You’ve heard me wax poetic about my love of squirrel meat. If you haven’t then read my book!
This past week I went from testing recipes with a generator thanks to hurricane Sandy, to living in the library until I got kicked out because of a Nor’easter snow storm (they wanted to close, how could they! I have a book to write, people!). Then on Friday I had to take a break to go get me some squirrels for a TV show I’m doing. I think I waxed a little too poetic about squirrel so now people want to taste it. I explained to them that I couldn’t just go to the grocery store, I needed some advance warning to procure my ingredients.
My brother and I marched off to a state forest in upstate New York and went squirrel hunting. We brought Charlie with us who was absolutely thrilled because there’s nothing he likes more than a plump squirrel.
We saw some pheasant while we were there too, it was thrilling. But we only brought home squirrel. I intended to take more photos and videos and such but I just couldn’t manage it. My brain is about to explode with all that I am juggling right now. But I thought I’d tell you about my socially awkward life, instead.
For example, while I was in the woods, this was the text message exchange between me and my girlfriend:
Her: “Does the coconut oil I buy have to be refined or unrefined?”
Me: “Doesn’t matter, I’m in the woods hunting squirrel!!”
Her: “Omg.”
Me: “Just got a squirrel!”
Her: “You are literally going to cook a squirrel you caught in the woods???? How much meat can even be on it?”
Me: “Yea, you need two per person. I had to go to the ‘grocery store’!”
Her: “Omg.”
Her: “Did you know that when you Google your name the first word that pops up next to it is “married”? People want to know if you’re married.”
Me: “I’m skinning a squirrel!”
That night, Friday night, when I got home I skinned more squirrel. I’m such a party animal.
Luckily Saturday night, another friend invited me to a gathering at her house. I have friends! Can you believe it?
I was sitting there at the party chatting away, hadn’t been there 5 minutes and the people next to me said they had killed a squirrel yesterday.
Me: “I did too!”
Them: “Really? You ran over a squirrel too?”
Me: “Uh, no… I… shot a squirrel.”
Awkward, confused silence in the room…
But to prove that not all my friends think I’m an alien, there is this other exchange I had with another girlfriend who happens to make gorgeous taxidermy, everything from hats to broaches.
Me: “Can I interest you in some squirrel tails? They will be fresh tomorrow.”
Her: “You bet I would! Yay!!!”
Me: “Skinning squirrel on a Friday night. I’m such a party animal.”
Her: “I hope my name came up at least once.”
Me: “I started a special squirrel fur bag just for you ; )
Her: Lots of heart symbols.
Me: “Do you want whole bodies or just tails???”
Her: “Bodies are great too! Thanks!!!”
The moral of the story is this, my friends:
1. Don’t invite me to any social situations unless you want awkward confused silence in the room 5 minutes after I arrive.
2. Do invite me to social situations if you want me to supply you with awesome squirrel fur.
3. I’m best left to my own strange world.
4. Squirrel is delicious!
Your Friend,
Squirrel Hunter
p.s. Will you be my friend?
49 Comments
Susan
Yes, I’ll be your friend 🙂 I grew up watching my dad skin rabbits, squirrel and raccoons, although I have to confess I don’t eat any of them, I am used to having hides wrapped up in a paper bag in the freezer throughout the winter months. My husband and I don’t hunt, but I have an appreciation for it, and my brother still hunts everything that moves, which is good, because I do enjoy venison summer sausage on occasion, and deep-fried wild turkey is also a favorite 🙂
Georgia
Mmm, I’m making venison sausage in a few weeks at the Bacon Adventure Weekend I’m doing, can’t wait.
Carol
I will be your friend too. I’m accustomed to those conversations and my friends are sorta used to it too. I nicknamed my husband Squirrell Assassin because he loves hunting squirrels so much.
Georgia
I like that name, it has a ring to it : )
Jodie
Ha…I will so be your friend. I shot a deer at our back feeder last wednesday night, about an hour before my PTO meeting ( I am the President, so I run the meetings). I knew my husband was on his way home, so he’d be able to take over when I had to leave. We need/want the meat, man. I walked inside after I shot it and my daughter says Dad just called and he has a flat, so he won’t be home for a while. So, I run around like a mad woman, getting everything ready to clean and hang the deer, so we can do it as soon as he gets home and then I can leave. He comes home 15 minutes before I have to leave and we dress and hang the deer in record time. In the meantime…I’ve changed clothes three times and still find blood on myself when I walk into my meeting. Talk about awkward silence when I explain I just killed a deer and not to freak out if I have blood on me. Breezed through my meeting and got home to a quartered deer in my garage fridge. Gotta love my boy for skinning and quartering my buck while I was gone. 🙂 Just so you know…you’re not the only one.
Georgia
HAHAHA, I LOVE this story so much.
Jodie
Might need to explain that my girls go to school in town and we live on acreage outside of town, so I got some odd looks from some of the ladies when I had to explain why I was a couple of minutes late. I’m pretty used to odd looks from other ladies though…its the story of my life. I so get it…
Angelo Vitas
I too am an avid squirrel hunter. My Dad and I used to go all the time. Now we enjoy sitting on his front porch with a cup of jo and shooting the Fat ones out of the trees and I have my trained my Yellow Lab RockO to retrieve them for us. I am headed to Wisconsin this week for the opener of rifle deer and the squirrel populous will be thinned as well LOL. the great part about northern Wi. is the variety to choose from, Reds, Blacks, Fox, and the standard Grays. Squirrel is Delish!! Wrapped in bacon on the weber or in the crockpot with carrots, potatoes, and cream of mushroom soup. Glad to hear that I am not the Only Weird person in the country that enjoys squirrel.
Sincerely Your Friend, Angelo
Georgia
MMm, smoked squirrel. I have to try that next!
Riley
I’m constantly amazed at the different folk I encounter who hunts who you would think didn’t hunt. I enjoy your articles and getting ready to start trying some of your recipies. I’m old school and really like stewing squirrel with dumplings. I’ve copied down your Brunswick stew with squirrel and waiting for a chance to get a few to cook with. I may be the only one in my family who will eat it, but hey, as it’s said, “leaves more for me!”
Would look forward to your visit to Georgia sometime (North side).
Rae
I’ll absolutely be your friend! I’m a bit of a “different” girl among my friends, and still surprise some of them with my comments, likes and dislikes, clothing choices, etc. I love it! And I love the odd looks from friends and the other ladies – we are definitely a little different than the other parents at school. (kudos to you, Jodie) Haven’t had squirrel in a long time – the ex fixed it up with a good gravy and it was great with biscuits. Love reading your adventures, recipes and ideas. Keep the faith – Go Girl Power!
Big Steve
I thought we were friends already. But, I don’t hunt. I once took aim at a squirrel with a .22 Rifle. I fired off a shot and missed it. It was looking right at me and afterwards, I was so glad that I had missed it. That’s when I decided that I wasn’t a hunter. I’ll just stick with fishing….Thank You very much.
Georgia
We are, we are! We definitely are Big Steve.
Jen Y
This is so fun!!! I remember begging my dad to let me help him skin squirrel when I was around 6 yrs old. He kept telling me I was too little but daddy’s little girl finally talked him into it(he wouldn’t let me go hunting or fishing with him so it was a big deal). He gave me the tail to keep as a souvenir. :o)
wojosr
used to hunt squirrels at my grandmas farm when i was a young ‘un. I’d clean them, she’d cook them and we would eat them. Once i had 2 squirrels and set them down on a stump to shoot another, when i went to pick them up they were gone, couldnt find them anywhere. As I was walking back a bald eagle swooped down towards me and solved the mystery of where the 2 missing ones went. And yes I will be your friend
Wendy
I’d love to be your friend. I sat in a deer stand most of the weekend – with no luck. 🙁
Your conversations wouldn’t be out of place at my house…
Thad
Ditto on the whole friend thing and your sense of humor. I usually avoid the awkward silences by just not saying that I actually bagged anything, unless I know the other party well enough to comment. You know what to call road kill don’t you? Pre-grilled. Another humorous one was my little niece asking my brother when he was going to “tear the birds apart.” She eventually went hunting with him when she was old enough but it just wasn’t her thing. She did bag one duck though.
Sadie
My grandfather used to catch squirrels in the backyard in Have-a-Heart traps. Then he would shoot them and eat them. He would also feed them to us without our knowledge. It was also common to find him smoking them in an old fridge that he converted to a smoker. I feel like you two could have learned a lot from each other.
Georgia
I tend to get along best with grandparents. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong generation.
gene
Hey friend, I spend so much time in Sterling Forest hunting squirrels that I don’t even try to explain it. The lure of hunting squirrels with a .22 rifle in the woods is an experience that defies explanation but I can see that you absolutely “get it ” , also squirrel is tasty!! (crockpot is my preferred method)
Georgia
Sterling Forest, yes, we go there! Just discovered Stewart Forest as well nearby.
gene
I was at Stewart last weekend ( mostly scouting for deer opener) and my son got a couple of greys . I don’t like hunting squirrels with a shotgun at all and Stewart is shotgun ( or .22 handgun ) only. Stewart is awesome for pheasant if your dog is trained.
Georgia
We saw some great pheasant and deer while we were there as well!
gene
Hey friend , went hunting with my son up at Stewart last weekend . I bagged a 4 pointer opening day and he got a nice 8 pointer the next day but most important we had a bunch of laughs and had a great time . We also saw lots and lots of tasty squirrels , they want to sit in your lap when your deer hunting .
Georgia
The squirrels must have been hiding from me that day! We only got one. Congrats on the deer meat. Yum.
Liz
I’d love to be your friend! I feel like my dove and duck hunting this season is about to be overshadowed by my now intrigue of squirrel hunting. Any tips for a place near Austin? I’m headed to the YO the weekend after Thanksgiving for some deer, maybe in my downtime I’ll scour the land for some squirrel!
Georgia
Oh fun, I know the folks at YO, it’s such a beautiful place. I haven’t experimented in squirrel in Austin, but check out their Fish & Game website, they will give you a map of public hunting lands!
Elke
Do you have Belgian friends already? I’d love to be the first one.
Your own strange world is mine too.
Georgia
You will be my first Belgian friend I do believe.
Elke
So happy! 🙂 Finally, I can refer to someone, when I’m desperately trying to explain my way of living!
It’s a pity we can’t hunt squirrels in Belgium… but my doggy fancies hares (and they are great too).
Ray J
I just had a conversation with a customer this morning about squirrels…..she asked me if I had any luck deer hunting last week, I told her yes, I got a deer and both of my sons also….she then said….you eat it right? I said yes, we enjoy venison very much……she then said I’ve heard that some people actually eat squirrel, can you imagine…….I just smiled and said I have, it delicious! I got one of those looks….:) they come out great in a George Foreman grill. Thanks for the hints on cooking the pheasant!
p.s…….I already consider you my friend, I hope the feeling is mutual.
Georgia
Squirrel talk in the post office! I love it 🙂
Rick
Just finished your book “Girl Hunter”. Enjoyed it immensely! It can be tough for hunters to express their passion for the outdoors in a way others can understand. You do a great job of it. Come to SE Ohio for some of the best fox/grey squirrel hunting in the eastern US. You probably already know that. Best Wishes and continued success!
Georgia
Thanks for reading Rick!
gene
Hey friend,
Just finished prepping a 5 lb. venison roast for sauerbraten ,it’s marinating in the fridge until saturday . I can’t believe I actually found juniper berries at a local store ( I would’ve bet the rent money that wasn’t happening ).
Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving.
Georgia
Yum!
Joelle
You are my favorite! I had my first taste of squirrel yesterday at a work party!! The construction guys cooked it in a spicy tomato sauce, very good!! I definitely need a gun now to go get my own!
Georgia
Ooh, yum. Hopefully you can join one of my girl hunter weekends one day and we’ll get some squirrel.
Joe Wilson
You all need to join us for the world champion squirrel cook off in Bentonville Arkansas on September 7th. We have the best of the best and love to have new people cook every year. check us out at squirrelcookoff.com
Luke
Yep! I’ll be your friend! I’ve not hunted in years but will soon be at it again….. using my grandad’s old 1932 Remington that he used. Returning to an old “family tradition”! I’ve not dressed a squirrel in years so I’m going to have to relearn that as well. I’m looking forward to it and am quite excited about it. My wife even seems to want to learn. Got a gun for her too!!!
Georgia
That’s lovely. More husbands should do this kind of thing with their wives, it’s a bonding experience.
Luke
Spent the weekend with the grandkids. We all shot over 1000 rounds in one day (.22lr) at targets. We were setting the scope, and becoming accustomed to shooting again. Needless to say… the evening included cleaning the guns! LOL!!!
Rebecca
Hey Georgia!
I found your website because I was looking for some pointers on how to make a cherry picker! I ADORE your site! I just moved to ten acres in North Idaho from Southern California. So far I have an enormous garden, a mushroom growing “station” in the works, an experimental meat smoker made from an old log (a la’ Pa Ingalls), a greenhouse in the works with an aqua-ponic fish/garden deal going on and a horseshoe pit and gun range laid out. After all that I feel I need to learn to hunt. I just feel like I can’t say I’m self sufficient unless I can feed my family if my garden fails for some unforeseen reason. My daughter’s fiance is going to take me out this fall. BTW: he thinks you are THE ultimate woman: hunts, cooks and is gorgeous! If I can become proficient at it I’d like to eventually move on to using a bow instead. I can’t wait to read your book. I am SO glad to find other “weird” girls like me out there! I will definitely be your friend! Thank you for the unexpected encouragement and terrific advice! Keep it comin’! 🙂
Georgia
Hi Rebecca! So wonderful to meet you, you sound amazing and fearless. I hope to meet you one day, maybe on one of my adventure weekends we have coming up? http://georgiap.webfactional.com/adventuregetaways/
Denay
I love this….I will be your friend…lol. but you have to take me hunting and show me how to skin and dress the kill. Also, I don’t shoot a rifle. I prefer a bow and arrow.
Dana
Yes, I’ll be your friend. Hey, I like someone who can make conversations cause other peoples heads to blow up. Any way, I what ever you’re willing to cook would more likely improve over my cooking. Probably healthier.
p.s. I know I’m writing this long after you posted this. But, this is when I found it.
Sarah
Um, squirrel is definitely underrated. I mean, shrimp eat trash…and squirrels eat…nuts? So much better for you, not to mention, REAL GOOD!
Bob Rembert
Wow, someone who will understand when I say I love squirrel meat. As a boy in Florida I hunted them often. Good for you Georgia. Thanks for a great read.
David
Is your dance card for friends still open? If so I would be honored to be called your friend. Just this past weekend I DISPATCHED, skinned and quartered two nice grey tail flickers that have been living the good life cleaning out my back PORCH bird feeders. (A crossman air pistol works just fine at close range) I look forward to trying your Squirrel Brunswick Stew recipe. Take care friend.