Squirrels around our house are as pesky as mosquitoes swarming on a warm spring day. So my son Trevor, the hunter in our family, graciously took care of the problem. After he skinned and cleaned them I threw them in the freezer because I didn’t exactly know what to do with them. I swarmed the internet for recipes and could not find one that I liked; most of them were for squirrel stew. Not knowing what squirrel tasted like I was at a loss, but here is what I came up with. It kind of tasted like a sweet jerky. It wasn’t real gamey and the meat was a little tough but that is common in game meat. Everyone in our family ate it and not surprisingly, Trevor enjoyed it the most! There was very little meat and a lot of bone. It would take a lot of squirrel to make a meal. Next game to cook ????
Bacon Wrapped Honey Roasted Squirrel
2 grey squirrel, skinned and cleaned
10 slices bacon
3 Tbsp honey
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp onion powder
Sea salt and pepper
Cut the legs off of the squirrel then cut the body into the front section and back section. Throw away the front section which consists of the ribcage.
Marinade the squirrel pieces for 24 hours in a Ziploc bag in the following marinade:
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 2 Tbsp salt; cold water to cover meat
When ready to cook, preheat your broiler to high.
Remove meat from marinade and rinse in cold water. Dry meat with a paper towel, discard marinade.
Rub honey all over each piece of meat and place on a foil lined cookie sheet.
Mix dry ingredients together and top each meat piece with the mixture. Broil on high for 7-8 minutes each side. Remove from broiler and set your oven at 350 degrees.
When squirrel is cool enough to handle, wrap each piece with a slice of bacon and place on a wire rack. Place the wire rack on a cookie sheet and fill the cookie sheet with 1 – 2 cups of water. Bake for 1 hour.
Serve with Paleo BBQ sauce.
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