Smoking Squirrels?

[PerkyVal]

Yeah yeah, I know you need a really big pipe to smoke a squirrel

However, I bought a electric smoker last summer and for some reason I have not tried smoking bunnies, or squirrels.

I'm worried that they'd dry out too much, and it's not like I can run down to the local grocery store and get another if I ruin them.

Has anyone had luck smoking these critters?

 

[BeemanR7]

I have not smoked squirrel or rabbit, but the secret to not drying them out is to use low heat. Your electric smoker should have come with a water pan too. Make sure to use it. Keep your temp below 200 degrees F and use the uppermost cooking grate (farthest from the electric heating element for lowest heat). Take your time. Your object is to thoroughly smoke the meat, NOT to cook the squirrel. Once it is smoked, you can finish it in your oven if you don't think it is cooked enough. But resist the temptation to overcook it. Both squirrel and rabbit are very lean and can dry out quickly if overcooked.

You might even like to soak some pieces in soy sauce for a couple hours before you smoke. That will help to draw the smoke flavor into the meat without over-salting it. It also makes a darker color.

Let us know what you finally decide to do and how it turned out. You're making me hungry.

 

[JimNM]

I have smoked a 4-H market rabbit over pecan fire. It was absolutely fabulous. The skin was crispy while the meat was juicy and the smoke ring went deep into the meat. Our home kept rabbits are 95% white meat, btw.

 

[Point1Seven]

Please let me know if and how this works for you. I am quite the squirrel assassin in my parts and I would love a new way to whip it up! Thanks !!

PS: Not sure if this will help but i brine my squirrels in saltwater overnight after skinning and gutting obviously, then I boil them until I boil super tender. It may help in shortening time to be smoked so that they don't dry out and the soy sauce idea is great! 

 

[PerkyVal]

I have smoked a 4-H market rabbit over pecan fire. It was absolutely fabulous. The skin was crispy while the meat was juicy and the smoke ring went deep into the meat. Our home kept rabbits are 95% white meat, btw.

We used to buy that sort of bunny for Easter dinner, but wild bunnies are completely different, and I have over cooked them in the past. 

I wish I knew where to get fresh rabbit, the place I used to get them from went away a decade ago.

 

[PerkyVal]

Please let me know if and how this works for you. I am quite the squirrel assassin in my parts and I would love a new way to whip it up! Thanks !!

PS: Not sure if this will help but i brine my squirrels in saltwater overnight after skinning and gutting obviously, then I boil them until I boil super tender. It may help in shortening time to be smoked so that they don't dry out and the soy sauce idea is great!

Yeah, I brine mine for 24 hours before they go in the freezer, then again before i cook them

 

[intenseaty22]

I haven’t.....yet. But as I said previously, I will smoke one in the Weber soon enough. The bacon wrap should help with the drying issue. You can also place it in aluminum foil “bag” and put some pineapple juice at the bottom. This steams up and tenderizes the meat. I do this when smoking ribs. 

 

[PerkyVal]

I inject nearly everything I smoke with an apple juice mix. The problem with squirrels is there isnt really enough meat to do this, in fact, unless you had a Chernobyl cottontail, there's not enough there either.

 

[BeemanR7]

Some meat smokers wrap their meat in a few layers of cheese cloth and keep mopping it with apple juice or other wetting agent to keep the meat from drying out. The smoke still gets to the meat through the cheese cloth. If you choose this method, you may also include within the cheese cloth alongside your meat some moist veggies like tomato slices or onion or green peppers. They're all good smoked too. And they help to keep the meat from drying out. Might even throw in a clove or two of garlic. You can save that smoked garlic and use it to season other dishes, like spaghetti or chili. Might even be good on prime rib of beef. 

 

[BeemanR7]

Perky Val,

Here's an idea you might like:

Get a few large bell peppers. Cut the tops off and core out the middle making bowls. Take your squirrels and cut the meat off the bones. Pound the meat to tenderize and place equal portions in the bottom of your pepper bowls. Now put a couple tablespoonfuls of instant rice (or wild rice if you prefer). Then add a spoonful or two of cream of mushroom soup right out of the can. Add a pat of butter. Salt and pepper to taste. Add a sprinkle of garlic salt, or a dab of minced garlic, or minced onion if that trips your trigger. Top all that with a few raw spinach leaves. Then top it all with crated Parmesan or Feta or goat cheese or whatever other cheese you like. Place your stuffed peppers on aluminum foil with the edges rolled up, or a shallow baking dish, and then put them in the smoker. Smoke them low and slow. You'll be delighted.

 

[PerkyVal]

Some meat smokers wrap their meat in a few layers of cheese cloth and keep mopping it with apple juice or other wetting agent to keep the meat from drying out. The smoke still gets to the meat through the cheese cloth. If you choose this method, you may also include within the cheese cloth alongside your meat some moist veggies like tomato slices or onion or green peppers. They're all good smoked too. And they help to keep the meat from drying out. Might even throw in a clove or two of garlic. You can save that smoked garlic and use it to season other dishes, like spaghetti or chili. Might even be good on prime rib of beef.

Excellent idea! Not only for wild critters either!