-40 squirrels a year for a senior lady that used to hunt squirrels.
Note: I sometime use the squirrel head hide piece in the live trap for the local feral cat.

[bowhunter4life]

I have always cleaned squirrels the same way deepwoods said. It is pretty quick and efficient. You don't seem to get much hair on the meat either which can cause cleaning frustration later

[Hamilton Reef]

Try this site:

http://www.agfc.com/pdf/squirrel_rec.pdf

[midwestfisherman]

This is good stuff. Keep it coming you all......:) :) :)

[Deershutzen]

The only real meat to get off a squirrel is from the back and the hind legs.

I cut a little notch right behind the neck and work my blade along the skin to the base of the tail. If the buggers are still warm it's pretty easy to peel back the skin on both sides of the back and around the legs. Then i follow along both sides of the spine and down the rib cage. You get two 6-8 in strips. Then I cut around the legs and right off the body. Finally, i cut the feet off with a hatchet, pull the rest of the skin off, and bone out the legs.

My dad always had me soak the meat in salt water overnight before cooking. It takes away some of the gamey taste and softens it up a bit, but it doesn't taste salty.

Viva squirrel hunting!

[Robert W. McCoy Jr]

I skin them the same way freepop does.

The only thing I would add is carry same plastic grocery bags with
you in your game bag. Skinning them right away makes it easier while they are still warm. Then put them in the bag to keep them clean.

[Gr8 Scout]

I use a neat little item by Lohman, the game call people. I posted a pic of it in my gallery. The 'stepping on the tail' method described above works fine, but I like saving the tails.

Also, I use game shears, always, in the field and in the kitchen. Strange for someone with as many knives as I own (I buy/sell/trade/collect) but it makes the job easy.

Getting very close to squirrel season guys... very close.

[Hamilton Reef]

I find that stepping on the tails only harms the tails maybe 10% of the time. I failed to mention that I then put borax on the tail tips and pass them on to the fly fishers.

[Hawker]

I gut them, saving the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and testicles (where applicable). Then I cut off the tail (for MEPPS), and use a cleaver to quarter them, head and hide on. The quarters and organs go into sandwich bags and into the freezer. When needed, defrost overnight and warm, in baggie, in a bowl of hot water. Pieces are now ready to eat--if you're a hawk! :D

[victor mi pro bowhunter]

I gut them cut the head off cut the paws off
make sure you dont cut to high the legs is where most of the meat is.

cut around the back or the top and just pull

i keep all my squirrel tails

I hang the tails from the mirror in my (chevy geo tracker):) :) :D