#Fat squirrel how to#

I got to learn just how much I value the gift that little squirrel gave me as I chased my son yelling, “No! Put that down, that’s mama’s special squirrel fat.” Nonetheless, a good story to tell the little guy when he’s older and has shot his first squirrel. It only took a few seconds for my almost 2-year-old to steal it off the counter and run around the room shaking it wildly.

#Fat squirrel how to#

I sealed up the little jar and went off to plan how to use it. Nonetheless, I was really proud of my tiny jar of squirrel fat, about 5 ounces from a single squirrel. The resulting rendered fat wasn’t exactly lard, and it was a thin liquid instead of a heavy solid spoonable lard.

My initial hope was that the squirrel “lard” would solidify so that I could make a batch of wild foraged cookies with a bit of nut flour and some quail eggs. A fine mesh strainer filters out the last bits of fried gristle, leaving a neutral clear cooking oil. I added a bit of water to the pan and used the lowest heat possible and the squirrel fat rendered out into a clear liquid.

On our next squirrel, I took extra care to extract all the squirrel fat from the body cavity, removing even the smallest bit of meat so the fat would render without meaty flavor infusing into it, the same way you’d prepare for making high-quality leaf lard from pork. I had high hopes that rendered squirrel fat would be just as neutral and a great source of wild-harvested oil for cooking. Squirrel meat doesn’t have that gamey smell or taste though, and for the most part, it tastes a lot like dark meat chicken. When I think of wild game fat, I think of deer fat which is usually quite gamey. Time to try my hand at rendering squirrel fat. You can break small pieces of the frozen fat off for use, while saving the rest.” The water will have evaporated and you can pour the liquid fat into a sealable plastic bag and freeze for up to 9 months. Slowly fry the fat tissue until it is crispy like well-done bacon. To render, simply place 3 to 4 ounces of fat in a small sauté pan with 2 tablespoons water. If you ever harvest a nice plump squirrel or two, you would be doing yourself a great favor by rendering the fat. “Rendered squirrel fat has a relatively low melting point and is a wonderful oil to work with, adding soft nutty undertones to the dish. The author talks about how squirrel is a sustainable meat source, but the main thing that caught my eye was the description of rendered squirrel fat: I came across an article in Modern Farmer titled, New Years Resolution: Eat More Squirrel and I just had to click through. Here’s the fat from the visceral cavity of a grey squirrel, and there was plenty more to harvest on the outside too. Now you’re thinking to yourself, how much fat can a squirrel possibly have? A lot more than you’d think. 22 and spend some quality time in the woods, then get to work testing out squirrel recipes. Instead of buying another package of feedlot beef, it’s much more sustainable to pick up a. Though squirrel has fallen a bit out of favor in our modern diets, it’s still delicious and plentiful. Plus, the idea of making a tasty hazelnut cookie out of squirrel fat is just too good to pass up… All that extra fat is perfect for all manner of recipes, provided you can render it into neutral squirrel lard. In the late fall and early winter, squirrels pack on the extra pounds to take them through until spring. Squirrel has been called the ultimate ethical meat, and this tasty little animal just keeps on giving.